Project Officer - Food Assistance 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 nonchurch 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 has worked in Nigeria for more than 25 years.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project Officer - Food Assistance (Nigerian Nationals Only)

Job Identification: 3000564
Location: Maiduguri, Borno (On-site)
Job Schedule: Full time
Job Category: Program Management
Job Shift: Day

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.
• CRS with Mercy Corps (MC), Women in the New Nigeria (WINN), Salient Humanitarian Organization (SHO) and Justice Development  and Peace Commission  (JDPC) provides assistance  to support early recovery in targeted areas  to advance participants from lifesaving assistance to life-building support.

Job Summary

• Under the leadership of the THRIVE Food assistance Manager, the Project Officer (PO) is a non-supervisory position, responsible for the daily project activities in  food assistance in Jere, while maintaining relationships with local partner staff as well as vendors and beneficiaries.
• The PO, in collaboration with the local partners, will lead field level engagement with  food assistance vendors, and project participants , ensure compliance with voucher methodology, collect data as guided by the MEAL Officer and assist the local partners in project implementation, monitoring and reporting.

Roles and Key Responsibilities
Coordinate and clearly communicate food assistance activities:

• Support the vendor procurement  and price negotiation process as required, in collaboration CRS SCM team.
• Act as the focal point for field level communication with the community mobilizers on food assistance.
• Support partners officers with food assistance activities capacity building.
• Support the preparation of payments to the vendors on a bi-monthly basis, after every food redemption.
• Hold daily debrief with the community mobilizers during redemptions and provide timely updates to the Food assistance Manager.
• Coordinate the planning of the CMs with CM lead.
• Ensure support CM leads in effectively implementing the food redemptions. Review partner plans and reports, providing guidance to the team.
• Participate to local coordination meetings including, Area Based Committee meetings and local food security engagements at the field level.
• Provide interpretation and facilitation support in local languages for training events and community meetings.
• Support  MEAL team  with registrations, OSMs and PDMs as required.
• Carry out other roles in food assistance as directed by the supervisor.

Provide support to project vendors and food assistance  key stakeholders:

• Ensure shop signs are displayed in front of each participating vendor’s  shop.
• Coordinate all vendor support and communication.
• Organize weekly meetings with the food assistance leaders.
• Organize meetings with project vendors as needed.
• Organize monthly meetings with project vendors to discuss distributions.
• Ensure that all vendor documentation is complete (agreement, photos, identity cards, market assessment, etc.).
• Conduct regular vendor spot checks before and during the redemptions, ensuring vendor readiness and access to quality food commodities by project participants.
• In collaboration with the PM, collect and organize project vendor payments.
• In collaboration with the CAT Officer, carries out vendor training.

Provides feedback on project’s food assistance activities to PM:

• Provide information to the CAT Officer on troubleshooting needs.
• Provides feedback to the PM on program activities.
• In partnership with the CAT officer reviews vendor transactions.
• Documents good practices stemming from project implementation linked to food assistance teams activities.

Reporting:

• Review local partner reports.
• Provide capacity building on reporting to the local partner as shall be required.
• Report on project activities.
• Collects three human interest stories with photos on project beneficiaries, of which one is of a project vendor.
• Any other task, assigned by supervisor.

Key Working Relationships

• Internal: Sector Advisor Food Assistance, Food Assistance Manager, Feedback and Accountability officers, MEAL Officers, CAT Officer.
• External: Partner staff, Food Assistance vendors, Project participants.

Basic Qualifications

• University Degree in Social Sciences, Humanities, Agricultural Sciences or any other relevant equivalent Degree.
• At least three (3) years experience in project implementation.
• Experience of private sector engagement is desirable.

Preferred Qualifications (BQs):

• Demonstrated experience in community engagement in Borno State.
• Strong skills in oral communication in the languages spoken by community members in Jere.
• Understanding of the cultural, social and gender dynamics of the communities in Jere.
• Proven experience in group discussions and other participatory methods.
• Strong ICT skills. Experience of RedRose database systems is desirable.
• Demonstrated capacities and 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 multi-task.
• Capacity and willingness to work most of the time in the field in Jere.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (SKAs):

• Must possess ability to handle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Capacity to work effectively with a diverse team and with stakeholders;

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
4th April, 2023 (01:00 PM)