Project Officer - Household Economic Strengthening 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project Officer - Household Economic Strengthening

Job ID: 2200005N
Location: Jalingo, Taraba
Shift: Standard
Schedule: Regular
Job Level: Day Job
Job Type: Full-time
Job: Program Management
Employee Status: Individual Contributor
Travel: Yes, 20 % 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, Bauchi, and Taraba. 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 Household Economic Strengthening Officer will work under the direct supervision of the ICHSSA 4 Household Economic Strengthening Technical Advisor to provide technical assistance and accompaniment to CRS- ICHSSA 4 Project in Taraba State.
• S/he will support ICHSSA4 Project to develop/enhance and implement a holistic HES strategy, appropriate to the local context that allows Pro-Health to strengthen the capacity of their partner CSOs to provide high quality HES services to enrolled beneficiaries.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Support the CSO partners to provide HES interventions that is aligned with household economic vulnerability status, designed to improve household resilience to shocks, reduce food insecurity (access and availability) and facilitate household graduation from the ICHSSA program.
• Provide capacity building and mentorship to CSO partners with a focus on implementation and management of community-based savings groups, OVC-optimized financial education, market assessment and opportunity identification, value addition along identified value-chains based, entrepreneurship, and micro-enterprise management based on assessed IP capacity.
• Collaborate with Agriculture Institutes within the state to strengthen farm-based livelihoods and improve food access and availability among the households enrolled on the ICHSSA Project
• Collaborate with other Thematic leads to ensure household care plans incorporate economic and food security considerations and promote graduation.
• Conduct joint monitoring and supportive supervision visits with other member of the ICHSSA 4 technical team to CSO to support high quality HES intervention implementation and ensure household care plan are promotive of graduation.
• Lead/Support trainings of trainers/trainings in prioritized areas of HES and food security in collaboration with the HES Team.
• Support CSO partner to transition households not yet ready to graduate to other programs, especially emerging government social protection initiatives.
• Document project results and impacts in various forms, including success stories, promising practices, lessons learned, case studies, client satisfaction, etc.
• The officer will also be responsible for the backstopping of ICHSSA-4 project CSO partner on the delivery of the community and health level services for the beneficiaries

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal - Deputy Chief of Party, HES Specialist, Technical Advisors, Operations staff.
• External - ICHSSA-4 Director of Programs, ICHSSA 4 project team, local partners, project consultants, and other stakeholders, as relevant

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in relevant field such as Agricultural Science and Extension, Business Management, Development Studies, Social Work or other Social and Health-related field. Postgraduate Gegree in Public Health is an added advantage.
• Minimum of four (4) to six (6) years’ experience in program management implementing international development activities in Nigeria, with preference given to OVC and HIV/AIDS/ Health/Agricultural activities under a USG funded award in Nigeria.
• At least 4 years’ experience in implementing integrated Community-based household economic strengthening activities

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in participatory action planning and community engagement.
• Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data preferred.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent English language oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent analytical skills; and demonstrated experience in the strategic design and implementation of OVC and HIV/AIDS programs.
• Strong track record of HES intervention strategies, understanding of the PEPFAR 95-95-95 goals and proven ability to produce demonstrable technical and program results
• Knowledge and understanding of OVC issues, Adolescent challenges and vocation training strategies and policy for HIV Care for Children and OVC Case Management, in addition to extensive knowledge of key actors in these fields
• Knowledge of the relevant public donor regulations preferred.
• Good interpersonal skills including ability to work with multiple stakeholders successfully and to create linkages.

Other Requirements:

• Required Languages - English and Hausa Language required.
• Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 20 % of the time to the field locations

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
10th March, 2022.