About CRS
Catholic Relief Services est l’agence humanitaire internationale officielle de la communauté catholique des États-Unis. CRS travaille à sauver, protéger et transformer des vies dans le besoin dans plus de 100 pays, sans considération de race, de religion ou de nationalité. Le travail de secours et de développement de CRS est accompli par le biais de programmes d’intervention d’urgence, de lutte contre le VIH, de santé, d’agriculture, d’éducation, de microfinance et de consolidation de la paix.
CRS launched its work in Ghana in 1958 and currently has robust programming in Agriculture, Landscapes and and Livelihoods; Maternal and Child Health; Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); and Youth, Social Cohesion and Peace Building. Under the Agriculture, Livelihoods and Landscape portfolio, CRS is implementing projects aimed at ensuring that smallholder farmers in last mile communities have access to critical agriculture support services through our Private Agriculture Service Provider’s (PASPs) model. The unit is also implementing projects on landscape restoration in Northern Ghana that is contributing to restoring degraded lands, improving productivity of agriculture landscapes and increasing resilience of farming communities and their agriculture systems to climate change impacts. The unit is anticipating a new 4-year project to be implemented by a consortium with funding from a donor. The anticipated project dubbed Harnessing Agriculture Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) is aimed at creating employment for youth along agricultural value chains and adjacent sectors. This position is contingent on donor funding.
Job Summary:
You will manage, coordinate, and monitor project activities and relationships with the project’s consortium members, partners and other project stakeholders to assist the achievement of the HAPPY project objectives, and the advancement of Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable. Your project management skills and knowledge of the program area will ensure that the CP delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the impact of this project on the communities and project participants. This position will report to the Agriculture, Landscape and Livelihoods Program Manager and will be based in Tamale, Ghana, with frequent travel across Northern, North East, Upper East, and Upper West Regions of Ghana.
This position is in anticipation of Project Award
RESPONSIBILITIES
Roles and Key Responsibilities:
- Lead technical, budget management, monitoring and reporting activities through most of the project cycle – start-up, implementation and close-out – in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.
- Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, contribute to the recruitment process of project staff, and complete performance management for direct reports.
- Ensure learning properly accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities according to the MEAL Policy. Proactively identify issues, report them to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
- Engage and strengthen partnerships relevant to the Structured Farming Program and financial inclusion, applying the appropriate partnership concepts, tools and approaches.
- Represent the organization with donors, INGO working groups, UN, relevant local partners and relevant local government and community actors for Agriculture, Agribusiness and Financial Inclusion.
- Coordinate financial, material and human resources for the quality implementation of the project. Conduct periodic budget reviews and follow-up with partners on timely submission of financial reports to facilitate proper tracking of resource use.
- Identify staff capacity needs and technical assistance needs of partner organizations and contribute to capacity strengthening and required interventions to support quality project implementation.
- Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports and disseminate results. Review project documentation to ensure project file is complete with all required documentation and is filed per agency and donor requirements.
Required Languages – Proficient in English language and any other local language of the project localities.
Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 30 % of his or her time.
.Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment.
- Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with local stakeholders.
- Ability to contribute to written reports
- Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented
- Attention to details, accuracy and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities
Preferred Qualifications
- Relevant grant management experience, especially for United State Government (USG) or other public donors, and Foundations is a plus.
- Staff supervision experience.
- Experience working in a consortium and with stakeholders at various levels and strengthening community partnerships.
- Ability to contribute to the development of technical proposals, a plus.
- Experience analyzing data and contributing to evaluation reports.
- Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
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
Supervisory Responsibilities: Direct reports for this position include Senior Project Officers (SPOs), Field Officers, grant accountant, and finance assistants.
Key Working Relationships:
Internal: Country Representative, Head of Programming, Program Manager – Agriculture, Partnership Capacity Strengthening Advisor, Business Development Specialist, Regional Technical Advisors, and other CRS staff
External: The HAPPY project’s consortium partners, the Mastercard Foundation, relevant government partners including the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Regional and MMDA and their decentralized departments of agriculture, National Youth Authority and its District Offices, etc.
***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. Women are strongly encouraged to apply. CRS’ emphasis on family values supports benefits, including maternity and paternity leave, policies that promote exclusive breastfeeding, the availability of a baby room at the office, and flexible working hours where possible.
CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer
QUALIFICATIONS
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Development Studies, and any other relevant field of study is required.
- Master’s Degree in International Development, Agriculture and Agribusiness, Development Studies, or any other relevant field will be an added advantage.
- Minimum of 5 years of work experience in relevant field-based project management in the field of Agriculture and Agribusiness Development, value chain development, or Financial Inclusion for smallholder farmers is required.
- Experience with climate-smart agriculture and crosscutting objectives (e.g., gender, youth).
- Experience with staple crops, such as maize, soybean, and rice as well as high-value export-oriented crops, such as shea.
- Proven track record of managing moderately complex projects in an International NGO and in consortium arrangements.
- Additional experience may substitute for some education.
