Chief of Party I - Food for Education and Child Nutrition, Togo

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Chief of Party I- Food for Education and Child Nutrition, Togo

Reports to: Head of Programming, Togo

Job Location: Kara, Togo

Salary Grade: 11

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) 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.

About CRS Togo

CRS has been in Togo since 1958 and has long-standing relationships throughout the country with church and non-church partners, the government, and local communities. CRS's program in Togo has a growing and diverse funding base with projects in education, nutrition, microfinance, emergencies, and social cohesion. CRS has offices in Lomé and Kara.

About the Food for Education project

Since 2019, CRS has been implementing a five-year and $22 million United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition project. The project, called STARS, aims to improve literacy and nutrition in the regions of Savanes and Kara in Togo by increasing the quality of literacy teaching and providing school feeding to 71,000 primary school students in 138 schools. The project is being implemented with the national NGOs 3ASC and ADESCO.

STARS is currently starting the fifth year of implementation but will likely receive a one-year extension. CRS has also applied for the next phase of the project, if CRS is retained for this second phase, there will likely be an overlap of one to two years between the two projects.

Job Summary

As Chief of Party I you will provide leadership and overall management during the period of performance to ensure ongoing program quality and closeout of the current funding phase. Your leadership, management, and technical knowledge will ensure the delivery of high-quality programming and advance the position of CRS as a leading agency in education, school feeding, WASH, and nutrition field. The Chief of Party I manage a large team of CRS staff but also two project partners implementing an integrated program in at least 138 schools. As a senior leader, you will proactively manage security and mitigate security risks.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Lead all aspects of the implementation of the STARS project. Serve as the primary contact for CRS HQ, and along with senior project staff, support communication with the Government of Togo and partner organizations, 3ASC and ADESCO.
• Ensure coordination between program and operations leads. Ensure the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures and donor reporting requirements are met.
• Effectively manage senior programming and operations talent. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring.
• With support from the Country Representative, Head of Programming, and in collaboration with CoP for the next phase, manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and regional issues that may impact staff and programming. Ensure all staff understand and adhere to CRS staff safety and security policies and plans and ensure the updating of such plans.
• Promote, uphold, and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Ensure compliance with USDA regulations, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration, and reporting to USDA. Approve daily program expenditures and oversee budget forecast adjustments based on programming needs.
• Ensure the project is implemented to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget, including strategies for phase-out and sustainability.
• Oversee the development of communication strategies and materials, complying with donor and CRS branding and marketing requirements and procedures.
• Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze, and respond quickly to deficiencies. Identify performance gaps and training opportunities for CRS and partner staff and ensure the design and delivery of high-quality training and technical assistance.

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in international development, International Relations, or a relevant technical area. PhD preferred.
• 7 or more years of relevant management and technical experience.
• 5 years’ experience managing donor funds, including multi-country grants. Strong knowledge and experience in budget management.
• 5 years of staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment. Experience coaching senior program staff.

Required LanguagesFluency in written and spoken English and French is required for this position.

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 20%.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to see the big picture and the ability to make sound judgments and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Coaching skills.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

• A recognized leader in the sector as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, etc.
• Demonstrated experience in successful program management, including management of complex, high-value, multi-activity projects, with complicated logistics.
• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy is a plus.
• Ability to represent and present at high levels.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfil his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity - Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust - Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Agency Leadership Competencies:

• Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.

Supervisory Responsibilities

A team that will include staff from the Education, Infrastructure, Health, and Nutrition components.

Key Working Relationships

Internal:

Head of Programming, Head of Operations, CoP Bia Laafia, Supply chain team, Project team, Country Representative, Finance manager and finance team, HQ Project Support Officer for Togo, global USDA grants management team, regional advisors for WASH, Nutrition, MEAL teams

External:

USDA, Sub recipients and other stakeholders, Government officials, public and private sector stakeholders, donors, industry experts, local/international NGOs, Ministry of Primary Education, education, partners & stakeholders, steering committee of integrated school feeding program of Togo.

***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.

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

Note: All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

CRS talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people - especially children and vulnerable adults - to live free from abuse and harm.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate or global telecommuter, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

ABOUT US

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.

ABOUT THE TEAM

CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people - especially children and vulnerable adults - to live free from abuse and harm.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate or global telecommuter, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

To apply please click here.