Chief of Party - USAID Resilient Cities Limpopo Activity at RTI International

Overview

Research Triangle Institute (RTI) has over 30 years’ experience assisting governments, communities, and the private sector. As a not-for-profit, independent research institute based in North Carolina, USA, RTI has roughly 6,000 employees with global experience implementing international development projects. RTI's Sustainable Growth & Resilience (SG&R) technical unit within the International Development Group brings together RTI experts and capabilities across food security, agriculture, energy, environment, water, governance, and economic opportunity. SG&R will leverage RTI's experience designing and delivering multisectoral programming and technical solutions to respond to climate change, build resilience, and promote economic growth around the world. 

SG&R’s Global Agriculture, Water, and Environment division is working to mitigate and address the impacts of climate change and build resilience in impacted communities through policy and governance support, capacity building for local actors, and support for responding to natural and human-caused disasters. 

Project Description 

The five-year USAID Resilient Cities Limpopo Activity will increase access to safely managed and reliable critical services for urban residents in the Limpopo River Basin. The activity will achieve this through facilitating improved access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services, increased solid waste recovery and recycling to promote circularity, improved municipal financial management for climate-resilient service delivery, and increased urban resilience capacity against climate change.  

Position Description 

RTI is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for the Resilient Cities Limpopo Activity. The COP will be responsible for overall management, strategic direction, and leadership of the activity. The COP is anticipated to be based in Pretoria, South Africa. 

Position is contingent upon award and funding.  

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the activity, providing strategic direction and technical guidance to all project staff. 
• Oversee technical design and implementation of activities to achieve results and impact. 
• Ensures all project deliverables exceed expectations and managed within budget. 
• Strengthen the capacity of national and subnational institutions to deliver critical services. 
• Serve as the primary liaison with USAID/South Africa and the Governments of South Africa, Botswana, and Mozambique to ensure exceptional quality and timeliness of activity deliverables within budget. 
• Ensure coordination and collaboration with other USAID-funded activities as well as other relevant actors and stakeholders to ensure complementarity and avoid duplication of efforts.  
• Ensure that cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, social inclusion, resilience, and climate-sensitive approaches are effectively integrated into the Activity. 
• Responsible for ensuring all staff receive adequate security and operational support and that Standard Operating Procedures are implemented.   
• Responsible for developing and implementing practices to ensure a high level of staff morale and retention.   

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree and 15 years of experience, Master's degree and 12 years of experience, PhD and 8 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Minimum 10 years of progressive management experience working in one or more technical disciplines: drinking water and sanitation services, solid waste management, and/or municipal financial management or other relevant technical area.  
• Previous experience managing USAID or other donor funded projects of similar size preferred.  
• Demonstrated experience managing technically, operationally and geographically diverse teams. 
• Substantive experience working with counterparts at various levels of government, private sector leaders, and other stakeholders in providing multi-faceted support for civil society engagement, capacity, and participation. 
• Proven ability to work under pressure, and with multiple concurrent demands.  
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. 
• Fluency in English required.  
• Citizens of South Africa, Botswana, and Mozambique are encouraged to apply.