About CRS
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners, people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
Project Background
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) supporting relief and development work in over 100 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. CRS is leading the implementation of the Coordinating Comprehensive Care for Children (4Children) – a five‐year USAID‐funded project along with a consortium of organizations including IntraHealth, Maestral, Pact, Plan and Westat. 4Children is designed to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) affected by HIV and AIDS and other adversities.
In Uganda, 4Children is implementing the Uganda System Strengthening Project (USS) to support and strengthen institutions to partner effectively with the goal of improving the quality of life among children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS and other adversities. The project works towards three broad strategic objectives: (1) Ugandan institutions are strengthened to successfully plan, lead and coordinate comprehensive services for children made vulnerable by HIV and other child protection risks; (2) Uganda’s social service workforce strengthened to deliver comprehensive services for children affected by HIV and other adversities; and (3) Ugandan institutions collect, analyze and use data to improve planning, service delivery and learning around social protection systems.
Job Summary
Seconded to the National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU), the Capacity Strengthening Technical Advisor will provide technical support to a range of capacity strengthening initiatives in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) partnership principles and program quality standards, donor guidelines and industry best practices. The Capacity Strengthening Technical Advisor’s advice, knowledge and support will enable the project to accompany NASWU through the process of developing and implementing a targeted Organizational Strengthening Plan in line with the NASWU five-year strategic plan and their respective USS workplan. These activities will directly contribute to strategic objective 1.
Job Responsibilities
• Support the development and contribute to the implementation of project-level strategies, standards, tools and best practices in capacity strengthening that effectively engage NASWU.
• Provide technical solutions to the 4Children Project through strategic planning and monitoring of NASWU activities.
• Support NASWU to apply capacity assessment tools and develop a capacity strengthening and leadership strategy based on the assessment results.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives for NASWU including (a) capacity building support and trainings on institutional and programmatic areas of competence; (b) institutional strengthening, including improvement processes, procedures, operating standards; and (c) mentoring and coaching to NASWU staff.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning on behalf of the USS project by monitoring and evaluating NASWU activities, assisting with measuring wider USS program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with peer organizations and other institutions, participate in forums in the area of capacity strengthening to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
Typical Background, Experience and Requirements
Education and Experience
• Master’s degree in Public Administration, Public Health, Organizational Development or Social Work required.
• Minimum of 7 years relevant work experience with progressive responsibilities, with minimum of 5 years relevant field-based experience in capacity building, institutional strengthening or related work.
• Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in institutional strengthening, including developing and/or improving business processes, policies and procedures.
• Knowledge of capacity strengthening best practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation and analysis.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations and faith-based and civil society partners.
• Understanding of partnership principles.
• Excellent interpersonal, writing and oral presentation skills in English.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), web conferencing applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
Personal Skills
• Strong relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings
• Good strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Good technical writing skills
• Presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented
Required/Desired Foreign Language: English fluency, including excellent oral and written skills, required.
Travel Required: Periodic travel will be required to selected regional and district meetings; approximately 15%.
Key Working Relationships
Reports to: Community System Strengthening Project Manager
Internal: 4Children Project Director, Government System Strengthening Project Manager, CRS Partnership and Capacity Strengthening Advisor and Senior Technical Advisors from 4Children.
External: NASWU, Makerere University and DataCare.
Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)
These are rooted in the mission, values and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
1. Serves with Integrity
2. Models Stewardship
3. Cultivates Constructive Relationships
4. Promotes Learning
Program Manager Competencies
These are rooted in the mission, values and principles of CRS and used by each program manager to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
1. Sets clear goals and manages toward them
2. Collaborates effectively with staff and stakeholders
3. Manages financial resources with integrity
4. Applies program quality standards to project design and organizational learning
Key Working Relationships
Internal: Chief of Party, DCOP for Operational Excellence, Head of Programs, Country Representative and DFSA team.
External: Local Caritas partners, technical partners, local government authorities, community volunteers, USAID and other donors.
Qualifications
1. Master’s Degree or equivalent experience in International Relations or Economics/Social Sciences or other relevant field.
2. Minimum of 15 years’ experience with CRS or other humanitarian agencies.
3. Minimum 10 years’ experience in a senior program management position that demonstrates mentoring staff to achieve programmatic excellence, experience in Uganda preferred.
4. Experience in establishing MEAL systems and conducting participative research of qualitative and quantitative nature.
5. Proven experience in food security and nutrition programming, particularly in the areas of health and nutrition, agricultural livelihoods, community-led savings and gender integration as well as community empowerment and community systems strengthening.
6. Demonstrated ability to strategically lead high quality technical staff and program managers.
7. Demonstrated analytic capacity and ability to write high quality reports
8. Excellent partnership skills and the ability to interact effectively with donors, collaborating agencies, local and government partners
9. Demonstrated experience in USAID relationship management, preferred experience with the Food for Peace, Feed the Future, or Vulnerable Populations Teams in the Local Mission.
10. Excellent organization and planning skills and ability to resolve problems constructively
11. Understanding of current best practices and challenges while coordinating to implement DFSA program strategies through a participatory approach
12. Computer literate, with strong knowledge of MS Office applications, spread sheets, database programs, and statistical software packages.
13. Flexibility, persistence, and ability to work well in a multi-sectoral and multi-cultural team
14. Ability to work in a challenging and stressful environment with unexpected challenges
15. Knowledge of USAID and USG grant rules and regulations, specifically relating to ADS 205 preferred.
16. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English required.
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.
• Trusting Relationships
• Professional Growth
• Partnership
• Accountability
Agency-Wide Competencies
These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
1. Serves with Integrity
2. Develops Constructive Relationships
3. Models Stewardship
4. Promotes Learning
HOW TO APPLY:
Disclaimer Clause:
This job description is not an exhaustive list of skills, effort, duties and responsibilities associated with the position. CRS’ recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. “I understand that CRS takes all allegations of abuse and exploitation seriously. Abuse or exploitation of children or vulnerable adults is grounds for immediate dismissal.” Note: Please submit cover letter, CV and three work references (names and contact information only) to ug_recruitment@crs.org by October 23rd, 2017.
Only selected candidates that meet the requirements will be notified. EOE/M/F/D/V**