Job Description

Job Title: Chief of Party I- McGovern Dole

Internal Title: Chief of Party I

Job Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Job Type: Regular Full-time

Reports To: Head of Programming

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.

Background

CRS has been supporting program activities in Burkina Faso since 1960 and has long-standing relationships with Church and non-Church partners and communities throughout the country. The Burkina Faso country program has a diverse funding base with projects in Livelihoods, Emergency Response, Education, WASH, and peacebuilding. CRS/DRC currently has 134 staff, 6 international and 128 national staff. With an FY19 annual budget of approximately $10 million coupled with strong donor interest in supporting CRS’ work in the country, significant growth opportunities exist for the CP.

Job Summary

Lead a team in multiple locations within Burkina Faso to implement CRS/Burkina Faso’s USDA McGovern Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Project (2019-2022), called Beoog Biiga (Phase 3). This post is responsible for overall project leadership including expat and national staff of approximately 60 persons with six direct reports. He/She will serve as representative of the project at the country level and at the international level with the donor or other fora. S/he will oversee reporting and collaboration with the operations department and work closely with the Project Support Officer at Headquarters.

The Chief of Party will provide the vision and overall leadership to the program team in implementing this project. S/he will be responsible for overseeing the overall management of the project including the quality of programmatic implementation, including monitoring, evaluation and learning, and administrative elements of the project, including the coordination with implementing partner — Caritas OCADES, and high-level monitoring of the budget. S/he will also serve as the primary point of contact with US Department of Agriculture in Dakar and Washington, DC, as well as any other public, private and non-government stakeholders. He/she is responsible for ensuring compliance with USDA grants including oversight of partner budgets, finance and administration, and reporting to USDA. The Chief of Party is responsible for ensuring that project results are achieved on time and on budget, including strategies for phase out and sustainability; and that the budget is consumed as planned.

The Chief of Party will be a senior leader from the development sector responsible for leading all aspects of the implementation and consolidation of the Beoog Biiga project, including ensuring that the project contributes to the thought leadership of the industry and positions CRS as a leading agency in the Education field. This person will also work to collaborate strongly with the country program’s recently won USDA Local and Regional Procurement project (2019 — 2022) which is working with 171 schools on the local purchase of commodities for school feeding. The Chief of Party is also responsible for leveraging this position for future growth within this sector for the agency.

The candidate will operate within the organizational structure of CRS while coordinating the roles and activities of implementing partners such as Caritas OCADES and national and local Ministry of Education departments in the implementation of the program interventions. The successful candidate will also be responsible for representing the Beoog Biiga 3 project, to major stakeholders, especially USDA and the Burkina Faso Ministry of Education.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

Program Quality

1. Lead the implementation of Beoog Biiga 3 project with an innovative program lens, implementing solutions to existing development issues.
2. With key program staff and stakeholders, ensure program’s strategic objectives and results are fully accomplished and meet expected technical quality standards through annual and quarterly activity planning and budget forecasts.
3. Ensure that vision and plans for the program are innovative and are in line with CRS agency and country program strategies.
4. Lead quarterly technical review of implementation plans for the project and ensure appropriate actions are taken to meet implementation timelines and commitments.
5. In collaboration with program staff, provide guidance and technical oversight to partners and other collaborating agencies to ensure that best practices and lessons learned are documented and disseminated.
6. Coordinate with M&E department to oversee the design and implementation of the program’s monitoring and evaluation system, using appropriate forms, procedures, and tools for data collection and analysis as the basis for measuring, documenting and reporting of project performance and outcomes.
7. Ensure that M&E lessons learned from results of program monitoring and evaluation are incorporated into the design and execution of program activities to meet stated objectives and needs of the beneficiary populations.
8. Integrate project interventions with other CRS programs as appropriate through linkages with other service providers, particularly the newly-won USDA LRP project.
9. Ensure that processes are anchored in CRS ProPack methodologies, Compass program implementation guidelines, Integral Human Development (IHD), the Justice Lens, the Gender Lens and CRS Partnership principles.

