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Sr. Program Manager

Chemonics seeks a Sr. Program Manager to support Power Africa Empower Southern Africa (ESA) Program funded by USAID. This role will contribute to the success of a dynamic business unit, with active projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Senegal, Southern Africa Region, as well as a DC-based global program. WCAFH also houses the Agriculture and Food Security Practice. With a robust forward market spanning a wide range of technical sectors, including education, rule of law, agriculture and food security, WASH, and governance programming in Haiti, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, DRC, Mali, and Senegal, we are seeking candidates with strong new business experience and a passion for working in the WCAFH region and beyond. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as we will interview and fill the position on a rolling basis.

ESA is a 5-year regional program that covers South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros and Sao Tome and Principe. The primary purpose of ESA is to increase the availability of, access to, and use of affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy in Southern Africa in order to reach measurable development outcomes. Measurable development outcomes include economic growth, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods and increasing inclusive access to electricity-enabled services in such areas as health, education, sanitation and food security. We seek candidates with experience on USAID regional programs, as well as significant subcontract management experience.

Responsibilities:

Project Management

• Manages day-to-day support to one or more project teams and client, including communicating and assisting with project-office requests and overseeing adherence to project requirements, government regulations, and Chemonics policies
• Oversees project office requests and ensure tasks are complete in areas compliance (including procurement and grants); finance and administration; personnel and HR; and administration and logistics
• Oversees financial aspects of the project’s contract or agreement by reviewing monthly invoices for accuracy and compliance; responsible for tracking expenditures against budget and total obligated funds, coordinating development and monitoring of annual corporate budget, and regular forecasting of expenditures for Chemonics and client. May support or manage a variety of contract mechanisms (e.g. Cost Plus Fixed Fee, Time & Material)
• Proactively identifies issues or potential risks, including project performance, financial, legal, and other core business areas. Develops strategies and solutions to address those risks, communicating, when appropriate, with the director and/or senior vice president; strategically assesses and consults with support units on corporate-office and project-office matters to help make informed decisions and provides solutions
• Leads efforts in reviewing and determining causes of variances in expenditures against forecasts and budgets and ensuring client is informed as appropriate; works with director to identify solutions for shortfalls and train other PMU staff to do the same
• Identifies opportunities for knowledge- and solution-sharing across company and takes initiative to build staff and company capacity
• Oversees and leads negotiations with project subaward partners/and or subcontractor; identifies and manages key subaward/subcontractor issues, budgets, and invoicing; and reviews deliverables in coordination with project team to ensure they meet technical, contractual, and quality standards
• Leads recruits of long- and short-term project personnel in accordance with Chemonics’ policy and delegates to or mentors others in project recruiting where possible and appropriate
• Conducts periodic project office visits to monitor and support project operations and implementation, including conducting training, conducting or responding to audits, providing input to work planning, conducting technical research, and performing other complex tasks
• Reviews and provides comments on project technical work and deliverables and project communications documents
• May contribute dedicated time to other workstreams and functions to achieve BU goals, including new business, operations, and technical practice contributions

Technical

• Proactively engages in technical practice of relevance to areas of interest or focus, sharing information and best practices learned with the company; this includes a strategic view to connect the practice and project in support of enhanced project performance and technical leadership goals of the practice
• Builds subject matter expertise and contributes to BU, technical practice, business line, and corporate priorities, including serving as a regional financial analyst or regional compliance specialist
• Promotes Chemonics by identifying opportunities for and attending external events, networking with clients and counterparts, articulating a solid understanding of Chemonics’ past and present portfolio; effectively representing the company’s history, values, and standards; and identifying and developing new business leads

New Business Development

• Takes initiative to support new business efforts, including growing personal network of industry contacts; assuming capture and live proposals roles; and building expertise to assume increasing levels of leadership roles on proposals, including as technical writer, cost preparer, or czar, in addition to other roles as needed

Management and Leadership

• Supervises, mentors, trains, develops, and evaluates assigned staff; provides regular performance feedback to supervisees and the time and opportunity to grow professionally
• Mentors and advises staff across the BU (e.g., associates, program managers, and others) as appropriate on a range of topics, including business development, technical work, and project management
• Ensures continual learning by participating in internal and external training events to build core competencies for project management in line with donor regulations and Chemonics corporate standards; disseminates knowledge across team to promote team learning and growth
• Demonstrates inclusive behaviors and leadership consistent with Chemonics’ values and leadership competencies
• Serves in the acting director capacity as required
• Performs other duties as required

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience; master’s degree preferred
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience; staff supervisory and mentorship experience required
• Thorough understanding of donor/client regulatory and management requirements and demonstrated ability to apply and adhere to those requirements in project management
• Mastery of critical project management skills, including budget management, contractual and procurement compliance, client relations and knowledge of client, and personnel management
• Demonstrated experience working on one or more projects while simultaneously engaged in more progressively complexed proposal roles
• Demonstrated leadership providing regional financial and/or compliance support on a project management team
• Communicates clearly and concisely in both verbal and written communications; strong cross-culture communication and sensitivity skills
• Demonstrated experience following standard practices and procedures, providing input on design and revision of procedures where needed, receiving general instruction on work progress, and making significant contribution to end results inidually and by leading teams
• Demonstrated resourcefulness in problem-solving and initiative to learn new skills
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office applications and word processing abilities
• Significant grants and subcontracts management experience required; Experience on USAID global and buy-in mechanisms preferred
• Previous experience with start-up and/or project-based operations STTA or LTTA roles preferred
• Previous experience working in international development and/or living or conducting work in developing countries preferred
• Willingness to travel up to 8 weeks per year
• Spanish language proficiency preferred

Apply by December 20, 2023. No telephone inquiries, please. Finalists will be contacted.

Chemonics is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Chemonics is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, or other legally protected characteristics. Military veterans, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni are encouraged to apply.

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

Chemonics will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to iniduals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by Chemonics, or (c) consistent with Chemonics legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

The Salary Range for this position is expected to be: $84,320 – $105,400.