Job Title: Chief of Party II – Iraq Civic Engagement Activity

Job Location: Erbil, Iraq

Reports to: Country Representative, Iraq

Salary Grade: 12

*This post is contingent on donor funding and donor approval of the candidate.

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, governance, microfinance and peacebuilding. 

Since 2014, CRS has served more than 350,000 people across Iraq through six offices with over 100 staff. CRS centralizes localization and partnerships in its programming, and maintains strong networks with Civil Society Organizations, government, INGOs and other key international and national stakeholders throughout Iraq, including in Anbar, Baghdad, Duhok, Kirkuk and Ninewa governorates. CRS works together with diverse communities to strengthen the country’s institutions and local governance, restore basic services and increase citizen engagement, and support the most vulnerable to live in peaceful, resilient, and dignified communities.

Job Summary: 

Pending a successful application and donor approval, as Chief of Party II, you will provide vision, leadership and overall management of the anticipated five-year USAID-funded Iraq Civic Engagement Activity (ICEA). The proposed program will foster a more politically engaged citizenry in Iraq, enhancing trust and participation in the country’s democratic processes. This activity seeks to elevate civic literacy, empower citizens to actively engage and contribute to discussions on issues of concern and to equip citizens with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate effectively in the democratic processes. This includes fostering awareness of governmental processes, promoting access to accurate media content, facilitating increased engagement with government entities at various levels, and empowering citizens to participate in public life. The expected result is a more resilient and participatory democracy in Iraq, with a particular emphasis on empowering marginalized groups. 

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Lead all aspects of the implementation and consolidation of an anticipated multi-year civic engagement program to achieve project goals and objectives. 
• Lead the development of a vision and strategy for the program. Provide technical leadership in areas such as civic participation/engagement, social and political empowerment, information integrity, and local capacity strengthening.
• Serve as the primary point of contact to the donor, providing regular project updates, as well as foster relationships with relevant public, private, media, and non-government stakeholders.  
• Manage relationships with partner organizations, including organization of review/planning workshops. Coordinate the roles and activities of staff from other consortium member organizations in implementation in line with CRS partnership principles.
• Ensure the project is designed and implemented to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget, including strategies for phase out and sustainability. Ensure coordination between program and operations leads. Ensure the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with USAID rules and regulations, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration and reporting to donor. Approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and donor cost modification requests. Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources.
• Effectively manage senior programming and operations talent. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Oversee the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff.
• Manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and regional issues that may impact staff and programming. Ensure all staff understand and adhere to CRS staff safety and security policies and plans and ensure the updating of such plans. 
• Represent CRS programming in international circles, highlighting innovative work. Publish program results and deliver presentations. Oversee the development of communication strategies and materials, complying with donor and CRS’ branding and marketing requirements and procedures.
• Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies. Identify performance gaps and training opportunities for CRS and partner staff and ensure the design and delivery of high-quality training and technical assistance.