Management

1. Ensure staff compliance with all CRS administrative and operational procedures and policies, as well as applicable donor regulations.
2. Approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and cost modification requests to donors.
3. Carry out quarterly financial tracking and reporting system, carefully review the monthly budget comparison report to ensure that spending and program implementation is aligned while analyzing the progress toward program goals and against burn rates.
4. Proactively identify and address financial issues and concerns in concert with other staff and partners to ensure adherence to financial guidelines and maintain transparent systems and records.
5. Ensure accurate and timely reporting of program finances and progress status, review actual financial performance against the budget and take corrective action to ensure that program expenses match the execution of activity plans and accurate effort reporting.

Representation and Communication

1. Seek out opportunities to represent CRS programming in international circles and highlight the innovative work under the USDA Beoog Biiga 3 project.
2. Publish on program results.
3. In collaboration with CRS supervisor, act as primary program contact to donor and other local and international stakeholders, and be responsible for addressing all program matters.
4. Represent CRS at external meetings with international and domestic stakeholders.
5. In specific instances, prepare and deliver presentations of the project ongoing activities, challenges/opportunities, and results achieved.
6. Strengthen linkages with existing and potential partner agencies.
7. Oversee the development and implementation of program communication strategies and materials, including compliance with donor’s branding and marketing requirements as well as CRS marketing and communication procedures.
8. Collaborate effectively and regularly with regional/HQ management and technical advisors, especially with regards to sharing and reviewing important communication with USDA Dakar and Washington, DC.

Human Resources

1. Manage recruitment portfolio for the program, in collaboration with Human Resources Department and CRS country program management, orient, and support the professional development of supervisees, providing timely, respectful feedback.
2. Conduct periodic reviews of staff performance in keeping with CRS’ performance management system and mentor staff to ensure high levels of motivation, commitment, capacity, and teamwork.
3. Supervise and coach a team of CRS and implementing partner staff to meet program objectives.
4. Oversee the management of the relationship with Caritas OCADES, ensure regular communication and organization of review/planning workshops.
5. With program staff, lead the identification of performance gaps and training needs of CRS and partner staff and ensure the design and delivery of high-quality training, technical assistance, and administrative and financial support to all partner agencies, including the selection and coordination of consultants.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in relevant technical area, 7 or more years’ experience and 5 years managing donor funds, demonstrated expertise in sector
• Leader in development
• Proven track record of successful program management, including management of multi-activity projects, complicated logistics and large budgets
• Proven track record of resource acquisition
• At least 5 years of supervisory experience, including performance evaluation, coaching and mentoring
• Knowledge of CRS Partnership strategy and Partner management experience an advantage
• Prior experience managing multi country grants
• Excellent report-writing skills
• Excellent knowledge and experience in budget management and project management
• Proficiency in Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook

Required Languages — French and English, including a capacity to write reports and give presentations in both languages.

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 25%.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven leadership, and ability to build and motivate diverse and talented teams
• Proven experience in building and maintaining institutional linkages
• Ability to work to meet deadlines in multiple tasking environments
• Excellent organization, planning and analytical skills; detail oriented
• Ability to think critically, effectively manage change and problem solve
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills, with demonstrated strength in relationship management
• Ability to be flexible, persistent, and diplomatic and to gain respect among staff, local community leaders, church and secular partners, as well as local government ministries and donor organizations
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a multi- cultural team and be self-motivated and accountable for program implementation and work independently

Agency-wide Competencies

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

Supervisory: Education Program Manager, Health and Nutrition Program Manager, MEAL Manager, Budget Manager, and Senior Commodity Manager. These individuals in-turn manage approximately 55 other staff.

Internal: Reports directly to Head of Programs, Country Representative, Business Development Specialist, Deputy Regional Director, Regional Technical Advisors, HQ specialists (in PIQA & IDEA)

External: All project partners, including Government officials, public and private sector stakeholders, donors, industry experts, local/international NGOs, and local and international Catholic agencies.

Work Conditions/Environment Conditions

This position is based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and will require some travel to hardship locations in the project intervention zone in Centre Nord. Advanced Personal Security Training will be required before travel is permitted to go to this zone.

What we offer

****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.

EOE/M/F/D/V – CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.