Chief of Party, West Africa

Internews is seeking a Chief of Party who will provide strategic leadership for a potential Information Integrity (II) project in the Sahel and/or West Africa, overseeing activity delivery while managing coordination of the implementing consortium.

The Chief of Party will be responsible for effective strategic planning and managing the project’s staff and resources. They will communicate closely with Internews Headquarters and will be the primary point of contact for the funder.

The Chief of Party will coordinate with other media stakeholders in the region to ensure that Internews leverages other resources to comply with co-funding requirements, avoids duplication, and complements other activities.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, operational, and representational leadership for the Information Integrity project in the region, including oversight of daily operations, to ensure that activities are meeting their goals and targets on time and within budget, recommending program adjustments when necessary.
• Cultivate and strengthen relationships with local partner organisations and ensure that implementation is responsive to the needs of partners and beneficiaries.
• Track and report project progress and activities monthly against work plans and oversee program reporting and M&E to ensure effective implementation and measure impact.
• Maintain a thorough knowledge and understanding of independent media issues, challenges, and opportunities in the region.
• Demonstrate a thorough and nuanced understanding of information integrity challenges in the region as well as the range of programmatic approaches and actors at work in the sector.
• Contribute to the development of a community of practice and expertise in this evolving area, including engaging with new global, regional, and local partners, researchers, and other practitioners.
• Operationalise adaptive and innovative approaches to information integrity programming and participate in the development of best practices for the wider organisation.
• Ensure the project is in compliance with all grant and cooperative agreement rules, requirements, and regulations as well as with Internews’ internal policies and procedures.
• Serve as the primary budget authority over the project, responsible for ensuring all costs charged to the project are allowable, reasonable, and correctly allocated.
• Accept fiduciary responsibility for all funds advanced for the purpose of the project.
• Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organisation’s policies and applicable laws including interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; and addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Qualifications

• Relevant university degree or equivalent lived/professional experience required.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience managing national, multi-country, or international development programs in the region, with at least 5 years of experience in program management (e.g., Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Program Director, Program Manager, etc.) for media and information sector development projects.
• Fluency in English and French required.
• Experience and familiarity with the regional media sector.
• Prior experience managing programs with information integrity, hate speech, and/or mis- and disinformation components, preferably in the context of complex, donor-funded projects.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate with USG and other donor programs on media and disinformation and seek synergies and complementarities to maximize results.
• Demonstrated ability to perform at a high level and apply diplomacy skills with a wide range of stakeholders (i.e., government officials, private sector, NGOs, and beneficiaries).
• Advanced educational background and knowledge relevant for Sub-Saharan African countries.
• Strong leadership, administrative, management, presentation, reporting, analytical, and communication skills and the ability to implement projects with diverse subject matter.
• Demonstrated ability to research and analyse (dis-)information environments and make recommendations for improvement for relevant stakeholders.
• Familiarity with tools for mapping and understanding hate speech, and mis-, dis- and mal-information.

Logistics

This position will be based in the Sahel region of Africa, to be determined.

How to apply

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. To learn more about this position and apply, please click here.