Chief of Party

Job Description

ChildFund is initiating a search for a Chief of Party in support of our application to the United States Department of State DFOP0017890, Advancing Global Health APS. The Chief of Party (COP) will provide overall strategic leadership, technical direction, and managerial oversight for a multi year U.S. Department of State–funded initiative focused on strengthening national systems and community-level services that protect children, promote healthy development, and prevent child-family separation. The COP will guide a comprehensive program spanning child protection systems strengthening, early childhood development, and evidence-based family strengthening and care reform, while ensuring high quality support for frontline social service providers and vulnerable children and families.

With support from ChildFund technical staff, the COP will serve as the primary point of contact with the U.S. Department of State, government counterparts, implementing partners, and key stakeholders. This role requires deep expertise in child protection systems, social service workforce strengthening, holistic early childhood development, and emergency and long term care responses for children at risk of harm or separation, as well as experience managing complex, multi-sectoral programs.

Required Experience and Education

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in social work, public health, international development, or a related field strongly preferred.
• At least 10 years of experience managing multi-sectoral, child- and family-focused international development projects funded by US donors.
• Demonstrated experience working with government ministries, national child protection authorities, and child-focused community-based organizations in Uganda.
• Experience leading projects with multiple partners.
• Experience with U.S. Department of State-funded projects preferred.

Primary Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Program Management

• Provide overall leadership, vision, and direction for the program, managing compliance with ChildFund policies and donor regulations and priorities.
• Oversee the design, implementation, and monitoring of activities that strengthen child protection systems’ capacity to protect and promote all child rights, ensuring that children have the services and support needed to grow into resilient adults.
• Guide implementation of integrated, holistic early childhood development (ECD) interventions targeting pregnant women, infants, and young children. These will include nutrition and physical health activities, parenting and parental support, and early childhood education activities.
• Oversee programmatic coherence across components such as social service workforce capacity building, temporary care and shelter for children and families, family reunification, and comprehensive case management for basic and life saving needs.
• Support national alternative care reform efforts and align all interventions with international standards on deinstitutionalization and family-based care.
• Lead annual work planning, budgeting, and reporting processes.
• Lead a multidisciplinary team, fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and high performance workplace culture.
• Oversee recruitment, performance management, and professional development of staff.
• Ensure strong financial management, risk mitigation, and operational efficiency.

Technical Oversight

• With support from ChildFund technical staff, guide the development and implementation of evidence based strategies for child protection systems strengthening, ECD, and alternative/family-based care.
• Provide high level technical direction on implementing existing laws, policies, and institutional frameworks related to child protection, ECD, and alternative care, and identify opportunities to address current legal and policy gaps.
• Oversee capacity building initiatives for the social service workforce, including training on identification of vulnerable children, case management, emergency response, and family based care.
• Ensure integration of safeguarding, disability-sensitive, and trauma informed approaches.

Stakeholder Engagement & Representation

• With support from ChildFund technical staff, serve as the primary liaison with the U.S. Department of State, government ministries, civil society organizations, and international partners.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with national child protection, education, and health authorities, community based organizations, and service providers.
• Represent the program in high level forums, technical working groups, and stakeholder meetings.
• Travel routinely to program sites and partner locations.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning & Compliance

• Ensure rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems to track progress, measure outcomes, and inform adaptive management. This includes designing, adapting, and/or using impact-focused measurement tools and metrics, as well as using statistical analysis to demonstrate change.
• Oversee compliance with donor regulations, organizational policies, and safeguarding standards.
• Promote a culture of learning, accountability, and continuous improvement across the program team and partners.
• Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills that will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy.

Required Competencies

ChildFund’s Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Leadership (applies vision; explores multiple paths; invests time in planning to effectively execute strategy)
• People Leadership (inspires, influences, coaches, and empowers others to be at their best; values individual differences and seeks the inclusion of others)
• Partnership (develops strong networks; works across divisions; creates trusting and productive relationships that contribute to positive outcomes)
• Change Management (adjust thinking and behaviors to remain relevant, resilient, and responsive to internal and external conditions)
• Design Thinking (designs solutions with end user experience in mind; empathizes, defines, ideates, prototypes, and tests) Strong training facilitation, coordination and networking skills.

Other Required Competencies

• The ability to read, speak, and write fluently in English.
• Demonstrated expertise in at least two of the following: child protection systems strengthening, social service workforce development, early childhood development, nutrition, family strengthening, and alternative care reform.
• Excellent external networking and communication skills.
• Demonstrated impeccable ethics and judgment.
• Strong financial management and budgeting skills.
• Familiarity with trauma-informed care in the context of working with children and families.