GBLCAREERS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in 93 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs. Therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to our approach in every country in which CRS
operates.

CRS came to Nigeria in 1960 to provide humanitarian assistance in collaboration with the Catholic Church until it was requested to leave during the Biafran War. In 1999, CRS opened an office in Nigeria, and greatly expanded HIV/AIDS programming through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2004. Programmatic areas in Nigeria have since expanded to include all three of CRS’ Strategic Program Areas (SPAs) health, agriculture and emergency response & recovery as well as cross cutting efforts in capacity building, governance and gender.

CRS Nigeria’s health program represents over 70% of the country program’s entire programming portfolio. Through the engagement of a Deputy Country Representative (DCR)/Programs focusing on health programming, CRS will continue to demonstrate leadership and high quality program implementation in Nigeria. It will seek to influence donor investment in this sector in Nigeria as well as Government engagement, promoting innovative transformative and influential programming.

Job Summary:
The Deputy Country Representative/Health (DCR/Health) for CRS in Nigeria is responsible for leading the growth and management of the country program’s (CP) health portfolio as well as providing strategic leadership and ensuring program quality. S/he will anticipate appropriate opportunities for funding in-line with the country and agency strategy, and ensure effective partnerships – especially with Church partners, government and the private sector – to reach program objectives. The DCR/Health will lead the programming team in this sector with clear planning and priorities then monitor and evaluate progress against those plans. In this position the DCR will play a key role in promoting teamwork, collaboration, adherence to CRS programming principles and program quality, and learning across program teams as well as collaboration between operations and programming. The DCR is a critical member of the Leadership Team (LT) as well as the Management Team (MT).

Specific Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership and Program Quality:
• Ensure a Nigeria Health Strategy is developed and regularly updated to guide CP’s direction in the health sector, ensuring that this strategy is innovative and aligned with CRS’ agency and CP strategies and policies.
• Ensure that all CP activities relating to health, inclusive of social services, are effectively and efficiently contributing to strategic objectives and results are achieved per expected technical quality standards.
• Oversee, in collaboration with health teams, periodic technical reviews and manage changes in program direction and focus in collaboration with partners, donors, and CRS technical experts.
• Ensure that CP health programs are developed within the framework of Integral Human Development (IHD) and complementary to/aligned with other programs, including government and Church.
• Ensure effective gender-mainstreaming across the health program in both programming and management.
• In collaboration with the programming and project-specific teams, ensure development of high quality training materials, delivery of quality training, technical assistance and administrative and financial support to all partner agencies, including the selection and coordination of consultants.
• Promote the use of quality improvement, data-informed decision making and evidence-based practices (or sound practices where evidence is limited) among health program staff and partners.

Growth
• Coordinate capture planning, prepositioning, partnership negotiations and proposal development processes for health opportunities in compliance with CRS’ best practices and guidance in collaboration with the Senior Business Development Manager.
• Ensure high quality, logical project design in new proposals.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) and Knowledge Management
• Promote effective knowledge management within the health program and across sectors.
• Collaborate with appropriate Regional and HQ Advisors to promote program quality and sharing of learning and identify relevant innovations.
• Work collaboratively across all sectors to ensure integration, complementarity and learning.
• In collaboration with the programming team, provide guidance and oversight to partners and other collaborating agencies to ensure that lessons of sound practice are documented and disseminated.
• Supervise the MEAL Coordinator for the country program and work closely with the DCR/Agriculture and Emergency Director to ensure compliance to the MEAL Policies and Procedures across all sectors with emphasis on accountability and learning.
• In collaboration with the MEAL Coordinator, oversee the development and management of the CP’s monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) system for the health program.
• Ensure data is analyzed to measure project performance and identify areas of improvement.
• Ensure that learning is incorporated into evolving program plans.
• Collaborate with Regional and Headquarters technical staff to identify and implement appropriate electronic data collection solutions to improve timeliness and quality of M&E and reporting.

