Program Manager – Emergency Secondment to Caritas Kenya

Reports to: Deputy Secretary General (KCCB)/Director CPIHD and CRS Kenya Country Representative

Length of Contract: 6 months

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:

. . The loss of assets has further hindered their capacity to recover fast. Families are taking desperate measures to survive, with thousands leaving their homes in search of food, water and pasture. Conflicts over grazing lands and access to basic services are also o n the rise in relocation areas. In this context, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) is stepping up their support of vulnerable communities in impacted dioceses and has requested the rapid deployment and secondment of staff by CRS to accompany the phases of the response in 2022 and beyond.

Objectives:

You will provide technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program and operational issues to Caritas Kenya for the planned emergency response activities in line with CI and CRS program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to advance the delivery of high-quality emergency relief programming to the poor and vulnerable including in the following areas:

• In close collaboration with the affected dioceses, CRS Kenya emergency response team and HRD support Caritas Kenya in the start-up of appropriate responses to the humanitarian crisis in the country.
• Perform a mapping of drought affected dioceses and their capacities to implement emergency relief.
• Support Caritas Kenya to implement emergency response activities in their respective jurisdiction and facilitate the timely fund transfer mechanisms, and coordinate any CRS (Kenya or HRD TDY) direct support, and support from other Caritas Kenya partners
• Work with the senior leadership of affected dioceses to ensure sufficient staffing, clear lines of reporting, staff capacity, finance, procurement, and HR policies in line with resources and activities.
• Provide support to Caritas Kenya in developing effective implementation arrangements and communication protocols between the national office and the affected dioceses and timely updates to the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) and to the CI members and partners in Kenya as needed and as guided by KCCB.
• Coach, mentor and accompany Caritas Kenya staff and leadership to participate actively in humanitarian coordination fora at the national and diocesan levels.
• Ensure integration of social cohesion, trauma healing, and peacebuilding approaches in alignment with CI and CRS best practices.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and internal reports.
• As requested by KCCB, represent Caritas Kenya at cluster, donor and coordination meetings in the field and national level.
• Promote health and wellbeing of Caritas Kenya emergency staff.
• Promote safeguarding across Caritas Kenya and ensure quality implementation of CI & CRS safeguarding policies and principles across operations and programs.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented
• Knowledge of Humanitarian principles, standards and system, with specific knowledge of CRS and Caritas Internationalis emergency programming and standards a plus.
• Knowledge of design requirements and regulations of major emergency donors, including the US Government, EU/ECHO and UN agencies
• Highly proficient in security protocols and management of emergency programs in insecure environments
• Good knowledge of the Kenya Catholic Church structure
• Ability to work with local partner organizations
• Experience with and enthusiasm for coaching, mentoring and on the job training
• Ability to maintain performance expectations and strong working relationships in diverse cultural contexts, psychologically and physically stressful environments
• Practical knowledge/skills in Information and Community Technology (ICT) and Information Management
• Demonstrated commitment to respect, equity, diversity and inclusion including gender equality

Required Languages – High level of English spoken and written skills, and Swahili.

Travel – must be willing and able to travel up to 50% to the affected dioceses.

Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG)’s annual Short Rains Assessment, 02/2022.

Government of Kenya’s National Drought Management Agency’s short rains assessment.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in international development or other field(s) related to humanitarian programming required.
• Minimum of five years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of three years working for programming interventions in emergency response and recovery.
• Good knowledge of Caritas Internationalis coordination systems, emergency response mechanisms and Sphere Standards.
• Demonstrated ability with project grants management, including budget tracking, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, etc.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in emergency response and recovery programming. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in emergency response and recovery, including technical writing.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

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.

• Integrity
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation
• Builds Relationships
• Develops Talent
• Strategic Mindset
• Accountability & Stewardship

Supervisory Responsibilities: The position will undertake temporary supervision/management roles within Caritas Kenya as requested by KCCB.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: The position will report in-country to the Deputy General Secretary and Director of CPIHD within the KCCB. A dotted line reporting structure will exist to the CRS Kenya Country Representative.

Additional key contacts: CRS EARO (East Africa Regional Office) regional mgt team, CRS Kenya senior mgt team, CRS EARO & HRD (Humanitarian Response Department) Technical Advisors.

External: Local Church emergency partners; Caritas Internationalis Member Organization representatives; peer NGO and UN agency humanitarian staff; humanitarian donors; relevant Emergency Cluster and Working Group members.

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and opera tions. 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 welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successfu l 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

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.