Summer Hire (Assistant 1) – Capacity Building, Agriculture and Livelihoods, PIQA

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.

As an organization that celebrates and promotes diversity and inclusion, and which is committed to the ongoing work of racial equity and anti-racism, we welcome applicants of all backgrounds. CRS strongly encourages students from HSIs (Hispanic-Serving Institutions) and HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) as well as all students who identify as Latinx and/or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) to apply.

Lastly, 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.

Background:

CRS is dedicated to addressing hunger and food insecurity among vulnerable communities around the world, and our Agriculture and Livelihoods programming is evolving to address the growing complexity of poverty and food security. Climate change has significantly impacted agricultural production, leaving smallholder farmers particularly vulnerable. Additionally, an estimated 40% of agricultural lands are degraded. Unaddressed, land degradation and climate change threaten the world’s food and water supplies, and the loss of agriculture as a viable livelihood for the next generation. CRS is supporting farmers and governments to address these interrelated challenges through restoring degraded soils, farmlands, rangelands and watersheds; helping farmers mitigate and adapt to climate change; and ensuring farmers have the varied skills needed to succeed which we call the Skills for Marketing and Rural Transformation (SMART Skills). The SMART Skills include Work Effectively in Groups, Save, Access and Manage Finances, Sustainably Increase Production, Engage with Markets, and Innovate.

A key role of the headquarters-based Agriculture and Livelihoods team is to document and disseminate learning and resources for regional and country program staff. We are looking for a summer hire to support activities related to updating our SMART Skill training manuals and e-Learning courses.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Work with technical leads for each of the skill manuals to identify which photos need to be replaced with Story Lens photos.
• Support the identification of key photos in CRS StoryLens database for use in each of the SMART Skills version 2.0 training manuals being developed.
• Support the maintenance and improvement of the Skills for Marketing And Rural Transformation (SMART Skills) adaptations library. Ensure proper filing and tagging with metadata. Coordinate internally to help build out the library with additional relevant resources.
• Support other related work within the Ag & Livelihoods team as time allows.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: TA III for Knowledge Management and Scaling of Capacity Building, SMART Skill leads (NRM, Finances, Marketing, Farmer Groups, NRM), STA for Recovery and Resilience, STA for Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), Agriculture and Livelihoods staff

Key Working Relationships:

Internal

External

Qualifications

Qualifications:

Education and Experience

• Minimum 2-3 years of undergraduate education in agriculture, environmental studies/science, international development, or a related field.
• Basic knowledge of and interest in agriculture and livelihoods in developing countries,
• Experience and interest in training adults and working with educational materials would be a plus,
• Fluency in English,
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with web-based collaboration and communication systems technologies, including, but not limited to SharePoint, TEAMS, etc.
• Strong research and analytical skills
• Experience working with diverse groups

Personal Skills

• Self-directed and motivated with ability to work independently and remotely based on weekly activity plans and agreed upon deadlines
• Proactive, resourceful, and results-oriented
• Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities and needs
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

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

NOTE: All interested applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. at the time of application.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

EOE/M/F/D/V – CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.