Technical Advisor I-Safe and Dignified Programming (Remote)

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 and support to a range of program design and implementation issues in the area of Safe and Dignified Programming (SDP), including PSEA in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ Safe and Dignified programming is across the globe.

NOTE: This is a remote position; CRS will give preference to candidates who are based in countries where we have existing offices. CRS does not sponsor visas for remote employees.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Support the development and contribute to the implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools and best practices in SDP that effectively engage partners, donors, and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to CP teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools and M&E, helping to ensure high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to, and in some cases lead, the development of the technical design for proposals. Support the process of preparation, design, submission and approval of project concepts and full-fledged proposals. As needed, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Support capacity strengthening initiatives in Safe and Dignified programming for staff and partner through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and coaching.
• Collect and analyze program data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices for specific projects to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to the SDP learning agenda.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in the area of SDP to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong 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
• Good strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Good technical writing skills
• Presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Required Languages– Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English and working proficiency in French required.

Travel–

• Ability to travel to and work in disaster affected areas
• Ability to deploy on short notice (within 48-72 hours) when needed
• Must be willing and able to travel up to 50%

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: HRD SDP Team, Program Quality Team, and HRD Technical Advisors, CP and regional staff, HQ staff as relevant.

External: Partner staff, Safe and Dignified Working Group members, international and local non-governmental, members of Protection Mainstreaming technical forums, organizations, and relevant government representatives

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Humanitarian Studies, Social Sciences, International Development or another related field required.
• Minimum of three years relevant work experience with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of two years relevant field-based experience in SDP or Protection Mainstreaming.
• Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in SDP. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in project design and proposal development. Experience in writing content for proposals.
• Knowledge of capacity strengthening best practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation and analysis.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
• This position will likely support programming in Central and West Africa. Experience working in humanitarian response settings in West and/or Central African countries strongly preferred.
• Experience developing and updating sectoral tools and guidance for internal and external audiences in coordination with HRD team members and other CRS HQ Departments.
• Experience designing tailored trainings on SDP to address contextual challenges and make use of local capacity.
• Experience with participatory approaches to protection and/or gender mainstreaming.
• Demonstrated understanding of international protection standards, approaches and application of PSEA policies and best practices.

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.

***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.

Note: All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

To ensure the safety of our staff, our partners, and the people we serve, CRS requires that staff be vaccinated against Covid-19. CRS complies with all federal and state laws to allow for accommodations, as needed with supporting documentation. However, accommodations may limit the roles that candidates are eligible for based on role requirements (e.g., travel, meetings with staff, partner, donors).

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 successful candidate is an expatriate or working remote, 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