Administrative Officer – CR Support

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. For nearly 60 years, CRS has taken the lead in responding to natural and man-made disasters affecting Ethiopia’s most vulnerable communities. Moving beyond emergency response, CRS’ disaster mitigation and recovery projects in drought and flood-prone areas have rebuilt individual and community assets through non-food aid in the form of agriculture, livestock, health, nutrition, and water and sanitation assistance. CRS’s humanitarian work in Ethiopia also provides livelihoods support to farmers and entrepreneurs, promotes equality and inclusion, and mitigates the impact of COVID-19.

As part of CRS family, you will join the more than 5000 strong and vibrant individuals working globally to accomplish the mission of CRS. CRS/Ethiopia invites you, the qualified candidate, to apply for the following position.

Job Title:                            Administrative Officer – CR Support

Band:                                  V

Required number:           One

Employment Term:          Indefinite Term

Reports To:                        Country Representative

Department:                     Country Program

Job Summary:

You will support the Country Representative in managing the day-to-day affairs of the organization. You will receive and provide service to all CRS external and international guests. You will coordinate the provision of responsive, effective, and efficient administrative services in support of the Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) mission to serve the poor and vulnerable.

Job Responsibilities:

Support to Country Representative 

• Manage and maintain Country Representative’s schedule, appointments handling VIP visitors (Donors, CEOs, International Church Dignitaries) preparing their schedules and visits before-hand
• Travel arrangements for the CR and other international guests will be accomplished with utmost efficiency.
• Arrange and coordinate meetings, events, and travel.
• Record, transcribe and distribute minutes of meetings of SMT and Expanded SMT
• Act as a liaison with internal staff at all levels.
• Assess various inquiries of visitors and address them accordingly.
• Organizing CR’s presentation materials to visitors including CRS Briefing Book, itinerary, Security Manual and Constant Companion prior to or upon arrival.
• Organize events inside and outside CRS Ethiopia for visitors and international and national staff as per the CR’s request.
• Facilitate any regional bookings and meeting schedules for the CR
• Keep management apprised of any issues, problems, or potential conflicts so that prompt investigation and resolution can occur.

 Administrative and office management

• Drafts and composes routine correspondences and memos for the CR signature.
• Maintains the CR’s files (this includes updating files, reports and correspondence, retaining confidential records and files under lock and key and maintaining all matters in a confidential manner);
• Takes appointments and manages agenda for the CR;
• Liaises with other departments, re-email correspondence.  Handles and prepares responses as necessary.
• Receives incoming correspondence of the organization (letters, memos, newspapers, e-mail, faxes), monitor, screen, respond to and distribute incoming communications to the relevant department and staff.
• Receives telephone calls and visitors and announces to CR and DCR or responds as needed.
• Makes phone calls for the CR, DCR and visitors.
• Act as a contact person to provide all relevant information that is inquired by external organizations, persons and internal departments in line with CRS’ competencies that upholds the agency’s image.
• Assist CP staff in complying with requests in relation to CR Office.
• As needed, conduct research, collect and analyze data to prepare reports and documents
• Receive and interact with incoming visitors, including high level Church, government and donor officials.

Other Duties

• Performs other duties assigned by the CR
• Performs other related duties as required.

Typical Background, Experience & Requirements:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration or another relevant field
• Four years of related experience providing support at an executive management level or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proficient computer skills and in-depth knowledge of relevant software such as MS Office, PowerPoint, Excel spreadsheets, donation databases, and graphic presentation software.
• Knowledge of standard office administrative practices and procedures.
• Must be able to multi-task and is detail-oriented.
• Excellent organizational and planning skills.
• Ability to provide confidential administrative support to the Country Representative.
• Exceptional communication skills, judgement and decision-making ability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, in both English and Amharic
• Ability to read, interpret and summarize documents.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of visitors or employees of the agency.
• Must be able to work proactively and anticipate future needs or obstacles before they arise.
• Demonstrate initiative in the work environment.
• Flexible and team player.

Required/Desired Foreign Language:  English

Travel Required 5-10%

Key Working Relationships: 

Supervisory: None

Internal:  DCR, Department Managers, CoPs, DCoPs, Operations staff, CRS visiting staff

External:  Partners, NGOs, donors,

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. 

• Serves with Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning

Disclaimer:  This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.