Management and Administration:
• Promote coordination and cooperation between health programs and operations staff including working closely with the DCR/Operations and HoOPs to ensure stewardship of resources and appropriate budget management of projects, collaboration in forecasting and other business processes.
• Ensure accurate and timely management and reporting on financial and material resources as it relates to health programming.
• Ensure staff compliance with all CRS administrative and operational procedures and policies, as well as applicable donor regulations.
• Approve CP expenditures, budget adjustments, and cost modification requests to donors per agency policies and procedures and donor regulations.
• Assist the CP Leadership Team in the development of the Annual Programming Plan and provide overall leadership to the development of the health budgets.
Representation and Partnership:
• Maintain and strengthen partnership, collaboration and communication with the Ministry of Healthy, Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare Development, National Planning Commission and other relevant government programs.
• Maintain and strengthen partnership, collaboration and communication with Catholic Church entities, especially the Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN) as related to their health activities.
• Provide leadership and guidance for programming staff to ensure strong Church partnership relations and capacity strengthening support, in-line with HQ and Regional initiatives.
• Ensure visibility of CRS’ health programs in Nigeria.
• In collaboration with CR, act as CP contact to donor and other local and international stakeholders for health.
• In collaboration with CR and Senior Business Development Manager and Deputy Country

Representative (Agriculture) and Emergency Director, strengthen linkages with existing and potential partner agencies as well as stakeholder groupings, including technical working groups, such as the INGO Forum, the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), food security, and emergency coordination.
• Ensure that institutional capacity strengthening and service provision align with CRS partnership principles and agency priorities.

Human Resource Management:
• Lead, manage, and supervise the health programming team staff. This includes supervision of Chiefs of Party (COP) for consortium programs unless otherwise stipulated by the donor, and heads of health units.
• 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.
• Ensure high quality staff members are recruited at all levels.

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:
Builds and leads effective teams Definition: Promotes and guides teamwork among staff and partners as the fundamental approach to achieving CRS’s program goals.
Supervises and Develops Program Staff Definition: Supports the performance and professional development of staff.

Focuses on Quality
Definition: Establish systems that support program quality via agency principles and standards, compliance, learning and innovation.
Leads growth in programs Definition: Engages staff and partners in the development and growth of programs in line with the country strategy and CRS guiding principles.

Key Working Relationships: Internal: Country Representative, Deputy Country Representative (Agriculture), Emergency Director, Head of Operations, Senior Business Development Manager, MEAL Coordinator, CoPs, Deputy Regional Director for Program Quality and Growth, Regional, Africa-wide, and HQ Technical Advisors, other programming staff including HoPs and DCRs from other CPs, Programming Unit Heads, MEAL Advisor, and Finance Manager.
External: Church (Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria – CCFN, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria – CSN, Diocesan and other implementing partners, etc.), USG (USAID, CDC, etc.) and other donors, Government of Nigeria (National Planning Commission, relevant Ministries, etc.) Primary Recipient and other Global Fund partners, consortium partners (current and potential), NGO network members, and CSE.

Required Qualifications and Experience:
• Master’s Degree or Doctorate in International Development or a relevant technical area such as Public Health, Medicine, Social Work or related field.
• Minimum ten years of international development experience managing and implementing complex programs in developing countries.
• Demonstrated capacity and experience with institutional strengthening of local civil society and government agencies.
• Experience leading business development, including proposal development, project design, coordination, positioning and negotiating partnerships.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• Knowledge of key donor regulations.
• Proven leadership and inter-personal skills and ability to build and motivate diverse and talented teams.
• Proven experience in building and maintaining institutional linkages and relationships required.
• Demonstrated commitment to improving gender equality and gender responsiveness in programming and operations.
• Cultural sensitivity, patience and flexibility.
• Demonstrated personal accountability and driven to serve others.
• Understanding of and experience with faith-based organizations, local church structures, and accompaniment and capacity-building principles in local partnerships highly desired.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products.
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as required.

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

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