Technical Advisor II for Emergency Program Quality and Management

About CRS

JOB DESCRIPTION

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

The Humanitarian Response Department (HRD) provides leadership and support to CRS emergency programming. The HRD strengthens CRS’ impact through high quality, innovative programs; improved technical and management capacity at the field level; and active engagement in global efforts to promote excellence and learning in humanitarian response. The HRD has technical staff that supports emergency program planning, rapid response, and capacity strengthening of staff and partners worldwide.

NOTE: This is a global remote position; CRS will only consider candidates who are based in countries where we have existing offices. CRS does not sponsor visas for remote employees.

Job Summary

You will provide technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues with a focus on larger projects in the area of Emergency Response and Recovery in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to regional and Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable.

This Includes

• Providing rapid deployment program quality, management and leadership capacity for breaking and ongoing humanitarian responses;
• Guiding CPs and partners on humanitarian funding opportunities and supporting humanitarian proposal design/development, in coordination with the regional teams and the HRD sectoral technical advisors;
• Supporting emergency program quality/management knowledge management, capacity building and sharing as requested to ensure best practices and learning are shared across country programs/partners; and
• Engaging with the regional/CP teams to bring a humanitarian lens to discussions on broader program quality initiatives
  
  

Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ Emergency Response and Recovery programming is across the globe.

Roles And Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in Emergency Response and Recovery that effectively engage partners, donors and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to regional and CP teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
• Take on acting emergency leadership roles (e.g., Emergency Coordinator, Head of Office) and support the set up and/or management of emergency field offices, teams, and relief operations as requested during field deployments. Support may also be provided in other response functions such as security, staffing, supply chain/logistics, finance, IT/communications and administration, as needed.
• Contribute to efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in Emergency Response and Recovery. Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in Emergency Response and Recovery programming for staff and partners by helping to develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curricula, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff. Capacity strengthening approaches may include formal and on-the-job training; development/streamlining of operational policies/systems; accompaniment of partners, etc. as appropriate.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in forums in the area of Emergency Response and Recovery to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
• Represent the agency and partners at cluster, donor and coordination meetings in the field and at international cluster meetings, as requested.
• Promote health and wellbeing of CRS and partner emergency staff.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented
  
  

Required Languages: Proficiency (verbal and written) in English and French. Proficiency in Spanish or Arabic also preferred.

Travel: Must be willing and able to travel up to 60%; duration of a deployment will generally be from 3 to 8 weeks, depending on the needs of the country program. Candidates should have the capacity to live and work in difficult/stressful environments and serve wherever agency needs dictate.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• The position will often undertake temporary supervision/management roles within CRS country programs during deployments, as requested.
• Regular supervision responsibilities for other PQM team members within the HRD may also be assigned (TBD - based on need and interest of selected candidate).
  
  

Key Working Relationships

Internal: HRD PQM team; HRD technical and operations staff; Regional RTAs and DRD/PQs; Country Representatives, Heads of Programs, Emergency Coordinators and Emergency Program staff of relevant Country Programs.

External: Local emergency partners; Caritas Internationalis Member Organization representatives; peer NGO and UN agency humanitarian staff; humanitarian donors; relevant Emergency Cluster and Working Group members, as relevant.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in international development or other field(s) related to humanitarian programming required.
• Minimum of five years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of three years working for programming interventions in emergency response and recovery.
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is required.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in . General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in , including technical writing.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional relevant experience may substitute for some education.
• Knowledge of humanitarian principles, standards and system, with specific knowledge of CRS and Caritas Internationalis emergency programming and standards a plus.
• Knowledge of design requirements and regulations of major emergency donors, including the US Government, EU/ECHO and UN agencies
• Highly proficient in security protocols and management of emergency programs in insecure environments
• Ability to work with local partner organizations
• Experience with and enthusiasm for coaching, mentoring and on the job training
• Ability to maintain performance expectations and strong working relationships in diverse cultural contexts, psychologically and physically stressful environments
• Practical knowledge/skills in Information and Community Technology (ICT) and Information Management
  
  

Agency REDI Competencies (for All CRS Staff)

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity - Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust - Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.
  
  

Agency Leadership Competencies

• Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.
• Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
  
  

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Note: All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

CRS's talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people - especially children and vulnerable adults - to live free from abuse and harm.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate or global telecommuter, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer