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Chief of Party USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition
Program/Project ManagementFood and Nutrition
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Full Description
**Chief of Party USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition**
**Reports to:** Central AmericaRegional Director (RD)
**Direct Reports:** Heads of Department
**Job Location:** San Pedro Sula, Honduras
**Contingency Statement:** This position is contingent upon project award, donor funding, and USDA approval. As a Key Personnel position, final candidate selection will be subject to USDA review and approval.
Feed the Children seeks an experienced and strategic Chief of Party (COP) to lead implementation of a USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program in Honduras. The COP will provide overall leadership, strategic direction and management oversight for the program, ensuring high-quality implementation and achievement of program objectives related to school feeding, literacy, child nutrition, food security, and community resilience. The COP will serve as the primary liaison with USDA, government counterparts, consortium partners, and other key stakeholders.
The COP will oversee programmatic, operational, financial, compliance, and administrative functions, ensuring alignment with USDA regulations, organizational policies, and international best practices. The position requires strong leadership, technical expertise, partnership management, and experience managing complex donor-funded programs in multicultural and multi-stakeholder environments.
The COP will promote sustainable, locally led approaches that strengthen national and community systems while advancing measurable outcomes for children, schools, and vulnerable communities.
**Qualifications:**
**Education:**
- Master’s degree in International Development, Agriculture, Nutrition, Education, Public Health, Business Administration, Economics, International Relations, Development Studies, or a related field required.
- Project Management certification (PMP or equivalent) will be an advantage.
**Experience, Knowledge and Other Requirements:**
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive senior leadership experience managing large-scale, donor-funded international development programs
- Demonstrated experience managing USDA McGovern-Dole, Food for Education, USAID, or other U.S. Government-funded programs strongly preferred.
- Prior experience serving as Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Program Director, or in a comparable senior management role required.
- Proven experience managing complex projects with significant operational scope and budgets (USD $20M+ preferred).
- Demonstrated technical expertise in school feeding, literacy and education programming, child nutrition, food security, agriculture, and community-based development.
- Demonstrated experience managing donor compliance, financial oversight, procurement, grants management, and operational systems.
- Experience overseeing commodity management and food assistance programming preferred.
- Proven experience integrating safeguarding in large-scale donor-funded programs, ensuring compliance, risk management, and reporting mechanisms across complex operations.
- Proven ability to engage effectively with senior government officials, donors, development partners, and community stakeholders.
- Strong experience establishing and overseeing Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) systems.
- Excellent leadership, strategic planning, problem-solving, negotiation, and decision-making skills.
- Demonstrated ability to lead high-performing and multicultural teams in complex operational environments.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in Spanish and English required, including the ability to prepare high-quality reports, presentations, donor communications, and strategic documentation.
- High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and program management systems.
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly within Honduras and internationally, as required by project needs and security conditions.
- Excellent leadership, team management, coaching, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire high-performing and multicultural teams.
- Strong strategic planning, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated ability to deliver results on time and within budget in dynamic operational contexts.
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly within Honduras and internationally, as required
- Experience working in Central America preferred.
- Familiarity with USDA commodity regulations and reporting systems.
- Experience leading consortium-based programming preferred.
- Experience with localization and locally led development approaches.
**Languages:**
Professional fluency in both English and Spanish required, including strong written communication skills.
**Key Responsibilities:**
**Strategic Leadership and Program Management**
- Provide overall vision, leadership, and strategic direction for program implementation.
- Ensure timely, high-quality, and results-oriented delivery of all program compon
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