Senior Program Managers at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an International non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates. CRS re-established presence in Nigeria in 2000 and currently focuses on agriculture, HIV and health extractives and governance, and peace building programming.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Program Manager

Location: Maiduguri, Nigeria
Department: Programs     
Reports To: E-1 Emergency Coordinator     

Project Background
Since the crisis in Northeast Nigeria escalated in 2013, the food security situation has continued to worsen. Emerging data of June 2016 has revealed that the severity of the food and nutritional crisis is well beyond emergency thresholds in Borno State.  The Federal Government has declared a food and nutritional crisis in Borno, where over 750,000 people are severely food insecure; including 180,000 in Maiduguri’s outskirts, 120,000 camp residents and approximately 275,000 IDPs in newly reopened areas. A growing number of people are in urgent need of food assistance, and alarming rates of acute malnutrition have been reported. 

The re-opening of Local Government Areas (LGAs), many which have been inaccessible for an extended period of time, has led to the identification of new IDP locations in Borno State, while ongoing conflict between the military and Boko Haram has resulted in the influx of more IDPs into Maiduguri metropolis and the establishment of several spontaneous camps. The number of IDPs in both Maiduguri, Jere and other LGAs continue to increase – with the current reports indicating a total of 1.6 million IDPs in Borno State alone. 
 
In this emergency context, IDP households are among the worst affected populations as displacement has resulted in the loss and destruction of key assets and the interruption of livelihoods. Furthermore, in Maiduguri center, the majority of IDPs families have found refuge with host families, with whom they share already scarce natural resources such as shelter and water. As per CRS’ needs assessments, these communities are in immediate need of food, WASH, emergency shelter, NFIs save lives and restore dignity. CRS has also identified agriculture and livelihoods as a key need and gap in the ongoing humanitarian response.

In order to effectively respond to the crisis, CRS Borno’s emergency and early recovery programs are focused on food security, NFI, WASH and shelter, for both IDPs and host families. Where possible, CRS will seek to maximize project impact, efficiency and effectiveness by adopting market based approaches – through e-vouchers and the RedRose OneSytem platform - privileging integrated programming and empowering targeted communities through participatory approaches.

Primary Function

• Under the direction of the Emergency Coordinator the Senior Program Manager will ensure high quality implementation of CRS FFP emergency program in Borno state, Nigeria.
• The project manager will be responsible for all aspects of program implementation including, planning, coordination of, management and reporting of project activities, they will oversee the programming team and the work of implementing partners.

Job Responsibilities
Program Implementation:

• Abide by donor requirements/regulations as well as CRS procedures and policies for compliance, including financial, procurement, HR, MEAL, etc.
• Lead the planning of project activities and set high quality performance targets ensuring adherence to technical standards, best practices and donor guidelines.
• Use appropriate project management tools to plan, review and track progress on project implementation as well as on the utilization of project resources; use participatory processes to overcome implementation obstacles.
• Identify technical assistance needs for CRS and partners, and take the lead in developing SOWs and follow up with potential TA from the 4Children team, as appropriate.
• Keep abreast of latest developments in their sector area (collaborates with regional/HQ technical advisors, learns new PQ tools, networks with outside technical experts, etc.).
• Maintain up to date documentation related to project approval, monitoring and implementation.
• Models and reinforces with others a commitment to quality programming.

Budget and Financial Management:

• Prepare annual project budgets as requested by the donor.
• Complete necessary budget templates and forecasts as required by CRS.
• Support partners in the development and management of budgets in line with their scope of work.
• Ensure the financial management of the project, as per the project budget.
• Review project expenses and cash pipeline and coordinate liquidations with CRS Finance and partners.
• In collaboration with the finance teams, review and analyze monthly budget comparison reports and take necessary steps to ensure proper management and utilization of budgets.
• Ensure that program activities comply with CRS financial guidelines, policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Work with the finance team to ensure accurate donor financial reports are submitted on time.
• Coordinate with operations staff for purchasing and inventory control as per CRS/donor requirements.

Monitoring, Accountability, Evaluation and Learning:

• In coordination with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) team, develop and implement strong MEAL systems, using CRS tools and resources to maximize project impact on project participants.
• Ensure the project has a strong learning agenda, and champion learning with project staff and partner teams.
• Prepare and submit required donor project narrative reports, quarterly performance data, as well as other reports needed/required by the local government, donors, the region or headquarters.
• Use collaborative and structured evaluation processes to review data, reach agreement about findings, and apply learning and recommendations.
• Regularly update key stakeholders on progress and challenges.
• Prepare short success stories and briefs on innovation/best practices and project learning (including failures).
• Ensure that all project documentation is well organized and easy to access on Gateway.

Staff Management and Development:

• With senior management and Human Resources, identify project staffing needs and contribute to job descriptions and hiring processes.
• With Human Resources, ensure effective orientation and onboarding of project staff.
• Supervise and mentor program team, including development of performance plans and assessment of performance.
• Continuously support the professional development of the program team by providing clear orientation, feedback and learning opportunities.
• Ensure that supervisee’ performance development plans are in place and initial discussions are held.
• Provide immediate and regular feedback on performance.
• Ensures weekly and monthly check-ins with all direct reports (identify development needs, examine workload, accompaniment).
• Develop a culture of courtesy and respect.
• Establish a conducive working environment.
• Ensure staff have needed resources to achieve their results.
• Provide orientation on staffing structural changes linked to emergency programs.

Partnerships:

• Conduct quarterly visits to accompany partner and reinforce their technical skills.
• Ensure that SRFM/HOCAI assessments and monitoring visits are conducted on schedule.
• Ensure timely technical support is provided to partners to respond to the capacity gaps identified during assessments.
• Establish a working relationship that fosters dialogue with the partners and in which partners contact the PM when issues or questions arise.
• Inform supervisor when issues arise with a solution focused approach and take the lead in ensuring the resolution of those issues in a timely manner.   
• Field trip reports to support the partners contain detailed information about the results of the trip and planned next steps.

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Emergency PMs, MEAL Director, Emergency Program Officers, MEAL staff, Operations Staff
• External: Local partners, Government representatives, UN agencies, International/National NGOs, Red Rose team, enumerators, external consultants, community leaders, project beneficiaries, project vendors

Travel:

• Travel up to 20% of the time as needed.
• 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.
• Serves With Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning

Qualifications and Skills

• Degree in Social Science, Markets, Agriculture, Economics, Finance or another relevant discipline.
• At least 4 years’ experience working in emergency or development programs with significant program management responsibilities.
• Strong knowledge of the following sectors food security, nutrition, and/or NFIs.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a budget.
• Proven experience working with and through partner organizations including the public sector.
• Working knowledge of and experience with UN, USG or GF projects.
• Demonstrated commitment to gender responsive programming.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, oral and written communication skills.
• Team-oriented and strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to organize and prioritize a variety of initiatives

Disclaimer Clause:

• This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should download the Application Form using the link below and send with a detailed 3-page Resume in a single file MS Word document to: NG-HR@global.crs.org

Click here to download the Application Form