Project Officer Infrastructure – Catholic Relief Services – CRS

Internal/External Job Announcement

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 gender equality, mobilizes for immunization and mitigates the impact of HIV.

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 two different positions.

Job Summary:

As a member of the resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA)/Ifaa team, you will monitor, supervise and report on infrastructure related activities (including construction of social and economic infrastructure) in support of Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable. The overarching goal of this multi-sectoral activity is Improved food security of vulnerable households in targeted PSNP communities, contributing to a sustained reduction in rural poverty in Oromia.  Your thorough and service-oriented approach will ensure that these pieces of infrastructure are designed and constructed on time as per the approved designs/contracts and that the project consistently applies best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of these infrastructures to improved sector service delivery.

Job Responsibilities:

·         Support RFSA partners in the implementation of construction of infrastructures as outlined in the detailed implementation plan (DIP) and in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.

·         Provide technical support to partners and Government of Ethiopia woreda Administrations on the procurement process (for contractors, supplies and materials) for efficient program implementation.

·         Conduct supervision and monitoring to support HCS the timely implementation of SEIs at field level to ensure improved project quality in terms of cost and time.

·         Provide weekly and monthly update on the construction of SEIs progress and maintain data for follow-up and action.

·         Conduct assessment on the quality and functionality of SEIs in RFSA intervention woredas to identify and address implementation challenges.

·         In consultation with his/her supervisor, PSNP Advisor, participate in the experience sharing and best practices platforms to contribute for improved program quality.

·         Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities and assisting partners in their efforts to collect and analyze project data per specified mechanisms and tools. Collaborate with local partner(s) to prepare reports per established reporting schedule.

·         Collect information on staff capacity needs and technical assistance needs of partner organizations and monitor capacity building and technical support activities to ensure effective impact.

·         Complete project documentation for assigned activities. Assist with identifying information for case studies and reports on promising practices.

Typical Background, Experience & Requirements:

Education and Experience

·         Bachelor’s degree in agro-engineering, civil engineering or other related discipline.

·         Minimum of 3 years of work experience in project support. Experience in the field of construction/engineering for an NGO or GoE would be a plus.

·         Experience in participatory action planning and community engagement

·         Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data preferred

·         Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

Personal Skills

·         Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners and community members

• Attention to details, accuracy and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities
• Proactive, results-oriented and service-oriented

Required/Desired Foreign Language

·         Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Afaan Oromo

·         Written and verbal communication skills in Amharic a plus

Travel Required – Field travel to East Hararghe woreda/kebele is up to 50% of his/her time. The remaining 50% will be spent at office.

Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory: None

Internal: PSNP Systems TA, PSNP Systems Manager, Ifaa/RFSA Chief of Party, DCOP for Gender and Youth/ Gender, DCOP for Programming, Ifaa team technical and operation teams, all Country Program staff, Regional and Headquarters SBC technical advisors.

External:  Ifaa Consortium members, local government stakeholders and communities and, representatives from for-profit and other non-profit organizations, private sectors and peer organizations operating in Ifaa woredas.

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

Competencies Relevant for the Specific Position (include those that are applicable):

·         Integrity

·         Confidentiality

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