Technical Advisor I, STaR Project – (2100001Y) Full Time

About 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.

Context:

In April 2019, CRS was awarded a €15m, 33-month recovery and resilience project entitled Stabilization and Reconciliation in the Lake Chad Region (STaR), funded by the German Government’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development through KfW. The STaR project is intended to contribute to the stabilization and reconciliation in three key regions affected by the ongoing Lake Chad Basin Crisis: Borno and Adamawa States in Nigeria; Diffa Province in Niger; and the Lake Region in Chad. Through a package of activities involving infrastructure rehabilitation, economic revitalization and social cohesion strengthening, STaR will enable targeted communities and individuals across the three target countries to feel more secure and cohesive; to improve their livelihoods; to be more resilient in facing shocks; and to use non-violent means to address conflicts.

Job Summary:

You will provide technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues for the Stabilization and Reconciliation in the Lake Chad (STaR) in the area of infrastructure in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to regional and Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. You will work on STaR 85% of your time dedicated to the STaR Project. Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ infrastructure programming is across the globe.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development and implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in infrastructure that effectively engage partners, donors and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to STaR project CP teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
• Provide oversight to the development of the technical designs for large and/or complex infrastructure projects, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators. Guide CP teams through the CRS construction management processes, adopting same to donor requirements. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in infrastructure programming for staff and partner through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff and partners as required
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in forums in the area of infrastructure to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
• Contribute to, and in some cases lead, the development of the technical design for proposals.  Support the process of preparation, design, submission and approval of project concepts and full-fledged proposals. As needed, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Collect and analyze program data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices for specific projects to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to the Shelter and Settlements learning agenda.

Typical activities will include:

• Procurement Process – review of bid documents such as instruction to bidders, evaluation and qualification criteria, technical documents, financial documents, construction contract, Environmental, Social, health and Safety (ESHS) requirements. This includes bid evaluation, bid report, bid selection and contract award.
• Contracting Process – review of contract documents, technical requirements, financial requirements, bonds and insurances, community Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and other contract exhibits in accordance with the approved CRS long form construction contract.
• Implementation Process – prior to the start of construction activities, conduct technical design reviews, develop and conduct construction management training to technical staff as way of strengthening their capacity. Provide oversight during the construction implementation, review Cash For Work (CFW) guidance and procedures, and monitor the progress of CFW activities.
• Project Close-out – provide oversight on the process of issuing certificate of completion, establish the start of DLP, develop operation and maintenance guide, and provide training on the operation and maintenance procedures of community infrastructure facilities.
• Others – review of donor quarterly and semi-annual report, and participate in reflection workshop to capture learning experience of the project.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Education and Experience

• Master’s Degree in Architecture, Engineering (Structural/Civil), Construction Management or similar relevant technical disciplines required.
• Minimum of three years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of three years working for programming interventions in infrastructure.
• Relevant experience in bidding processes of complex infrastructure projects from prequalification, evaluation and selection of winning bidders
• Relevant experience in construction management from design preparation including providing required design calculations for community infrastructure, implementation until project close-out. This includes quality control of construction activities, and familiarity in the implementation of environmental, social, health and safety requirements.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in infrastructure, including technical writing.
• Knowledge of capacity strengthening best practices. Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with developing needs assessments, program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Personal Skills

• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Other Preferred Skills

•  Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

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

Required/Desired Foreign Language – Strong French and English written and verbal skills required.

Travel Required – Work from home and when travel allows, to STaR Project countries (25%).

Preferred Qualifications

· Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Supervisory Responsibilities (if none, state none)

 None.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: STaR Chief of Party, STaR Award Management Officer, STaR MEAL Manager, STaR Program Managers for Nigeria and Chad and Niger; STaR Nigeria Program Manager, STaR Nigeria Infrastructure Manager, STaR Niger Civil Engineer & Environment Officer, STaR Niger Infrastructure Manager, Regional Technical Advisors. (NB: contingent upon additional donor funding, similar PM and Infrastructure Manager positions in Chad and Cameroon).

External: KfW technical advisors

 Basic Qualifications

· Master’s Degree in <Program Area>, or <field(s) related to Program Area> required.

· Minimum of three years relevant work experience with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of two years relevant field-based experience in <Program Area>.

· Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in <Program Area>. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.

· Experience in project design and proposal development. Experience in writing content for proposals.

· Knowledge of capacity strengthening best practices.

· Experience with program monitoring and evaluation and analysis.

· Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.

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

***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

Please, refer to KALETA.co job board as your source while applying for this job