Deputy Chief of Party - Bethesda, United States - DAI

DAI

Verified Company

Bethesda, United States

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Mark Lane

beBee recruiter

Description

Advancing Capacity for the Environment (ACE)

SCOPE OF WORK

Position

Deputy Chief of Party:
Finance and Operations (DCOP Fin/Ops)

Period of Performance _On/About (From - To)_**Upon approval

July 2027

Maximum Level of Effort
Full-time long-term technical assistance

Base of Operations

position reports to
Chief of Party

Project Background:

The Advancing Capacity for the Environment (ACE) program facilitates the U.S.

Agency for International Development (USAID)'s work to combat climate change, conserve biodiversity and manage natural resources, improve land governance, and expand access to secure, modern energy and resilient infrastructure.

ACE strengthens capacities for technical leadership and effective programming through integrated support in four areas:
communications, knowledge management, training, and facilitation/organizational development.

ACE's primary clients include the Center for Climate-Positive Development (CPD), Center for Energy, Infrastructure and Cities (CEIC), and Center for Natural Environment (CNE), and their associated divisional offices, within the agency's Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security (REFS).

The program objective is to enhance USAID's effectiveness, leading to positive and sustainable development outcomes globally in the above sectors.

Position Description:

The Deputy Chief of Party:

Finance and Operations (DCOP Fin/Ops) is a key member of the project's senior leadership team, responsible for overseeing and managing ACE's financial and operational performance, as well as contributing to overall project management and strategy.

The DCOP Fin/Ops ensures that ACE's financial and operational systems effectively enable ACE staff to carry out the project's activities to meet or exceed client expectations and program performance.

They will lead ACE's project accounting, financial reporting, procurement, and administrative compliance within the contractual and organizational requirements of USAID and DAI.

The DCOP Fin/Ops serves as a key point of contact for USAID's Contracting Officer (CO) and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).

They are expected to communicate directly with the client on contractual matters, compliance, and financial reporting in coordination with the Chief of Party.

The DCOP Fin/Ops will ensure financial integrity, accuracy, and timely reporting at a project, activity, and task level with significant partnership from technical leads, COP, and the Finance & Operations Specialist.

The DCOP Fin/Ops will stay abreast of ACE's technical activities, particularly high priority activities, to assess and respond to financial and operational implications, and stand in for the COP at times.

The DCOP Fin/Ops will provide ongoing guidance to the COP, and ACE technical teams, on appropriate strategies for achieving ACE's financial and operational performance.

The DCOP Fin/Ops will proactively identify areas to improve program performance, lead and coordinate program-wide initiatives, and contribute to a positive team culture of collaboration, responsiveness and achievement.

This role will actively support the implementation of ACE's team charter, ensuring that the core principles, purposes, and agreements of the ACE team are represented in key decisions, contributing to an environment where growth is encouraged, collaboration is standard, and teamwork is critical.

The DCOP Fin/Ops will supervise the Finance and Operation Specialist, and report to the Chief of Party (COP).

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Management

Lead the development, implementation, and adaptation of project management systems, policies and procedures. Ensures that ACE project management complies with DAI's USG Project Management standards and the Project Schedule of Authorities.
Identifies areas of improvement in finance, operations and management, and spearheads necessary changes in coordination with COP.
Leads and supports implementation of programwide initiatives and tools, including Asana project management platform, Google Workspace, ACE All Staff Retreats, ACE intranet, file management system, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Leads coordination among DAI, USAID and project stakeholders including DAI Global Project Management, Procurement, IT, Logistics, Human Resources, and Technical/Delivery teams to ensure program compliance with standards and policies.
Contributes to quarterly performance and risk management reviews by identifying and rating risks while working in coordination with project and home office project management to design timebound and accountable mitigation actions.

Operations

Oversees recruitment, hiring, onboarding and related operations of maintaining compliant shortterm and longterm staff, in consultation with COP and DAI home office support.
Promote professional and technical skill development opportunities in coordination with COP and