Resilience and Sustainability Senior Advisor

NOTE: This position is contingent upon donor approval

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:

The Resilience and Sustainability Senior Advisor (RSSA) will provide strategic vision and leadership, and ensure accountability for promoting and achieving RFSA resilience and sustainability goals. The RSSA will also be responsible for establishing and managing systems to ensure resilience and sustainability and ensure that the technical RFSA sectors including natural resource management, nutrition, agriculture, and youth livelihoods work together to create multiplier effects. The RSSA will ensure resilience and sustainability results are delivered, including the development and achievement of resilience and sustainability metrics, phase out plans, exit strategies, etc. The RSSA will identify and promote appropriate integration, layering, and sequencing of technical interventions within the RFSA and USAID Mission investments to amplify sustained impact.

The RSSA acts as a specialist in resilience and sustainability and maintains a depth of understanding of local, departmental, and national policies and guidance related to resilience and sustainability. The RSSA will be responsible for providing vision and leadership in fostering effective community engagement and development strategies and approaches and identifying local solutions that will ensure buy-in and ownership of the communities’ own development and contribute to the durability of RFSA investments after the completion of the program. The RSSA will help maintain overall strategic coherence, coordination, including stakeholder engagement and communications with Haiti Mission teams, the international donor community, Government of Haiti (at the local, departmental, and national levels), and other stakeholders.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Manage key aspects of the development, implementation and consolidation of the Haiti RFSA project. Serve as a point of contact to USAID as well as public, private and non-government stakeholders, when needed.
• Manager key functions of the project, resilience and sustainability efforts in particular, to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget. Contribute to ensuring coordination between program and operations leads.Contribute to ensuring the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures.
• Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Contribute to 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.
• Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Help ensure compliance with USAID rules and regulations, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration and reporting to USAID.
• Maintain relationships with key staff of consortium partner organizations. Contribute to coordination of the roles and activities of staff from other consortium member organizations in implementation in line with CRS partnership principles.
• Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing of 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 recommend trainings and technical assistance.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in development studies, international relations, agriculture, nutrition, public health, business administration, or a related field.
• Ten years related experience in the area of specialization.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), and Web Conferencing Applications.

Required Languages – English and French fluency required.

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 30-50 % domestically with periodic international travel.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Coaching skills.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

• 7 or more years’ relevant management and technical experience.
• 5 years’ experience managing donor funds, including multi country grants. Strong knowledge and experience in budget management.
• Recognized technical experience and qualifications in sector as demonstrated by peer reviewed publications, conference presentations etc.
• Demonstrated experience in participatory community governance, local advocacy, local capacity building, and/or management and use of grassroots level-generated data.
• Demonstrated experience of successful management, including management of functions of complex, high-value, multi-activity projects, with complicated logistics.
• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment. Experience coaching.
• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy a plus.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.
• Experience working with large donors, USAID/FFP and/or USAID/FTF preferred.
• In-depth understanding of gender, age and other socio-cultural factors along with familiarity with community mobilization and participation principles and approaches in the context of food and nutrition security programming.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead the collection, analysis and use of data and information from a broad range of sources in order to ensure the development of effective approaches, messages and tools throughout the project’s implementation.
• Demonstrated experience in leading participatory analytical processes and learning required.
• Demonstrated capacity to understand and advise on critical technical and operational issues related to resilience and sustainability: health and nutrition, WASH, inclusive governance, social cohesion, education, job skills, employment creation, etc.
• Demonstrated capacity in developing resilience strategies in contexts of low literacy.
• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences (capacity strengthening) through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods, using adult learning methodologies.
• Experience with facilitation, capacity strengthening and partnership building through formal and informal training, with the capacity to empower staff through opportunities for professional growth and development.
• Ability to self-manage and succeed in matrix management model, with demonstrated proactive and flexible nature in resolving problems and leading a productive, committed team.
• Cultural sensitivity, patience, flexibility and ability to work well in a multi-sectoral and multi-cultural team and to work closely, understand and support local Church partners.
• Detail-oriented and excellent time management skills with the ability to meet deadlines and deliver required results in a timely and quality manner.

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.

Supervisory Responsibilities: one or more project advisors, to be determined.

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: CRS Country Representative, Head of Operations, Finance Manager, Cayes Head of Office
• External: Country Directors of Partners, Steering Committee, Donor, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Social Affairs, other related government authorities and suppliers

***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.

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 is an Equal Opportunity Employer.