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:

You will provide technical advice, guidance, and support for all Supply Chain Management (SCM) activities and initiatives in compliance with CRS principles and standards, donor regulations, industry standards, and local requirements to regional and Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. You will deploy regularly to CRS country programs both for advisory support as well as in the roles of Acting Supply Chain Manager, Acting Procurement Manager, or other senior logistics roles. Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will ensure effectiveness and efficiency in SCM systems and application of the principles of stewardship, integrity, transparency, and accountability.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with operations and programming leads in CPs on implementing and strengthening Supply Chain systems, processes, and policies to meet all programming needs through anticipation and identification of issues and challenges and the most appropriate solutions to address them. Proactively mitigate security risks.
• Provide guidance on the development, strengthening and/or standardization of processes and tools for the end-to-end planning and implementation of agile supply chain systems covering logistics, procurement, warehousing, and transportation.
• Advise on the development and implementation of CP-level annual procurement plans and their roll-up into a regional procurement plan. Identify opportunities for procurement rationalization and/or coordination across the region for leveraging resources and negotiation power.
• Guide CPs on maintaining sound market intelligence systems, conducting regular market assessments, and network strategically with key commercial organizations to identify new potential suppliers.
• Contribute to maintaining proper conditions for learning where there is the sharing of ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to small deficiencies. Strengthen documentation systems. Analyze data, evaluate systems, capture and share lessons learned and best practices, and complete internal reports.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching, which includes cross-departmental learning.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or other relevant field required. Master’s Degree preferred. Professional certification(s) in supply chain a plus.
• Minimum of 7 years work experience, ideally with an international organization, with progressive responsibility in supply chain/logistics/procurement management within the context of international and local supply chain. Experience in relief commodity management is a plus.
• Experience with USAID Title II commodity programming, USDA monetization programming, and/or WFP programming is highly preferred.
• Additional education may substitute for some experience.
• Strong knowledge of general procurement and trading policies and regulations, international import/export legislation, and customs regulations. Understanding of Generally Accepted Commodity Accountability Principles (GACAP).
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.

Required Languages – English required; Arabic preferred.

Travel– 50% travel, particularly to Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision
• Strong strategic, analytical, organizational, and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Ethical conduct in accordance with recognized professional and organizational codes of ethics
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented 

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficient in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio) and information management systems. Experience with ERP systems highly preferred.

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: none

Key Working Relationships: 

Internal: Regional operations team, particularly supply chain and Insight team members. Country program supply chain and operations staff. Program staff.

External: Vendors, consultants, and partners.

***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

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements