Chief of Party II – Regional Resilience Activity, Sahel At Catholic Relief Services

Job Title: Chief of Party II – Regional Resilience Activity, Sahel

Reports to: Country Representative

Department: Program

Salary Grade: 12

Note: This position is dependent upon funding, as well as the donor’s approval of the proposed Chief of Party.

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 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.

Job Summary:

CRS is seeking a Chief of Party II (COP) for the anticipated 5-year USAID Regional Resilience Activity in the Sahel project. The CoP will provide vision, leadership and overall management of the Regional Resilience Activity in the Sahel funded by USAID. The program seeks to expand resilience in the Sahel, improving the ability of individuals, households, and communities to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from perennial shocks and stresses. This grant will be implemented in several countries, including Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and the Gambia. Your strategic leadership, management and technical knowledge will ensure the delivery of high-quality programming and position CRS as a leading agency in resilience in the Sahel. As a senior leader you will proactively manage security and mitigate security risks. The program is anticipated to start in 2024 and this position will be based in one of the Sahel countries.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Lead all aspects of the development, implementation and consolidation of the Regional Resilience Activity, including sharing how the project contributes to the thought leadership of the industry.
• Serve as the primary point of contact to USAID as well as public, private and non-government stakeholders.
• Ensure the project is designed and implemented to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget, including strategies for phase out and sustainability. Ensure coordination between program and operations leads. Ensure the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures.
• Effectively manage senior programming and operations talent. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Oversee the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff.
• 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. Ensure donor compliance, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration and reporting to USAID. Approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and cost modification requests to donors.
• Represent CRS programming in international circles, highlighting innovative work. Publish program results and deliver presentations. Oversee the development of communication strategies and materials, complying with donor and CRS’ branding and marketing requirements and procedures.
• Manage relationships with consortium partner organizations, including organization of review/planning workshops. Coordinate 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 ensure the design and delivery of high-quality training and technical assistance.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in International Development, Agriculture, Rural Livelihoods, Climate Change or a relevant technical area. PhD preferred.
• 10 or more years’ relevant management and technical experience.
• 7 years’ experience managing donor funds, including multi country grants. Excellent knowledge and experience in budget management.
• 5 years of staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment. Experience coaching and mentoring senior program staff.

Required Languages – French and English fluency, including excellent oral and written skills, required.

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 40 %.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Excellent 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/mentoring skills.
• Strong communications and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

• Established leader in 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 a plus.
• 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.

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.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Deputy Chief of Party, MEAL Lead, others TBD based on project staffing structure

Key Working Relationships: Internal: Country Representatives of Burkina Faso, Cameroon-Chad, Lebanon; Country Manager (The Gambia); Head of Office (Chad), Deputy Regional Directors of Programming and Operations, Heads of Programming, Heads of Operations, Finance Managers, Regional Technical Advisors, HQ Teams

External: USAID, UN partners, international and local NGO partners, government agencies, research institutions, church partners, local authorities, community representatives, private sector actors

***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. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

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

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices. CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer