*This post is contingent on donor funding and donor approval of the candidate.

About CRS:

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.  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.

Background:

CRS Sudan will be implementing an emergency food security program to address acute food security shocks in Sudan. The project will serve as a food pipeline for affected populations in Central and West Darfur.

Job Summary:

As a member of the project Senior Management Team, you will provide strategic direction, leadership, and management of the consortium programming technical team to ensure the establishment and successful implementation of high-quality interventions serving the poor and vulnerable. Within CRS, this includes supervision of senior managers and technical advisors for targeting, early warning systems, protection, gender, safeguarding, disability inclusion, youth, nutrition, and environmental impact. You will be responsible for ensuring timely communication on concerns about performance, harmonizing approaches, standardization and progress on targets. In particular, you will work with project partners to develop common technical strategies and approaches for each intervention area and ensure that activities are implemented in an integrated manner across the consortium to achieve maximum program impact. Your leadership, management and knowledge will ensure that the project delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the impact of its work.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic direction for design of the project’s strategic frameworks and plans, including resource mobilization to optimize the impact of interventions in line with donor, regional and agency strategic priorities.
• Coordinate with project partners to achieve high levels of program quality through technical oversight and guidance; consortium-wide learning; and effective management of resources as per donor regulations.
• Support donor relations, via development of high-quality communications, branding strategy, and overseeing the project’s business development cycle to ensure quality applications per agency and donor standards.
• Effectively manage talent and supervise staff. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, and complete performance assessment for direct reports. Contribute to developing staffing plans for projects and to the recruitment process of senior project staff.
• Lead high-quality design incorporating project management standards, appropriate to scope, context, and technical requirements of the project. Coordinate planning of activities across crosscutting sectors to ensure integration and efficiency of interventions.
• 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. In collaboration with the Technical Advisor MEAL, promote accountability, learning and knowledge management overseeing implementation of the MEAL policy, as well as cross-sectoral and cross-department learning. Ensure that the project technical working groups meet on a regular basis, identify lessons learned, solve problems and harmonize approaches.
• Coordinate with Program Manager Risk and Compliance to ensure appropriate project budgeting, efficient use and stewardship of project sources.
• Support identification, assessment and strengthening of new and existing partnerships and the appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools, and approaches.
• Ensure technical assistance and capacity strengthening for project partner teams in project management standards, business development and operational activities. Identify training opportunities, develop training curriculums, and deliver trainings.
• Lead development of periodic progress reporting, final project reporting and annual Pipeline and Resource Estimate Proposal (PREP) submission to donors, coordination with the Chief of Party (CoP), other DCoPs and consortium partners to provide relevant updates and information.
• Identify innovation, including use of new technologies and ICT4D for program quality, in collaboration with the ICT4D Technical Advisor and respective technical areas and facilitate its adaptation and application within the context of the project across consortium partners.
• Support CoP to liaise between the project teams and other stakeholders from Government, donors, international agencies and NGOs, consortium partners, East Africa Regional Office and CRS HQ. Represent the project at external meetings and varied fora as related to the technical areas, notably early warning, protection and inclusion, emergency nutrition, and ensure that the project experiences are shared with others and learning is leveraged for the benefit of the wider the humanitarian community.

Basic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in International Development, International Relations or relevant field.
• Minimum of seven years of relevant field-based program management, at least three years of middle/senior management experience.
• Minimum of five years’ experience managing donor funds, including strong knowledge of USAID and USG grant regulations and procedures.
• Prior management of USAID funding required; knowledge of Title II or IDA policies and procedures preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in consortium management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a technical team in two or more of the following areas: early warning analysis, nutrition, gender, protection/safeguarding, inclusion (disability, youth), environmental impact, and/or MEAL.
• Experience in the development of successful proposals, reports, strategic alliances, project design, project management, and monitoring and evaluation.
• Experience in partner capacity strengthening, staff development, training, and mentoring, as well as in team building and strategic planning initiatives. Experience working with Church partners a plus
• Experience in successful business development activities and project grants management, including project design, budget preparation, expenditure tracking, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, etc., preferably for projects funded by multiple public donors, including USAID.

Required Languages – Fluent written and spoken English is required; fluent written and spoken Arabic is preferred.

Travel – Must be able and willing to travel in Sudan up to 50%, including remote field locations.

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.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Experience in leading/coordinating USAID PREP processes, and USAID report writing.
• Knowledge and experience in Title II and IDA program areas of emergency food assistance, nutrition, cash assistance, consortium management, early recovery.
• Demonstrated ability to work both strategically and at an appropriate level of detail to lead a complex program and consortium, excellent analytical skills.
• Demonstrated capacity to understand sector-level best practices and challenges while coordinating program strategies via a participatory approach.
• Excellent partnership skills and the ability to interact effectively with donors, collaborating agencies, and local partners.
• Strong presentation and facilitation skills.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions oriented, and results oriented.
• Flexibility, persistence, and ability to work well with people and cross-cultural skills
• Excellent English writing skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.
• Experience and abilities in capacity strengthening – developing curricula and facilitating trainings.
• Experience using MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, and knowledge sharing networks.

Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory Responsibilities: MEAL TA II, ICT4D TA and Early Warning and Targeting PM

Internal: Chief of Party, Deputy Chiefs of Party, Country Representative, Deputy Regional Director – Program Quality, regional and global Technical Advisors

External: Project partners, INGO/NGO networks, Government counterparts, USAID

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.

If applicable: Work Conditions/Environment Conditions

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.