Department/Country: SA RO/To Be Determined
Band: E
FLSA : Exempt
Reports To: Deputy Regional Director for Program Quality
About CRS :
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome, as a part of our staff and as partners, people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
Job Background/Summary:
Children and youth in the Southern Africa Region are greatly affected by a variety of factors that render them vulnerable. These factors include inadequate educational opportunities and access to health care, HIV, living without one or both parents, inadequate job skills and lack of employment opportunities, exposure to exploitation and violence, and a strained social welfare system that cannot meet the needs of said children and youth. In response to the challenges faced by these children and youth, CRS plans to enhance its work with communities, the Church, governments and donors to more effectively address the needs of children and youth. Within this context, the Senior Technical Advisor (STA) for OVC/Youth will lead the re-development of the SARO OVC/Youth program by providing technical support to the region in the development and implementation of high quality programming. S/he will assist Country Programs to strengthen the capacity of local partners.
Job Responsibilities:
The primary role of the SARO Senior Technical Advisor for Orphans, Vulnerable Children, and Youth (OVCY) is to lead and provide technical assistance to SARO’s programming for orphans and vulnerable children, and to provide technical leadership and guidance on issues affecting programming for vulnerable children across the region. The STA will provide regional leadership in the development and utilization of relevant strategies, guidelines, tools, and learning agendas, and in the documentation and dissemination of best practices. Leadership and technical excellence will be provided through in-country and virtual technical assistance, and through contributions made to project proposal development, project implementation and monitoring and evaluation The primary focus of the position is to support specific OVC and Youth programming initiatives in the region, including extensive community-based programs for OVC, job skills and employment creation for youth, HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support; and contributing to OVC/Youth Integral Human Development. The OVC /Youth portfolio includes support in the primary areas of programming such as: education, food security, psycho-social support, economic strengthening, health, shelter and child protection, job skills and employment, and social cohesion. The STA will also play a key role in helping Country Programs learn, both through their own programming and through the shared experiences of other Countries within the region, CRS, OVC and youth sector research results and best practices.
Primary Responsibilities:Strategic Leadership:
1. Lead technical guidance and support provided to CRS country programs for vulnerable children and youth in the region, ensuring they support agency, regional, and global strategies and standards.
2. Provide overall quality assurance on technical design and implementation of donor funded projects in country programs, ensuring that project assistance is technically sound and appropriate, including the development and delivery of related capacity building and training support
3. Ensure that relevant program monitoring and evaluation systems, technical reviews, and the documentation and dissemination of best practices and lessons learned, capture timely, high quality information and utilize data to inform decisions and foster learning and innovation
4. Coordinate with Country Program Staff and other Technical Advisors (TAs) to ensure integration of relevant initiatives in all regional development and emergency programming
5. Lead SARO’s contribution to CRS programming for OVC/Y in CRS and liaise with CRS technical advisors at HQ to keep informed of new opportunities and share OVC/Y developments in regions.
6. Support country programs and staff in ensuring quality partnerships with Catholic and other partners
7. Support regional and country specific business development efforts increasing access to funds supporting programming for vulnerable children and youth in the region.
8. Represent CRS at necessary at relevant donor and professional workshops and meetings.
9. Serve as a regional resource person on key aspects of Agency Health, OVC/Youth and HIV strategies and policies as well as on funding related information from the Global Fund, World Bank, USAID, the UN, the EU, Catholic Donors and other potential donors.
MEAL
1. Disseminate and assist Country Programs to adopt best practices and help develop pilot projects for testing new and innovative programming.
2. Strengthen the capacity of CRS staff to evaluate program performance and report and share results.
3. Assist with developing appropriate monitoring tools, and implementing systems at the country level to utilize these tools.
4. Identify strategic opportunities for learning, lead operations research, and assist with data collection, analysis and dissemination of findings, including developing internal and external publications.
5. Ensure that activities are consistent with current CRS strategies and policies, including agency program quality standards
6. Coordinate closely with other regional and headquarters based technical advisors to disseminate information requests from country programs and to share with SARO lessons learned and research results.
7. Facilitate and/or participate in select Organizational Learning fora, such as Communities of Practice, technical working groups, and horizontal communications.
Networking and Alliance Building
1. Identify funding opportunities for Country Programs together with the Business Development and Growth RTA.
2. Stay abreast of state of the art developments in quality standards and innovations relative to relevant programming, including donor strategies and guidelines, and ensure timely circulation of information and documentation to SARO country programs.
3. Assist country programs in establishing and maintaining relationships with youth-serving government agencies and youth organizations, especially any national, youth-led organizations.
4. Serve as a regional resource on all aspects of agency strategies and policies as well as on funding related information from the Global Fund, World Bank, USAID, the EU, UN, Catholic Donors and other potential donors.
Supervisory Responsibilities: The SARO Senior Technical Advisor for OVC/Youth will supervise Technical Advisors seconded to line ministries in the region strengthening government capacity to design, lead, manage, and coordinate national programs for vulnerable children and youth. This position will also supervise consultants, as needed, and will be expected to coordinate requests for external consultancies.
Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff): These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
- Serves with Integrity
- Models Stewardship
- Cultivates Constructive Relationships
- Promotes Learning
Key Working Relationships:
Internal: Heads of Programming, Country Representatives, and the S/TAs for OVC/Youth and other RTAs within SARO and in other regions, PIQA Health and HIV advisors, S/TAs for Health and HIV in SARO and other regions, and the DRD PQ.
External: USG, especially USAID and CDC, other Donor Agencies, Local Partners (e.g. Caritas), Host Country Government Agencies (e.g. MOH, Ministry of Women, Children and Youth), international organizations (e.g. UNICEF, WHO, GFATM), other PVOs, consultants working in youth programming, OVC, and other relevant areas; professional associations.
Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree or higher in public health, social work, one of the social sciences, international development/affairs, or a closely related field. PhD strongly preferred.
- 10 or more years of experience including designing, implementing and managing country-level OVC/Y programs, preferably in/for low resource contexts/countries, including youth workforce development, youth entrepreneurship, or youth peacebuilding.
- Experience providing technical assistance and support in one or more core areas of OVC programming preferably in support of PEPFAR funded programming in low resource settings, demonstrating capacity to provide guidance on critical technical and operational issues related to OVC/Youth: education, job skills, employment creation, social cohesion, health, psycho-social wellbeing, HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
- Proven leadership and inter-personal skills and ability to build and motivate diverse and talented teams and maintain strategic relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders.
- Experience engaging effectively with USAID, PEPFAR, and other bilateral agencies; the United Nations and other international agencies; host-county governments and counterparts; and other key stakeholders
- Ability to travel extensively within the region
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team, including people of diverse backgrounds and cultures, as well as strong ability to work individually.
- Strong representational skills, including ability to present CRS programs, research findings and policies to multiple audiences, including donors, host country Government and other key stakeholders.
- Fluency in English required, business level French or Portuguese, a plus.
Travel Required: The position will require extensive travel (up to 50%) throughout Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, in addition to Zimbabwe) and trips to CRS headquarters in Baltimore, as necessary.
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.
Equal Opportunity Employer