RTI’s International Education Division is supporting education development around the world by strengthening education policy, management and practice in order to achieve measurable improvement in teaching and learning. From our well-established reputation in education system strengthening, to innovative work in early grade assessment and learning, RTI is improving education quality, relevance and efficiency through implementation of projects funded by USAID, DFID, DFAT and other donors and clients.

The International Education Division is currently accepting applications for a Chief of Party (COP) for the Read Liberia Activity, a USAID-funded five-year, $20+ million activity to improve reading outcomes of children in the early grades in Liberia. The Activity works directly with 640 primary schools in 6 counties of the country, as well as with the Ministry of Education at national, county, and district levels. This is a full-time position with residency in Monrovia, Liberia.  Read Liberia is currently in Year 2 of its period of performance.

The COP will provide overall strategic direction and technical and administrative leadership for the activity. S/he will serve as primary liaison with USAID/Liberia on management and technical matters. The COP is responsible for overall Activity performance, management, and execution. S/he ensures exceptional quality and timeliness of project deliverables within budget, compliance parameters and close coordination with USAID/Liberia, the Liberian Ministry of Education, and the Activity’s implementing partners.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Manage technical and administrative teams as well as subcontractors in the implementation of a large, complex project to improve the reading skills of Liberian students in the early grades, making sure that the Activity meets stated goals, outcomes, benchmarks, and reporting requirements on time and to a level of quality acceptable to USAID and RTI.
• Serve as primary liaison to USAID/Liberia on Activity management and strategic issues to maximize impact and scale, minimize costs, and maximize efficiency and sustainability in achieving project requirements.
• Lead coordination of program activities among a diverse group of stakeholders and beneficiaries, including the Ministry of Education (MOE), regional and sub- regional education offices, school officials, civil society, and other activity partners.
• Ensure internal integration of Read Liberia activities through: 1) leading and maintaining a cohesive and productive Activity management team; 2) promoting and demonstrating effective internal communications; 3) leading annual work planning and budgeting; and 4) incorporating the findings of monitoring, evaluation and learning activities to regularly inform planning and strategy.
• Ensure that all activities conform to the terms and conditions of Activity requirements, including cost, schedule and quality parameters, and that they are compliant with both USAID and RTI rules and regulations. This includes working closely with the Read Liberia Deputy Chief of Party in ensuring that any potential areas of financial and compliance vulnerability and risk are identified and that corrective action plans are developed and implemented to avoid and resolve issues.
• Oversee management and control of funds and other resources for the Activity and associated sub-contracts and grants under contract as required.
• Provide leadership and oversight of monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, finance, operations, and reporting, communications, and human resources.
• Lead and oversee preparation of progress reports, plans, and technical deliverables, and ensure these deliverables are submitted in a timely manner.
• Develop and implement practices that ensure a high level of staff morale and retention.
• Collaborate with RTI’s home office, to ensure effective management of the activity.
• Travel within and outside country as needed to support program implementation.

Tagged as: Chief of party, Liberia, RTI