Project Officer - Community Liaison 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 are accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

CRS has been supporting program activities in Nigeria for over 30 years and has long-standing relationships with Church and non-Church partners and communities throughout the country. The Nigeria country program has a diverse funding base with projects in health, nutrition, food security and agricultural livelihoods, microfinance (SILC), emergency response and peacebuilding. CRS/Nigeria currently has over 210 national and 8 international staff. With an FY22 annual budget of over USD $100 million, coupled with strong donor interest in supporting CRS’ work in the country, significant growth opportunities exist for the CP. The CP has been supporting emergency activities in the NE states since 2015 with offices in Damaturu, Maiduguri and Yola.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project Officer - Community Liaison

Job ID: 22000048
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Job Type: Full-time
Shift: Standard
Schedule: Regular
Job Level: Day Job
Travel: Yes, 50 % of the Time
Job: Program Management
Employee Status: Individual Contributor

Job Summary

• As a member of the Emergency project team, the Community Liaison Officer (CLO) will serve as the focal point for community engagement and entry.
• You will support project teams to establish and maintain relationships with community members and local leaders and monitor and report on all project activities in support of Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable.
• Your thorough and service-oriented approach will ensure that the project consistently applies best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Support the coordination and implementation of all assigned community engagement activities as outlined in the detailed implementation plan in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.
• Monitor and report any challenges and/or gaps identified to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules. Assist partners in their efforts to reflect on project experiences related to community engagement.
• Coordinate communication and facilitate information sharing among the project team, implementing partners, and project beneficiaries at the community level to assist local partners in strengthening the community interest, involvement and support networks.
• Liaise with various community stakeholders and mobilize them to ensure full involvement of community leaders, community representatives, and local government representatives in the overall implementation and improvement of project activities.
• Support the CRS and partner field teams to identify community entry points, potential conflict triggers related to program activities and devise mitigating measures where needed.
• Build capacity among CRS and partner staff in the area of community engagement and effective communication techniques for trust and relationship building.
• In coordination with the project team support capacity-building events for community representatives.
• Coordinate, monitor, and report on volunteer activities.
• Compile data provided at the community level as per project requirements and contribute to the preparation of reports.
• Develop and maintain a community stakeholder directory to include but not limited to key contacts in the community, local community-based organization groups, local government agencies and humanitarian workers.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Community Liaison Assistant

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Program Managers, Project teams, MEAL staff, Operations staff.
• External: Works collaboratively with partner CBO counterparts per LGA, as well as other stakeholders including focal points from local partners, government offices, non-governmental organizations and other agencies in field locations.

Basic Qualifications
Education and Experience:

• A Bachelor’s Degree is preferred.
• Four (4) to six (6) years’ experience working in project support and community engagement. Experience required working with international NGOs in the area of emergency response. Familiarity of e-voucher assistance, Nutrition, Shelter and WASH programming desirable.
• Demonstrated high level interpersonal and communication skills.
• Experience in participatory action planning and community engagement.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and to organize and prioritize a variety of initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data preferred.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Observation, active listening and analysis skills with ability to make sound judgment
• Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners and community members
• General knowledge of local and state government practices.
• Well-developed knowledge of local community cultures, leaders, customs and practices through prior involvement in the community. Additional experience may substitute for some education.
• Attention to details, accuracy and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities.
• Proactive, results-oriented and service-oriented.

Required Languages:

• English required and proficiency in Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri and/or local languages desirable.

Travel:

• Must be willing and able to travel up to 60% of the time to field locations throughout the work week.

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, 2022.