Chief of Party/Technical Advisor

For more than 100 years, Heartland Alliance has been working with displaced and vulnerable people in the Chicago area, including refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and victims of trafficking. The services offered to these populations include legal protections, torture treatment, medical and psychosocial care and services specific to children's needs. Using the expertise gained through the delivery of such services, Heartland Alliance has turned its attention to the countries where these vulnerable and displaced persons originate, which have been adversely affected by war, violence and poverty. In these countries, Heartland Alliance applies its particular areas of expertise to build the capacity of local partners to provide quality and sustainable services to vulnerable populations.

Heartland Alliance welcomes applications for the role of Chief of Party/Technical Advisor for the proposed Women’s Peace Campaign. The position is dependent upon receipt of award/funding availability. As part of a conflict mitigation strategy in preparation for Kenya’s 2012 elections, the proposed 18-month project will provide support for Gender Based Violence (GBV) awareness and prevention activities, will establish a viable women’s network, and will strengthen women’s organizations and women leaders. Women connected through a peace network will be equipped to rapidly mitigate violence. The local Peace Platforms will provide community members with a tool they can use to hold their local leaders accountable to the community, especially during the 2012 elections. It is expected by the end of the project the following targets will have been met:
• Completion of a national peace campaign, inclusive of women’s peace forums in each county, in each province, and concluding with a national women’s peace summit.
• National and local peace platforms and action plans will have been formulated and made visible.
• Community GBV awareness and prevention activities will be supported in all regions of Kenya.
• An SMS network will be established, operational, and a plan created for its sustainability.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develops and implements a project work plan for USAID approval;
• Manages project staff, including sub-team officers and coordinators;
• Acts as the primary liaison with USAID, ensuring compliance with all programmatic and financial requirements;
• Supervises all granting and procurement activities
• Oversees management, coordination, and implementation support to international and local NGO and CBO partners;
• Provides updates to the Director of Protections Programs regarding service issues, strategic planning, new opportunities and other management issues;
• Maintains working relationships with government entities, non-governmental organizations, grassroots groups, civic associations and other key stakeholders;
• Manages preparation of administrative and program reports, and assures sub-grantees compliance with their reporting requirements;
• Consistently measures project performance with stated goals and objectives, providing input and support for monitoring and evaluation staff, as well as participating in annual planning;
• Assures compliance with the Heartland Alliance personnel policies;
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Clear commitment to the vision, mission and values of Heartland Alliance.
• Education and/or Experience: Master's degree (M.A.) or equivalent in International Development, Conflict Studies, Gender Studies and two years of experience; or 10+ years relevant experience and/or training.
• Other Qualifications: Prior experience in women’s leadership/gender programming and/or conflict prevention and early warning programming. Experience working in different cultural and linguistic settings. Prior project management experience, including financial and personnel management. Strong knowledge of gender and conflict, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills. Experience living and working in East Africa required, and familiarity with women’s organizations and networks in Kenya is desirable.
• Language Skills: Fluency in English. Excellent writing skills in English required. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret complex documents. Ability to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints. Ability to write speeches and articles using original or innovative techniques or style. Ability to make effective and persuasive speeches and presentations on controversial or complex topics to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors. Local language ability a plus.
• Reasoning Ability: Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Ability to make frequent international and national trips and to live/work in situations of insecurity with minimal physical amenities.

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