Deputy Chief of Party I, THRIVE at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works tosave, protect, and transformlives 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.

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: Deputy Chief of Party I, THRIVE

Job ID: 2200001L
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Employment Type: Full time
Job: Chief of Party
Department: CARO
Schedule: Regular
Shift: Standard
Reports to: Chief of Party
Salary Grade:10

About THRIVE

• The Transitioning Households to Recovery from Vulnerability (THRIVE) in Jere project is a two-year emergency and recovery project funded by BHA/USAID.
• ver the course of the project,CRS with Mercy Corps (MC), Women in the New Nigeria (WINN), Herwa Community Development Initiative (HCDI), Salient Humanitarian Organization (SHO) and Justice Development Peace Committee (JDPC) willprovidecontext-specific humanitarian assistance with the goal of initiating early recoveryin targeted areasand will operationalize an area-based approach to advance participants from lifesaving assistance to life-building support.
• The THRIVE consortium will reach an estimated 374,664 unique participants across 10 sectors.

Job Summary

• The Deputy Chief of Party I will support the Chief of Party in developing the strategic direction and technical advice across all program components in the planning, design and implementation of THRIVE activities. S/he will work closely with partners and their technical teams to ensure integration across organizations and objectives.
• The Deputy Chief of Party will oversee field-level program activities and ensure program targets are met. In the absence of the Chief of Party, the DCOP will assume responsibility for coordinating award management and implementation tasks, liaise with USAID on technical matters, and respond to other inquiries.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Manage key aspects of THRIVE project design, start up, implementation and learning.
• Serve as a key contact to USAID in the absence of the COP as well as public, private and non-government stakeholders, as needed.
• Support problem solving and provide technical guidance.
• Provide assistance for developing budgets and support teams to navigate routine operating challenges as they arise.
• Manage key project components, ensuring timely and quality results. Support project planning and manage capacity building activities with service providers.
• Provide leadership to ensure CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures.
• Ensure project strategy and methodologies foster gender equality and social inclusion and that they are effectively implemented. Regularly identify and apply learning, refining approaches as needed to close gender gaps and promote social inclusion across project activities and the systems they contribute to.
• Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Contribute to the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff.
• Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Help ensure compliance with USAID rules and regulations, including all reporting and MEAL requirements, financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration and reporting to USAID.
• Coordinate activities with government officials, other implementers, stakeholders, and institutions in target areas. Lead coordination with consortium and other key development partners, in line with CRS partnership principles. Represent CRS at meetings, workshops, and other events as required. Establish relationships with public and private sector stakeholders.
• Maintain relationships with key staff of consortium partner organizations in regard to area of responsibility. Contribute to coordination of the roles and activities of staff from other consortium member organizations in implementation in line with CRS partnership principles.
• Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing of ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies. Identify performance gaps and training opportunities for CRS and partner staff and recommend trainings and technical assistance.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Program Managers and Community Liaison Officer

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal-DCR Programs, DCR Operations, Head of Office, Heads of Administration, Supply Chain, and Finance, Security Coordinator, Admin and Operations staff in Maiduguri and Abuja.
• External– Consortium Partner Representatives and technical staff, UN, coordination forums, INSO, and BHA..

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in International Development, International Relations or a relevant technical area.
• 5 years’ relevant management and technical experience.
• 3 years' experience managing donor funds. Knowledge and experience in budget management.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Recognized technical experience and qualifications in sector
• Demonstrated experience of successful management, including management of functions of complex, multi-activity projects.
• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.
• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy a plus.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Very good strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Very good relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.

Required Languages:

• Fluency in English required

Travel:

• Must be willing and able to travel up to 20%.

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
Not Specified.