Team Lead (Stabilisation and Peacebuilding)

Chemonics seeks a Team Leader for an anticipated multi-year programme supporting civilian dialogue, locally led peacebuilding, and the strengthening of Sudanese civil society organisations. The multi-year programme will look to support civilian dialogue and locally led peacebuilding in Sudan. The component for which Chemonics is bidding will operate as a fund management platform: making and managing grants to Sudanese civil society, community and diaspora organisations, and providing the assurance, accompaniment and learning functions that allow those organisations to work safely and effectively. The programme is not a service delivery or humanitarian programme. The programme will be delivered by a consortium of international and Sudanese partners, working across areas under different authorities and in exile. It will operate a deliberately light international platform in order to maximise the proportion of funding reaching Sudanese organisations, and will take an adaptive, politically informed approach in a volatile and rapidly changing operating environment. Role Summary The Team Leader is the most senior representative of the programme and is accountable to the Chemonics Programme Director for the overall success of programme delivery. They own the programme strategy, lead the consortium, manage senior stakeholder relationships, and ensure that the fund remains politically informed, conflict sensitive, and able to adapt as the operating context evolves. The Team Leader will be based in Addis Ababa, with regular rotation to Port Sudan and travel elsewhere in Sudan and the region as security conditions permit. Key Responsibilities Stakeholder and Donor Leadership Serve as the primary interface with programme stakeholders and funding partners, and act as the senior point of contact for any additional financing partners should the programme become a multi-donor initiative. Represent the programme to diplomatic missions, regional actors, and other relevant stakeholders, ensuring that programme outputs are responsive to broader engagement and policy priorities related to Sudan. Ensure coherence and division of labour with adjacent donor and multilateral programming in Sudan, avoiding duplication and unintended competition for the same local networks. Represent the programme in relevant coordination and learning forums with donors, the United Nations, and international and Sudanese peacebuilding actors. Strategy, Adaptation, and Thinking and Working Politically Own and periodically revise the programme strategy, theory of change, and prioritisation framework, ensuring resources are targeted strategically rather than spread evenly across themes and geographies. Lead a thinking and working politically approach across the programme, ensuring funding decisions reflect the political economy and conflict dynamics of the areas in which the programme operates. Convene consortium partners around scheduled reprogramming points and lead the implementation of agreed triggers to pause, pivot, or scale activities in response to changing circumstances. Ensure the programme maintains a credible, non-aligned position across areas under different authorities and is not perceived as aligned with any party to the conflict. Consortium Leadership Lead the consortium as a single, coherent delivery team under one management structure, with clear roles, decision-making authority, and escalation processes. Manage and periodically review partner roles, functions, and capacity, leading the onboarding and offboarding of partners as programme needs evolve. Represent the consortium to Chemonics leadership and external stakeholders and resolve disputes between partners when required. Sudanese Relationships and Local Legitimacy Together with the Director, Fund and Delivery, maintain senior relationships with Sudanese civil society, professional and community organisations, and diaspora networks, ensuring that the programme is trusted by the organisations it seeks to support. Promote an equitable partnership approach with Sudanese organisations rather than a subcontracting relationship and guard against the concentration of funding among a small number of well-connected organisations. Risk, Assurance, and Value for Money Act as the senior in-programme owner of political, reputational, fiduciary, and safeguarding risk, maintaining clear red lines and escalating issues to the Chemonics Programme Director as required. Ensure the programme demonstrates value for money by maintaining a lean international platform while maximising the proportion of funding reaching local organisations. Work with the Chemonics Programme Management Unit and consortium partners to ensure accurate budget forecasting and execution and to anticipate scale-up and scale-down scenarios. Ensure timely, high-quality reporting in accordance with programme requirements and contractual obligations. Team Leadership Supervise the Director, Fund and Delivery; the Deputy Team Leader, Risk, Assurance and Operations; and the Director, Analysis, Learning and Adaptation. Foster a duty of care culture appropriate to a high-risk, low-access environment, including for national staff and partner organisations. Ensure equitable access to professional development and progression opportunities and serve as a Chemonics ambassador at programme level. Experience, Skills And Qualifications Prior experience as a Team Leader, Chief of Party, Country Director, or equivalent on a stabilisation, peacebuilding, governance, or fund management programme. Deep knowledge of Sudan, or a comparable conflict-affected context characterised by contested authority, access constraints, and fragmented civil society. Demonstrated track record of thinking and working politically and translating political analysis into programming decisions. Experience leading grant-making funds, including onward granting to local organisations, and a strong understanding of the balance between fiduciary oversight and locally led delivery. Experience working with major bilateral or multilateral donors, including familiarity with reporting, value for money, and risk management requirements. Demonstrated ability to produce and present analysis and programme evidence to senior policy, diplomatic, and donor audiences. Experience leading consortia of international and national partners under a unified delivery structure. Demonstrated ability to lead large, dispersed teams remotely and sustain team performance through disruption and programme pauses. Willingness to travel regularly to Port Sudan and elsewhere in Sudan and the region and to work in security-constrained environments. Excellent written and spoken English. Working knowledge of Arabic is highly desirable. Chemonics is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. Safeguarding At Chemonics, safeguarding – protecting a person’s right to live safely, free from violence, abuse, and neglect – is integral to the work we do. We integrate safeguarding measures to protect our staff, partners, and communities from all forms of violence and apply a survivor-centered approach that is trauma-sensitive, human-rights informed, intersectional, and locally led. All job applicants will complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) basic check or equivalent overseas police check will be obtained for Chemonics employees prior to their start date.