Technical Advisor III MEAL LACRO

JOB DESCRIPTION

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

* Open to remote locations in the Americas, including USA.

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 lead strategy development for MEAL within LACRO and take lessons from the LACRO experience to global efforts. You will provide technical leadership and advice to LACRO programs, platforms, projects and sectoral technical advisors in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your expertise, leadership, and influence will be key in determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ programming is and its success at reaching impact at scale in LACRO and across the globe.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Provides technical review and support across range of sectoral projects.
• Lead design and implementation of LACRO-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices for MEAL that effectively engage partners, donors, and governments. Ensure a cross-sectoral approach that integrates agriculture, youth, peacebuilding, gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Incorporate required and emerging good practices into regional MEAL efforts and ongoing technical support.
• Lead development and advancement of LACRO and agency-wide standards, policies, innovative approaches and tools for MEAL including application of partnership principles, with particular emphasis on tracking impact at scale.
• Lead capacity strengthening initiatives for staff and partners through ensuring development of learning agendas/curriculums, organizing and/or facilitating trainings, workshops and conferences, leading a community of practice and mentoring and coaching staff in innovative CRS approaches and tools. Provide mentoring and coaching to TAs, as well as CP, platform and regional staff.
• Lead LACRO’s efforts to track and measure influence as part of its Platforms, its involvement in the Strategic Change Platforms, and its influence strategy. Play a leading rule in the development and implementation of the agency’s approach to measuring influence, in coordination with the CASCADE Project.
• Provide technical assistance to research activities in LACRO and serve on the MEAL Research Advisory working group that shares guidance and learning for the agency’s research efforts.
• Participate in the selection and onboarding of MEAL staff, ensuring the communication of an agency approach to MEAL.
• Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, and complete performance assessment for direct reports. Ensure integration of direct-reports as well as matrixed team members.
• Contribute to regional, platform and country program staff efforts to pre-position CRS for strategic growth opportunities through supporting consistent and meaningful data generation, storage, analysis and translation into evidence.
• Provide technical guidance in proposal development and project design with a focus on complex projects to ensure innovative MEAL solutions and technical excellence.
• Lead LACRO knowledge management and learning agendas through setting conditions for collective learning that ensure the capturing, documenting, and sharing of key successes, promising practices, lessons learned, and evidence-based implementation research, internally and externally, including publications in peer reviewed journals.
• Review scopes of work and proposals for project evaluations and research proposals, ensuring the highest quality standards are implemented in LACRO.
• Prepare LACRO Regional, Platform and Country Program staff as appropriate to represent CRS at regional and global forums, UN, Congress, and major donor forums to present CRS’ work and research to influence technical partner approaches, future funding opportunities, and policies. Network with relevant organizations to increase CRS’ profile in its priority areas, influence in the global agriculture, peacebuilding, community, and donor diversification.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in field(s) related to International Development required. PhD or equivalent degree (e.g., MD, DrPH, EdD) a plus.
• Minimum of seven years of work experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with three years overseas in multiple regions as a technical advisor and/or program manager of research, monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong understanding and application of technical principles and concepts for research, monitoring and evaluation.
• Good knowledge of related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Track record of contributing significantly to successful business development activities capturing public and/or private donor funding.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation including development of indicators, data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills to represent the organization at meetings with donors, government, international NGOs, local partners – faith-based and civil society. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications and strong understanding of information and budget management systems and knowledge-sharing networks.
• Experience in the development and production of curricula, tools, and other products to support monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning.
• Demonstrated experience to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and informal methods.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation including development of indicators, data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills to represent the organization at meetings with donors, government, international NGOs, local partners – faith-based and civil society. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications and strong understanding of information and budget management systems and knowledge-sharing networks.

Required Languages – English fluency, Spanish professional-level fluency, French desirable.

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 40%.

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.
• Excellent strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including research publications
• Excellent presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Preferred Qualifications

• Technical and/or academic publications highly desirable

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

• 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 LACRO Digital Solutions Manager; LACRO Land Restoration MEAL Manager; LACRO Peacebuilding MEAL Manager

Key Working Relationships:

Internal PIQA MEAL Unit Advisors; LACRO CP MEAL staff and managers; LACRO Platform leads and technical staff; LACRO HOPs; LACRO BD Managers; LACRO Communications staff; LACRO RTAs; GKIM

External Partners (including but not limited to the Catholic Church), PVOs, PVO networks, academic institutions, national governments. Donors. Peer agencies. Academic and research institutions.

***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.

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 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

ABOUT US

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.

ABOUT THE TEAM

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 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