Job Description
About CRS:
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 consideration of race, religion, or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.
CRS has been operating in Nigeria for over 25 years, with extensive experience across all 36 states. The organization has substantial expertise in building resilient agriculture-led livelihoods, enhancing agricultural value chains, and advancing market systems. CRS has successfully implemented several USAID-funded agriculture and livelihood development projects, including the Feed the Future (FtF) Agriculture and Livelihoods project and the Water for Agriculture initiatives across the Northeast and Northwest regions. Additionally, CRS is leading value chain initiatives such as the BASICS project, which focuses on developing cassava value chains.
Job Summary
As Deputy Chief of Party II, you will provide overall management of and have responsibility for an area of the USAID-FtF Resilience project, and act on behalf of the Chief of Party as needed, including global representation to the donor to serve the poor and vulnerable. Your management and technical knowledge will ensure the delivery of high-quality programming and advance the position of CRS as a leading agency in the fields of Agriculture, Nutrition, Livelihoods and Market Systems Development Resilience. As a senior leader you will proactively manage security and mitigate security risks.
Roles And Key Responsibilities
- Manage key aspects of the development, implementation, and consolidation of the USAID FtF Resilience project. Serve as a technical point of contact to USAID-FtF as well as public, private and non-government stakeholders, when needed.
- Manage key technical functions of the project to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget. Support the CoP to ensure coordination between program and operations leads. Contribute to ensuring the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) policy and procedures.
- Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Contribute to the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff.
- Collaborate with the CoP to manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and regional issues that may impact staff and programming. Ensure all staff understand and adhere to CRS staff safety and security policies and plans and ensure the updating of such plans.
- Promote, uphold, and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Help ensure compliance with USAID-FtF grant regulations, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration, and reporting to USAID.
- Maintain relationships with key staff of consortium partner organizations. Contribute to coordination of the roles and activities of staff from other consortium member organizations in implementation in line with CRS partnership principles.
- Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies. Identify performance gaps and training opportunities for CRS and partner staff and recommend training and technical assistance.
Knowledge, Skills And Abilities
- Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
- Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
- Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Coaching skills.
- Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.
Preferred Qualifications
- Recognized leader in the sector as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, etc.
- Demonstrated experience of successful program management, including management of complex, high-value, multi-activity projects, with complicated logistics.
- Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy is a plus.
- Familiarity with USAID’s Resilience Policy and USAID's overall thinking and approaches to building resilience.
- FtF experience desired
- Ability to represent and present at high levels.
- Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.
Required Languages - Fluency in English is required
Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 20%.
Supervisory Responsibilities - Sub-Technical Leads/ Program Managers
Qualifications
Basic Qualifications
- Master’s degree in International Development, International Relations or a relevant technical area.
- 7 or more years’ relevant management and technical experience.
- 5 years experience managing donor funds, including multi country grants. Strong knowledge and experience in budget management.
- Recognized technical experience and qualifications in sector as demonstrated by peer reviewed publications, conference presentations etc.
- Demonstrated experience of successful management, including management of functions of complex, high-value, multi-activity projects, with complicated logistics.
- Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment. Experience coaching.
Safeguarding
CRS is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all people who interact with our work. We uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and expect all staff and partners to respect and protect the dignity and rights of everyone from any form of harm, abuse, harassment, or exploitation. All staff are required to follow CRS’s safeguarding policies and procedures and to complete mandatory safeguarding e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
Agency-wide 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 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 is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
About Us
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.
About The Team
CRS' 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