Chief of Party

The Chief of Party provides overall strategic, technical, operational and financial leadership for the Water for Resilience Programme (W4R) in Somalia. The role is accountable for achieving programme outcomes, ensuring high-quality implementation, maintaining donor compliance, managing strategic partnerships, and representing the programme with key stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall implementation of the W4R programme across all target corridors, ensuring alignment with approved programme documents, donor commitments, annual workplans and budgets.
• Provide strategic direction to programme teams and implementing partners to ensure delivery of programme outcomes, outputs and targets.
• Translate the programme Theory of Change into practical implementation strategies for systemic and sustainable change in the water market ecosystem.
• Lead planning processes and communicate implementation priorities to teams and stakeholders.
• Oversee development and implementation of operational, procurement, staffing plans and spending forecasts.
• Conduct regular programme performance reviews and develop corrective action plans.
• Establish adaptive management systems to adjust approaches based on learning, evidence, climate shocks, conflict dynamics, market changes and feedback.
• Integrate climate resilience, gender equality, social inclusion, accountability, conflict sensitivity and sustainability principles across interventions.
• Lead strategic discussions with DRC Senior Management on programme direction, risks and opportunities.
• Ensure focus on strengthening local systems, sustainable market functions and reducing external dependency.
• Oversee programme risk management plans and mitigation.
• Provide leadership during programme reviews, donor missions, evaluations and governance meetings.
• Ensure programme contributes to DRC Somalia's strategic objectives and donor priorities.
• Oversee water market systems assessments, ecosystem mapping and corridor diagnostics.
• Provide oversight to interventions targeting water service providers, companies, committees, operators and SMEs.
• Address systemic market constraints affecting water service access, affordability, quality and sustainability.
• Guide identification of market failures, business growth opportunities and investment barriers.
• Oversee business diagnostics, due diligence and capacity gap analyses.
• Implement tailored Business Development Service packages for water ecosystem actors.
• Ensure technical assistance in business planning, governance, operations, customer service, financial management and investment readiness.
• Facilitate strategic partnerships between private sector, government and financial service providers.
• Promote commercially viable, climate-resilient and inclusive business models.
• Strengthen local supply chains supporting water infrastructure operation and maintenance.
• Implement water ecosystem strengthening initiatives for operational efficiency and service quality.
• Support private sector platforms and learning networks for peer learning and collaboration.
• Ensure improved access, affordability and reliability of water services for target communities.
• Lead development and operationalization of catalytic financing mechanisms for climate-resilient water service delivery.
• Oversee financing governance structures, eligibility criteria, selection frameworks and SOPs.
• Ensure financing mechanisms are market-compatible and non-distortive.
• Identify, screen and select enterprises eligible for catalytic financing.
• Manage investment pipelines for water companies, SMEs and service providers.
• Implement investment readiness assessments and business strengthening.
• Engage with commercial banks, microfinance, impact investors, diaspora and development finance actors.
• Conduct due diligence before financing decisions.
• Support negotiation and structuring of financing arrangements.
• Organize investment forums, matchmaking events and investor engagement platforms.
• Monitor performance of financed enterprises and ensure sustainability and service delivery improvements.
• Document lessons learned and integrate into programme learning.
• Promote scalable innovative financing models beyond programme lifecycle.

Requirements

• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience managing large-scale development, resilience, climate adaptation, water sector, or economic development programmes, with at least 5-6 years in senior leadership positions.
• Extensive experience in designing and implementing Market Systems Development (MSD) and Private Sector Engagement (PSE) programmes.
• Demonstrated experience building and managing strategic partnerships with government institutions, private sector actors, donors, financial institutions, NGOs and development partners.
• Significant experience in managing country or regional programs, including at country senior management level.
• Experience facilitating access to finance, catalytic financing mechanisms, blended finance, challenge funds, investment readiness and enterprise growth initiatives.
• Significant experience with effective coordination with national partners, local/government authorities, NGO partners, UN and other relevant stakeholders.
• University degree in international development, human rights, political affairs, social work, or another relevant field.
• Fluency in spoken and written English required.
• Somali language an advantage.

Skills

• Programme Management
• Resilience Programming
• Climate Change Adaptation
• Water Sector Knowledge
• Economic Development
• Market Systems Development
• Private Sector Engagement
• Strategic Partnership Development
• Donor Compliance
• Financial Leadership
• Country Programme Management
• Regional Program Management
• Access to Finance Facilitation
• Catalytic Financing Mechanisms
• Blended Finance Structuring
• Challenge Funds Management
• Investment Readiness Support
• Enterprise Growth Initiatives
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Operational Leadership

Languages

English, Somali