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, Health, Agriculture, Peace Building, Youth Livelihoods, Education and Capacity Strengthening.

Context:

This program will strategically draw upon the expertise of a pool of local, regional and international volunteers with expertise in multiple project-related areas. These Agri volunteers will be selected to serve in well-targeted, short-term, high-impact volunteer field assignments which will support capacity building and peer-to-peer technical exchange. The project will leverage local volunteer expertise from within Liberia, while also tapping into global networks within the West Africa region and from the United States.

Background:

CRS began working in Liberia in 1957, with a permanent country program office opening in 1990 to provide life-saving relief in response to emergencies and to address issues of chronic poverty and injustice through innovative and sustainable development programs. CRS Liberia has since developed programs in peacebuilding, youth livelihoods, health systems strengthening, and urban water, sanitation, and hygiene. Key partners include the Government of Liberia, The Catholic Church and other local faith-based and Civil Society organizations in Liberia.

Job Summary

As the Chief of Party, you will manage the Agriculture Programming in Liberia, from Country project Start-up, Implementation and Close-out, and ensures the project delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving its impact.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage and lead technical, budget management, monitoring and reporting activities through the project cycle – project start-up, implementation and close-out – to ensure efficient and effective implementation in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices. Ensure project team and partner staff use the appropriate systems and tools.
• Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, contribute to the recruitment process of project staff, and complete performance management for direct reports.
• Represent Project in meetings with Donor, relevant government agencies, within CRS Country Programs and with other development partners.
• Identify the host organizations with whom CRS can have a long-lasting relationship and that meet the goals of the project. Coordinate relationship-building efforts including host visits, conference calls and other contacts, applying CRS partnership principles.
• Take lead in developing volunteer assignment scopes of work aligned to the approved country projects
• Coordinate closely with the CRS Liberia CP programming and management quality departments, fully representing the project at the CP level
• Ensure consistent visibility of all project activities. Ensure project fact sheet statistics are kept up to date.
• Budget management: Under oversight of the Country Manager, and in coordination with the Liberia finance team, ensure activities are undertaken and aligned with the approved, donor budget; ensure electronic forecasting is done according to internal policy; ensure e budget is updated; ensure monthly budget comparison reviews (BCR) are undertaken regularly and any anomalies addressed on time.
• Lead and manage project level data collection activities using set project MEAL tools to support project management decisions through accurate and timely tracking of outcomes and impacts.
• Lead and coordinate all reporting processes to Donor; manage the development of all official documentation produced for the project (success stories, lessons learned, case studies, etc.)

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Master’s Degree in International Development, International Relations, program management or in the field of Agriculture required. Additional experience may substitute for some education.
• 7 or more years’ relevant management and technical experience,
• 5 years’ experience managing donor funds.
• 5 years of staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.

Required Languages– Able to clearly communicate in written and spoken English

Travel– 50 percent of the time is anticipated to be spent in the field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Project management experience is highly desirable.
• Experience engaging with partner organizations.
• Experience contributing to the development of technical proposals.
• MEAL skills and experience preferred.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information management systems

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with culturally diverse groups.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to author reports
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented

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–(3) Three persons

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: The Project Staff

External:CRS HQ, Government line Ministries and Agencies, CRS partners, Project beneficiaries, Donors and other identified key stakeholders.

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carriers 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 the vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, 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 is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

**This position is contingent on funding and is open to national and international applicants. Females are highly encouraged to apply **