Position: Chief of Party (CoP)
Project: Family-Focused HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment (FFHPCT)
Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with frequent travel to project regions
Project Areas: Central Ethiopia, Sidama, South Ethiopia and Southwest Ethiopia Regions
Employment Type: Full-time (fixed Term for One Year)

Duty station:    Hawassa
Reports to: Program Director

Supervises: HIV Services Director, OVC Services Director, MERL Director, Finance & GrantsDirector, Regional/Project Coordinators and other project staff

Application Deadline: 27 September 2026

 About Mary Joy Ethiopia

Mary Joy Ethiopia (MJE) is an Ethiopian-led organization committed to improving the lives of underserved and vulnerable populations through integrated humanitarian and development interventions, working with government, communities and development partners.

 Job Summary

The Chief of Party (COP) will provide overall strategic, technical, managerial, and operational leadership for the successful implementation of the project. The COP will serve as the principal representative of Mary Joy Ethiopia for the project and will be responsible for ensuring that all project activities are implemented in accordance with the approved project agreement, work plan, budget, donor requirements, organizational policies, and applicable laws and regulations.

The COP will provide strategic direction and ensure effective coordination among project staff, government institutions, community representatives, implementing partners, and other stakeholders. The position will promote a collaborative and multi-sectoral approach, strengthen stakeholder ownership, and ensure that project interventions achieve measurable, sustainable, and high-quality results.

 Key Responsibilities

A. Strategic and Overall Project Leadership

• Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for project implementation.
• Ensure that project activities are aligned with approved objectives, expected results, indicators, and implementation strategies.
• Lead the development, review, and updating of annual and periodic project work plans.
• Ensure timely implementation of activities and achievement of project milestones and deliverables.
• Identify implementation challenges and opportunities and lead appropriate corrective actions.
• Promote innovation, learning, adaptive management, and evidence-based decision-making throughout the project.

B. Project Management and Coordination

• Manage and coordinate the project team to ensure effective delivery of planned activities.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, reporting lines, and performance expectations for project staff.
• Facilitate regular project management and coordination meetings.
• Ensure effective collaboration among technical, finance, procurement, monitoring and evaluation, communications, and administrative teams.
• Monitor overall project performance against approved work plans, budgets, targets, and timelines.
• Ensure that project documentation and records are maintained accurately and systematically.

C. Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Development

• Serve as the principal liaison between Mary Joy Ethiopia, the donor, government counterparts, implementing partners, and other stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with relevant government bureaus, institutions, community structures, civil society organizations, private-sector actors, academic institutions, and development partners.
• Facilitate multi-sectoral coordination and promote synergies among project stakeholders.
• Represent the project in relevant meetings, forums, workshops, conferences, and coordination platforms.
• Strengthen stakeholder ownership and institutional commitment to promote sustainability beyond the project period.

D. Technical Leadership and Quality Assurance

• Provide strategic oversight of the technical implementation of project interventions.
• Ensure that project activities are technically sound, contextually appropriate, gender- and inclusion-responsive, and consistent with recognized standards and good practices.
• Work closely with technical specialists to ensure quality implementation and achievement of expected outcomes.
• Promote the use of evidence, lessons learned, and stakeholder feedback to improve project effectiveness.
• Ensure appropriate safeguarding, protection, gender, disability inclusion, and conflict-sensitive approaches are integrated into project implementation, where applicable.

E. Financial and Compliance Oversight

• Provide overall oversight of project financial performance in collaboration with the Finance and Administration team.
• Ensure that project expenditures are consistent with the approved budget and donor requirements.
• Monitor budget utilization and identify potential under- or over-spending risks.
• Ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the project agreement, donor regulations, and Mary Joy Ethiopia policies and procedures.
• Work closely with finance and administration teams to ensure timely financial reporting, documentation, procurement, and financial accountability.
• Support the preparation and review of budget revisions and other financial submissions as required.

F. Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Reporting

• Provide leadership for project monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning activities.
• Ensure that project performance is regularly assessed against agreed indicators, targets, outputs, and outcomes.
• Promote data quality, documentation of results, and evidence-based reporting.
• Lead the preparation and timely submission of high-quality narrative and performance reports to the donor and relevant authorities.
• Ensure that lessons learned, good practices, success stories, and project achievements are systematically documented and disseminated.
• Facilitate periodic project reviews and use findings to strengthen implementation.

G. Donor Communication and Representation

• Maintain regular and professional communication with the donor and provide timely updates on project progress, achievements, challenges, risks, and emerging issues.
• Coordinate donor visits, monitoring missions, review meetings, and other official engagements.
• Ensure that donor communications and reports are accurate, consistent, evidence-based, and submitted within agreed deadlines.
• Immediately communicate significant implementation, financial, safeguarding, security, or compliance issues through the appropriate channels.

H. Risk Management and Safeguarding

• Identify, assess, monitor, and mitigate operational, financial, technical, reputational, security, and implementation risks.
• Ensure that project staff and partners understand and comply with safeguarding and ethical standards.
• Promote a safe, inclusive, accountable, and respectful working environment.
• Ensure that concerns, complaints, incidents, and safeguarding issues are appropriately documented, reported, and addressed in accordance with established procedures.

I. Team Leadership and Capacity Development

 Provide effective leadership, mentoring, coaching, and supervision to project staff.

• Promote teamwork, professional development, accountability, and a results-oriented organizational culture.
• Identify staff capacity gaps and facilitate appropriate training and professional development opportunities.
• Conduct or contribute to staff performance assessments in accordance with organizational policies.
• Promote effective communication and collaboration within the project team and across relevant organizational departments.

Key Deliverables

The Chief of Party will be accountable for, among others:

• Timely and effective implementation of the approved project work plan.
• Achievement of agreed project outputs, outcomes, and performance indicators.
• High-quality technical and narrative reporting.
• Effective stakeholder coordination and partnership management.
• Compliance with donor and organizational requirements.
• Effective budget management and financial accountability.
• Regular identification and mitigation of project risks.
• Documentation and dissemination of lessons learned and good practices.
• Strengthened institutional ownership and sustainability of project interventions.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in Development Studies, Public Health, Social Sciences, Management, International Development, Project Management, or a related field. A relevant bachelor’s degree combined with substantial professional experience may also be considered.
• At least 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience in managing development or humanitarian projects, preferably in a senior project management position.
• Demonstrated experience managing donor-funded projects, preferably projects funded by the U.S. Government or other international development partners.
• Strong experience in project planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and financial oversight.
• Demonstrated experience in multi-sectoral stakeholder coordination and partnership management.
• Experience working with government institutions, civil society organizations, communities, and development partners.
• Strong understanding of donor compliance, contractual requirements, and project management principles.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Strong leadership, negotiation, problem-solving, analytical, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage teams, competing priorities, deadlines, and complex stakeholder environments.

Core Competencies

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Strategic leadership and vision
• Project and operational management
• Stakeholder engagement and partnership development
• Team leadership and people management
• Financial and compliance oversight
• Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
• Communication and representation
• Risk management and problem-solving
• Negotiation and conflict-resolution skills
• Accountability and integrity
• Adaptability and results orientation
• Commitment to gender equality, inclusion, safeguarding, and community participation

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to submit their application through the following

link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8EScNcAPihhJ9p7LGogCPP_QLcHA9Cyp0pNn7zg5AqL9gyg/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Job Requirements Master’s degree in Development Studies, Public Health, Social Sciences, Management, International Development, Project Management, or a related field. A relevant bachelor’s degree combined with substantial professional experience may also be considered or relative filed of study with relevant work experience out of with At least 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience in managing development or humanitarian projects, preferably in a senior project management position. How to Apply Interested applicants can send their CV and essential credentials with application letter to us by using the link