Senior Project Officer – Partnership and Capacity Strengthening

Job Summary:

As a lead for partnership within the JEOP team, you will facilitate the achievement of project objectives through coordinating and reporting on all project activities and providing technical guidance and advice to staff and implementing partner(s) advancing Catholic Relief Services (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable. Your coordination and relationship management skills will ensure that the project for which you are responsible applies best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve. You will facilitate the achievement of project objectives through hands-on practical support for partner capacity building advancing CRS work serving the poor and vulnerable. Your teamwork and relationship management skills will ensure that JEOP applies best practices related to partnership, and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve. JEOP has a wide partnership base of non-governmental organizations (four local and three international), in addition to technical, data management, inclusion, and learning partners. You will work under the Program Manager for Partnership within JEOP to strengthen partner capacity, in liaison with the wider CRS partnership team. This will include co-facilitating workshops around and following up work plans for the following CRS’ Holistic Organizational Capacity Assessment Instrument (HOCAI) and Sub-Recipient Management Policy (SRFMP), Safeguarding, Gender, Environmental Impact Assessment. This role will cut across JEOP   â€™s core units: Program Quality, Operations, Compliance, and Risk. The position holder will work with multiple JEOP staff to make sure that JEOP partners have an appropriate capacity building plan in place, with training, support, follow-up, with a particular focus on local partner capacity building, localization, and subsidiarity.

Job Responsibilities:

• Support implementation of all assigned partner capacity building activities as outlined in the detailed implementation plan (including support developing the partner capacity building plan) in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.
• Engage in solid working relationships with local project stakeholders and mobilize local actors and promote project activities and impact.
• Support learning to accompany project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities and guiding partners in their efforts to reflect on project experiences. Analyze implementation challenges and report any inconsistencies and/or gaps to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
• Support the learning from reviews and improve ad-hoc inspections of various processes and resources at project sites to ensure timely project activities implementation and adherence to established process standards and procedures.
• Ensure project documentation for assigned activities is complete with all required documents and as per agency and donor requirements. Assist with preparation of trend analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices.
• Support the rollout of partnership capacity building plans and actively follow up on implementation
• Work with technical team colleagues across compliance, operations, and program quality to incorporate partners' capacity building in each activity, for follow-up action plans, and identification for support.
• Support team in developing tools that help partners to improve program implementation. Prepare experience sharing sessions and visits
• Ensure JEOP project activities are favorable to a vulnerable segment of the population such as women, people living with disabilities, children, and elders.
• Identify/adapt and promote sustainable evidence-based organizational capacity strengthening tools, methods, or approaches that the local partners can use or improve upon to address identified capacity gaps or areas in need of improvement for CSO/CBO and networks.
• Support implementation of evidence-based sustainability models including investment cases and redirection of resources.
• Monitor strategies and material resources relevant to achieving the assigned project outcome. Through planning and oversight ensure efficient use of project resources.
• Ensure sustainable social change is attained through partnerships with a wide array of organizations churches, nonprofits, host governments, international agencies, and others working to achieve core objectives of improved food security.

Job Requirements

Typical Background, Experience & Requirements:

Education and Experience

• MA/BA Degree in Management/Human Resource Development/related field with 2 years relevant experience for MA degree or 4 years relevant experience for BA degree ideally in the field of Partnership & Capacity Strengthening and for an NGO. 
• Additional education may substitute for some experience.
• Experience working with a range of partners and stakeholders, participatory action planning, and community engagement. 
• Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data. 
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint). 

Personal Skills

• Analysis and problem-solving skills with the ability to make sound judgment
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented
• Attention to detail, accuracy, and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities
• Strong facilitation and creative problem-solving skills. 

Required/Desired Foreign Language: Amharic and English essential. Afan Oromo, Tigrinya, Somali a plus.

Travel Required: 75%

Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory: N/A

Internal: JEOP Senior Management Team and technical leads, CRS Ethiopia partnership unit, CRS Ethiopia safeguarding, finance, protection, and gender units.

External: JEOP partners

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 

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

How to Apply

You should fill the application form through this link: https://form.jotform.com/213632178976567 and attach your up-to-date CV on/before the application deadline January 09, 2021.

You will be contacted only if selected for a written exam/interview. Phone solicitations will not be accepted. These job opportunities are open to Ethiopian nationals only.

CRS requires its staff to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. 

Qualified women are highly encouraged to apply