Deputy Chief of Party for Market Fundamentals

Since its establishment in 1985, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) project aims to sustainably prevent food insecurity and famine across the globe by delivering to the U.S. Government and partners early warning on the location, causes, and magnitude of current and future food insecurity; improving the quality and timeliness of information and analysis useful for achieving sustainable food security; and strengthening innovative local, national, regional, and international capabilities to understand and appropriately address current, recurrent, and likely future food insecurity. Chemonics has been implementing FEWS NET since 2000, beginning its eighth phase (FEWS NET 8) in 2024.  

FEWS NET 8 Knowledge Base (FEWS NET 8 KB) is a $65 million project which will create and update FEWS NET’s knowledge base about livelihood zones and market systems on which FEWS NET’s acute food insecurity early warning analyses are predicated, thereby ensuring the allocation of effective emergency food assistance.

The Deputy Chief of Party for Market Fundamentals (DCOP-M) is responsible for the project’s market fundamentals deliverables and technical leadership on markets analysis. The project is expected to conduct market fundamentals studies in approximately 30 countries over five years. The DCOP-M must have at least ten years of progressively responsible international work experience that includes conducting food and agriculture market analyses; familiarity with the market structure, conduct, and performance framework of market analysis; use of rapid rural appraisal and other qualitative assessment methods; use of quantitative methods as necessary; commodity food balance accounting; agricultural production and subnational regional trade patterns; and agricultural policies.  

Responsibilities:

• The DCOP-M must demonstrate management expertise to ensure that staff is functioning in an effective and accountable manner with a clear and coordinated division of labor to ensure the efficient implementation of the task order.
• Design and conduct the project’s national market fundamentals studies in in a way that aligns with FEWS NET’s analysis needs
• Where needed, oversee the development and documentation of structured questionnaire guidelines for use in the countries of performance as well as the training of the national-hire market specialists and translation of these questionnaire guidelines into the appropriate local languages
• Lead on the production of market fundamentals reporting and communications deliverables that summarize the market fundamentals analysis & outcomes and which support analysts in understanding the baseline market context in each country
• Ensure high-quality delivery of all market fundamentals contract deliverables
• Represent FEWS NET at technical fora, with frequent engagements with the client and other FEWS NET mechanisms
• Contribute to the continued innovation of project and sector methods, tools, and approaches
• Leadership and management skills are equally important as technical qualifications. The DCOP-M will demonstrate good communication skills and sensitivities in cross-cultural settings. The DCOP-M must possess strong interpersonal skills to manage a multicultural and multi-disciplinary team operating simultaneously in multiple locations, ensuring that all staff function in an effective and accountable manner with a clear coordinated division of labor to ensure the efficient implementation of each Marker Fundamentals report.
• In addition to items listed, incumbents are expected to follow organization policies, adhere to organization processes and programs and perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• Master's degree or higher in a field closely related to food security {economics, sociology, agricultural marketing, food security assessment, early warning, geography, public sector management or planning, public policy, public health, remote sensing, or another relevant field)
• Ten (10) years of work experience designing and implementing market assessments in the field and across the life cycle with a preference for at least two of these years demonstrating experience conducting structure-conduct-performance studies, and at least one (1) year cumulative of this experience working overseas in the field in a developing country context
• Three (3) years of senior-level experience required in managing personnel or teams in an activity with staff operating out of multiple offices; experience managing diverse staff across multiple countries preferred
• English fluency is required