Chief of Party - Liberia Civil Society Activity

About Kaizen

The Kaizen Company is an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally-driven development and spur sustainable entrepreneurship and investments. We leverage existing knowledge, new technologies, local peer networks, and innovative business models to support local reforms that are sustained through market forces.

Since our inception, we have provided support to more than 200 government, private-sector, and non-profit organizations in emerging markets worldwide. We have created solutions that achieve outcomes across a broad range of sectors including education, health, finance, agriculture, governance, economic growth, energy and environment, and water.

Scope and Objectives

The Kaizen Company is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) for the anticipated USAID/Liberia Civil Society Activity. The new civil society activity will support an increase in civil society’s role in incentivizing reforms and moving Liberia towards sustainability. When CSOs are strengthened, their ability to effectively communicate with their constituents and serve as a conduit for citizens to advocate their concerns to the government is improved, while also providing feedback to the citizenry regarding policy reforms, accountability, and service delivery at the national and local levels. A capacitated and self-reliant civil society will serve as a conduit between government and citizens, creating strong feedback loops that will 1) elevate citizen concerns to national public dialogue, 2) advocate for citizen concerns with government 3) communicate progress on reforms to civil society networks, and 4) serve as a watchdog to ensure the implementation citizens’ priorities.

The COP will provide overall leadership and management of all aspects of the contract.

Responsibilities

• Maintains a lead and central role in interacting with senior GoL officials, other donors, leaders of beneficiary CSO groups, and other relevant stakeholders. Serves as primary liaison and representative to USAID/Liberia on behalf of the project.
• Responsible for making implementation decisions, and any required changes at the direction of USAID/Liberia and in close coordination with Kaizen Home Office.
• Providing strategic vision and overall leadership for contract implementation and management,
• Supervises the work of key personnel working on the Contract

Requirements:

• Advanced degree in political or social science, international development, or a related field.
• At least 10 years professional experience in development managing organizational strengthening activities.  
• Work experience in advocacy area and capacity building with CSOs and NGOs
• Demonstrated ability to establish productive relationships with senior government officials, the
• private sector, civil society, and donor community
• Proven leadership in the design, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of similar-sized donor-supported programs. 
• Previous work experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, with at least 5 years of in-field project implementation experience.
• Skills in high level strategic visioning and leadership, preferably with experience in managing complex activities involving coordination with multiple partner institutions.
• Strong communication skills, in written and oral English.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to successfully convene diverse, multidisciplinary groups. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience managing US Government-funded programs of similar scale and scope, including particularly USAID programs.

• Successful experience working with Liberian CSOs, highly preferred.

At The Kaizen Company, we find strength in our diversity. We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive working environment in which everyone has an equal opportunity to fulfill their potential. We know that we can only do development differently if we are open to and inclusive of new and unique perspectives. We encourage candidates of all abilities, ages, gender identities and expressions, national origins, races and ethnicities, religious beliefs, and sexual orientations to apply. Further, we urge parents and non-parents, married and unmarried, those from different or non-traditional educational backgrounds, and persons of all other diverse identities or experiences to apply. The Kaizen Company is an equal opportunity employer.