Program Manager II - Emergency Program Directors at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 100 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) came to Nigeria in 1960 to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations in collaboration with the Catholic Church.  CRS was forced to leave the country in 1970 during the Biafran war.  However, in the late 1990s CRS Cameroon began outreach projects through the Catholic Church and in 1999 CRS opened a country office. Since then, CRS has been a continuous leader in development and humanitarian response within Nigeria - focusing on the three Strategic Program Areas of Agriculture, Health and Emergency Response.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Program Manager II - Emergency Program Director, Nigeria

Location: Maiduguri, Borno State
Region: Central Africa (CARO)
Band: D
FSLA: Exempt
Reports To: Country Representative, Nigeria
Length of Assignment: Two to three years

Background
Jama at Ahl al-Sunna, the jihadist group commonly known as Boko Haram, has waged war on Nigeria killing more than 13,000 civilians between 2009 and 2015 in attacks occurring mostly in northeast Nigeria, but also in Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

In Nigeria the economic system has been severely disrupted as a result of the insurgency and is exacerbated primarily in the three northeastern states (Yobe, Adamawa and Boko Haram’s home state of Borno) with serious impact on agricultural and income generating activities. In the northeastern states there are an estimated 2.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) living with host families or in camps who are dependent upon markets for their food needs. 92% of these IDPs live in host families, making them much more difficult to reach with assistance than camp-managed families. Many areas in the three most affected states have received no services at all for IDP and host families.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has worked in Nigeria for more than 25 years. Through local partners, CRS has implemented programs in 24 of the country’s 36 states, demonstrating the agency’s extensive grassroots network and significant capacity to reach the rural poor. Focusing on agriculture, emergency response and recovery, and health, CRS is helping to strengthen health care systems, faith-based partners, other community-based organizations, and government institutions. CRS’ current projects are improving the lives of more than 1.4 million Nigerians including in the northeast where CRS has been working, in Yobe State, since 2014.

CRS has determined Nigeria to be among the agency’s top ten priority countries selected for strategic initiatives to achieve greater growth and program impact. CRS currently has 166 national staff and seven international staff operating out of a national office in Abuja and ten sub-offices.

CRS wishes to expand its emergency response in the northeast. With improvements in the security situation, people have tentatively started to return home and formerly inaccessible local government areas are opening up. To this end, the Emergency Program Director will lead the development, management and implementation of high quality programs. S/he will lead in
developing CRS programming portfolio in the northeast and will demonstrate increased CRS leadership in northeastern Nigeria amongst fellow INGOs, partners and government.

Job Responsibilities

• The Emergency Program Director, based in Maiduguri, Borno State is responsible for the daily supervision and management of all CRS operations in the northeast.
• S/he will provide leadership in both the program quality and management quality of these programs and be the driver for program growth in the region.
• S/He will represent CRS at coordination meetings with government, INGOS and UN and other actors.
• As a member of the CRS’ Leadership Team (LT) in Nigeria, the Emergency Program Director will participate in key decision-making processes and in the strategic management of the Country Program.

Specific Job Responsibilities
Management & Leadership:

• Supervise the Emergency Coordinator based in Yobe State and oversee all programs/operations in northeastern Nigeria.
• Ensure high-quality projects and high-quality operational support through daily mentoring/coaching of both PQ and MQ staff.
• Develop strategies towards retention, development, and management of high staff performance. Ensure that all CRS staff including new hires are well oriented to CRS’ Mission.
• Enforce application of procedures in line with CRS policies and principles, local government standards, and donor requirements, as well as ensure that resource management systems remain current with regard to managing risk and liability to the agency.
• Participate in Maiduguri based UN and INGO meetings as they concern security and government-related issues such as taxation, compliance with rules and regulations, legal issues, labor codes and requirements, immigration requirements, customs issues, etc., in order to institute and enforce internal policies to ensure compliance and proper functioning of operations.
• Monitor and ensure implementation of Management Action Plans deriving from evolving requirement and events (summits, trainings, retreats, meetings, etc.), and organize monthly status updates.Northeast Program Quality and Program Growth
• As there is no established office in Maiduguri, lead the establishment of a field office in Maiduguri, serving as Head of Office as necessary.
• Identify opportunities for appropriate expansion and growth of programs, and the acquisition and investment of human resources, working collaboratively with the Country Representative (CR), Deputy Country Representative (DCR) and Senior Business Development Manager in this regard.
• Ensure appropriate leadership for proposal design and development for the northeast.Head of Office/Coordinators
• Serve as Head of Office in Maiduguri.
• Monitor performance management of all direct reports, ensuring direct reports perform sound performance management of their own direct reports as well as those at other levels on the team.
• Maintain regular communication with HOO/Emergency Coordinator to coordinate the work of northeastern Nigeria with attention to their needs and performance, while ensuring HOO/Emergency Coordinator communication and coordination throughout the country program is consistent with the functioning of a cohesive organization.
• Understand issues at hand at sub-offices and facilitate clarification with Abuja based units or departments concerned; coordinate with relevant authority (DCR, HoOPS) and provide guidance, as required.
• Ensure representation of CRS in relevant cluster meetings by qualified staff in the northeast and in Abuja.Representation & Communication
• In coordination with the Country Representative, assure representation of CRS at various levels within government and other key humanitarian actors and stakeholders.
• Ensure communication flow between Maiduguri and the northeast with the Abuja office and vice-versa by sharing of meeting minutes, regular situation updates (sitreps), and other means of communication.Security
• Working closely with the CR and Security Manager, develop security procedures and manuals for operations in the northeast, ensuring they remain current.
• Attend and/or ensure CRS’ attendance at cluster security meetings and ensuring sharing with staff and the CR and Security Manager.
• In collaboration with the Security Manager establish a system among the CR, Security Manager and Security Staff in the northeast that monitors security reports for immediate CP action as appropriate.
• Ensure that security is part of all new staff orientation and all visitors traveling receive security briefings.
• Create and maintain a culture of safety and security.
• Ensure key security focal points receive security refresher trainings, as needed.

Key Working Relationships

• Internal: Country Representative, Deputy Country Representative/Programs, Emergency Coordinator (Yobe State based), Security Manager, Head of Operations, Nigeria Leadership and Management Team members, Finance & Compliance Manager, Central Africa Regional Office (CARO) DRD/MQ, DRD/PQ, RFO, HQ Departments
• External: Partner agencies, local government, service providers.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in International Development, Non-profit Management or related fields strongly preferred or equivalent experience.
• Seven years of field-based experience managing staff and programs, particularly in complex emergency and insecure environments with a concurrent development program portfolio.
• At least 3 years of CRS experience.
• Significant experience in general CP and emergency operations.
• Experience in start-up operations in an emergency setting.
• Experience in project development and proposal writing.
• Thorough knowledge of CRS management and program principles.
• Demonstrated qualities of leadership, sensitivity to cultural setting, communication skills, commitment, and sound judgment. Highly developed interpersonal skills required.
• Is committed to gender and conflict sensitive programming.
• Effective planning and organization skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently to field offices.
• High level of proficiency in spoken and written English.
• CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidate should:
Click here to apply online