Deputy Director – RAICES, El Salvador At Catholic Relief Services

Job Title: Deputy Director – RAICES El Salvador

Reports to: Director – RAICES El Salvador

Department: OverOps/El Salvador

Salary Grade: 11

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. In Central America, CRS has over a decade of experience with CRS programs focused on sustainable agriculture, soil restoration and water resources management. With more than 50 years of ongoing presence in El Salvador, CRS is committed to sustainable solutions that prioritize local partners and leverage the public and private sector to promote sustainable agriculture practices across the country.
Background:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is recruiting a Deputy Director to help lead a long-term, transformative program focused on smallholder farmers in El Salvador. The Agriculture Landscape Restoration Initiative (ALRI), locally known as RAICES, i s funded from 2018-2030 and forms the core of CRS’ development strategy for El Salvador and an anchor program for CRS’ global strategy for land restoration and sustainable agriculture. Launched in 2018 with funding from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, RAICES is designed as a landscape-based program to promote sustainable agriculture practices across a wide territory and to serve as a model for effective long-term agricultural development programs. The core of the program strategy involves revitalizing soils through cover cropping, integrated soil fertility management, and other basic agronomic practices. The program focuses primarily on smallholder, hillside farmers and works at scale by building a robust extension network that invests in the formation of community-level field promoters. RAICES is designed to promote water-smart agricultural practices, conservation agriculture, and agricultural enterprise development with the goal of creating jobs within a robust agri cultural economy. It is led by CRS, in collaboration with local NGOs, research institutes and public sector partners.
Job Summary:
The Deputy Director will oversee field-level program activities and ensure program targets are met. The Deputy Director will support the Director in liaising with the donor on technical matters, and respond to any donor inquiries. The position is based in El Salvador, and CRS will put a high priority on Salvadoran applicants.
Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Manage key functions of the project to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget. Contribute to ensuring coordination between program and operations leads. Contribute to ensuring the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per 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.
• 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 donor regulations for grants, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration and reporting.
• 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 of 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 trainings and technical assistance.

  Required Languages – Professional Fluency in Spanish required (written and verbal), and competent English (written and verbal) preferred

  Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 60% and will require some international travel of up to 10%.

  Supervisory Responsibilities: The Deputy Director will supervise several project staff.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy a plus.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.

  Basic Qualifications:

• Recognized leader in agriculture and/or natural resources management, with advanced degree in related field
• 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.

***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 is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.