Deputy Chief of Party at Catholic Relief Services (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.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Deputy Chief of Party

Reference No.: 2100002R
Location: CARO-NG Yoa, Adamawa
Employment Type: Full Time
Job: Chief of Party
Organization: Catholic Relief Services
Schedule: Regular
Shift: Standard
Employee Status: Entry Level
Job Level - Day Job
Travel: Yes, 75 % of the Time

Project Summary
The Integrated Child Health and Social Services Award (ICHSSA) activity is a USAID/Nigeria program that seeks to reduce the impact of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). ICHSSA seeks to ensure that OVCs are cared for and protected by their households, communities, local and state governments. ICHSSA has four lots and PHI is responding to Lot 4: ICHSSA 4: Adamawa and Bauchi. ICHSSA expects to attain the following results:

• Result 1: Households have increased access to basic services and care for OVC
• Result 2: Communities ensure that OVC secure their rights
• Result 3: Local and State Governments deliver basic services and detect and respond to child rights violations
• Result 4: Prioritized targeted services for specific OVC subpopulations utilized

Job Summary

• The DCoP will be responsible for the technical content of service delivery encompassing OVC services in the technical areas - household economic strengthening (HES), education support, child protection, social behavior change communication, case finding, referrals to treatment, viral load monitoring within the community setting.
• She/he will have oversight of components of the project that interface with clinical service provision to contribute directly towards the achievement of the 95-95-95 target.
• She/he will ensure technical quality of HIV prevention and screening interventions and ensure a smooth clinic-community continuum of services for children and adolescents living with HIV.
• She/he will work closely with other members of the technical team to ensure smooth integration of HIV services with cross- cutting areas of OVC programming, including household economic strengthening, nutrition, parenting, child protection, and access to education, in line with PEPFAR guidelines and global standards.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Develop and integrate age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health, HIV prevention, and care and support for children and adolescents living with HIV into parenting, psychosocial support, life skills, economic strengthening and other OVC interventions;
• Liaise with other service providers to ensure quality and coverage of HIV risk screening, testing and counseling, accompanied referrals and ART enrollment support within OVC programs;
• Work with PEPFAR implementing partners in supported states to improve referral and counter-referral systems between communities and facilities and ensure a coordinated continuum of service provision to children and adolescents living with HIV and their caregivers;
• Lead interventions to strengthen the capacity of community-level implementing partners, case managers and volunteers in community mobilization and referrals for HIV counselling and testing, PMTCT and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID);
• Coordinate the development and implementation of training and capacity building activities for project staff and partners in HIV prevention and diagnosis, referrals, and care and support for children and adolescents living with HIV, including community- based adherence counselling and management of issues related to disclosure;
• With the MEAL team, design tools and systems to ensure comprehensive and accurate documentation of the contributions of the project to the clinical cascade;
• Oversee representation and participation of the project on technical working groups for HIV prevention, HCT, PMTCT, HES, SRH, and pediatric and adolescent ART;
• Coordinate closely with the GoN health and social welfare authorities and other key stakeholders at national, state and local levels to ensure that activities complement ongoing initiatives and adhere to national standards;
• Lead interventions to strengthen gender equality and social inclusion principles are fully integrated in programming to ensure gender-transformative programming;
• Provide oversight and coordination to the nutrition component of the ICHSSA program. And in collaboration with the GoN and other relevant stakeholders, ensure the linkage of program beneficiaries to CMAM centres.

Required Languages

• English Language

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (SKAs):

• Strong organizational and planning skills, detail-oriented.
• Proven leadership skills and ability to build and motivate diverse and talented teams.
• Ability to think critically, effectively manage change, multi-task and meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills, with demonstrated strength in relationship management.
• Cultural sensitivity, patience and flexibility.
• Ability to be persistent and diplomatic and to gain respect among staff, local community leaders, church and secular partners, as well as local government ministries and donor organizations.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Systems Strengthening Advisor, Technical Advisor - HES

Key Working Relationships: (Optional)

• Internal: Country Representative, Head of Programming, Head of Operations, Finance Manager, Technical Advisors, HQ Award Management Officer, project managers, project staff.
• External: Chief of Party, local partners, donor representatives, project consultants, and other stakeholders, as relevant.

Qualifications
Education and Experience:

• Master’s degree in relevant field e.g. Public Health, Development Studies, Social Work or Business Administration with a focus on public health, social sciences or other related health fields.
• Five (5) years of experience in senior program management implementing international development activities in Africa, with preference given to OVC and HIV/ health activities under a USG-funded award in Nigeria.

Basic Qualifications (BQs):

• Technical expertise and experience with clinical programming domain guidelines around HIV testing and counseling, PMTCT, HIV-exposed infants, and CLHIV care and support;
• Demonstrated knowledge of policy and programs serving vulnerable adolescent girls and young women at high risk of HIV acquisition;
• Hands-on experience with PEPFAR project management processes and application of PEPFAR technical and administrative guidelines;
• Familiarity with Nigeria’s institutional, policy and programming context for HIV clinical and community services, including knowledge of the social welfare and health sectors in Nigeria;
• Demonstrated ability to engage government and represent OVC priorities and issues as they relate to children and adolescent living with or at high risk of HIV;
• Proven leadership and interpersonal skills and ability to build and motivate a team working with state and local government, community organizations, communities and families;
• Flexibility to work both in a team and independently;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and Outlook;
• Full professional proficiency in spoken and written English; and
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally, as required.

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.

Application Closing Date
1st March, 2021.

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

Note

• 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 protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
• CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.