The Organization:

•   Since 1974, IFDC contributes to increasing and sustaining food security and agricultural productivity in over 100 developing countries through the development and transfer of effective and environmentally sound crop nutrient technology and agribusiness expertise.

The Role of the Project:

•   IFDC enables smallholder farmers in developing countries to increase agricultural productivity, generate economic growth and practice environmental stewardship by enhancing their ability to manage mineral and organic fertilizers responsibly and participate profitability in input and output markets. IFDC is recruiting a Chief of Party (COP) candidate for an existing USAID/Ghana Feed the Future (FtF) Agriculture Technology Transfer project which aims at increasing the availability and use of agriculture technologies to increase agricultural productivity in Northern Ghana. Key intervention areas include, among others: (1) creating a competitive Ghanaian seed sector; (2) development and roll-out of integrated soil fertility management technologies; (3) research capacity development and outreach, and (4) establishment of technology dialogue and innovation platform. Cross cutting issues such as gender mainstreaming, child labor and environmental issues play a pivotal role throughout project implementation. Public private partnership development and the application of a competitive small grants fund should help provide a boost to the roll-out and scaling of proven technologies that can be made commercially and sustainably available for adoption to targeted end-users.

The COP Responsibilities & Duties:

•   The COP is responsible for providing overall vision, leadership and guidance of the project internally with project staff and externally with USAID, host governments, other donors and stakeholders. The COP will lead the IFDC’s team and serves as the primary point of contact with USAID with regard to day-to-day activity implementation and management matters relating to the contract.

•   The main duties of the COP will be overall project planning, implementation and management. The COP must ensure the smooth functioning and coordination of all project functions: program development and implementation, project finances and administration, outreach and reporting, monitoring and evaluation. S/he in particular will seek to ensure the technical quality and appropriateness of the technical services provided through the project and the quality of the results generated. The COP will have technical and management responsibility for all project personnel and be the representative to relevant donor, line ministries, other donors and multinationals, technical agencies and other participating organizations as required. The COP will have overall responsibility for assuring that all assistance provided under the contract, whether by international or local experts/personnel, is technically sound and appropriate for the needs to be addressed; and for adequately managing and supervising the work of all experts/personnel provided under the agreement. The COP will be the primary point of contact for information on the progress and current status of all activities under the contract and will establish appropriate mechanisms to ensure that activity progress and specific implementation concerns are regularly and promptly reported. The COP will manage the preparation and presentation of proposed implementation plans, progress reports and other required donor deliverables.
    
Required Skills

•   Demonstrated ability in the concepts, principles, methods and techniques of delivering training, technical assistance and extension services for rural agriculture development.
•   Demonstrated skills in effectively negotiating and collaborating with host governments, donors, other USAID projects, local organizations and partners.
•   Ability to successfully manage and develop staff as part of a multi-disciplinary team as demonstrated by past experience.
•   Ability to manage cooperative agreements, contracts and grant making programs with all required reporting requirements.
•   Ability to perform internal control functions to manage day to day operations of the project.
•   Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to communicate (in English) effectively in writing and orally in small and large audience settings.

Qualification Required & Experience

•   At least 15 years of experience successfully managing complex, results based, international agricultural development programs (implementation, logistics, budget, staffing) funded by USAID or other international donors, or which a minimum of 5 years as Chief of Party (COP).
•   Prior experience working in (West) Africa is a must, experience in Ghana is preferred.
•   Master’s degree in agriculture or related field required, and specific technical expertise in seed industry, soil fertility sciences, agriculture technology development or organizational development

Location: Tamale

How To Apply For The Job

Interested and qualified candidates should

Click Here To Apply Online

Closing Date: 30 November, 2014