Company Profile

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. CRS Ghana was established in 1958, a year after Ghana gained independence. In Ghana, CRS works with local partners to tackle poverty on several fronts including improving health and nutrition; increasing access to safe water and improved sanitation; promoting agriculture to enhance food security; and increasing financial assets through Savings and Internal Lending Communities. 

Job Description

• Job Title: Senior Project Officer - SILC
• Department: Programming
• Band: D
• Reports To: Agriculture Program Manager
• Country/Location: Ghana, Tamale
• Start Date: October, 2017
• End Date:         September, 2019

CRS Background:
Catholic Relief Services 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.

CRS/Ghana Background:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been working in Ghana since 1958 in Health, Agriculture, Peace Building, Water and Sanitation, Microfinance and Education programs and has long-standing relationships with Church and non-Church partners and communities throughout the country. CRS/Ghana currently has 61 staff with project offices in Tamale and Accra.

Job Summary:
As a lead for the I-SEARCH project 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.

Job Responsibilities:

• Organize and lead the implementation of all assigned project activities as outlined in the detailed implementation plan in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.
• Ensure learning properly accompanies 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.
• Coordinate and oversee working relationships with all local project stakeholders and serve as the liaison between them and the project team to mobilize local actors and promote project activities and impact.
• Supervise and perform 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 proper tracking of resource use for project activities through periodic budget reviews and follow-up with and assistance to implementing partner.
• Support and coordinate capacity building and technical support activities to ensure assigned project activities are implemented per project guidelines and standards.
• Coordinate provision of any logistical and administrative support to staff and partners.
• Ensure project documentation for assigned activities is complete with all required documents and is filed per agency and donor requirements. Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices

Scope: Supervises two (2) Field Officers

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal:     Senior Project Officer-Agric., ATT Project Coordinator and Finance Manager
• External:      IFDC/ATT Project, Departments of Agriculture and other partners

Travel Required: 50%

Required Skills or Experience

Typical Background, Experience & Requirements:
Education and Experience

• Master's Degree in agriculture, agronomy, social science, community-based development or other related field required.
• Minimum of 5 years of work experience in project support, ideally in the field of agricultural or community development work for an NGO.
• Proven knowledge and experience in the Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) or Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) methodology.
• Experience working with partners, participatory action planning and community engagement.
• Staff supervision experience a plus.
• Proficiency in local languages of target districts in the three northern regions of Ghana.
• 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 ability to make sound judgment
• Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners
• Proactive, results-oriented and service-oriented
• Attention to details, accuracy and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities

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:

• Set clear goals and  work  towards achieving them
• Collaborates effectively with staff and stakeholders
• Manages financial resources with integrity
• Applies program quality standards to project design and organizational learning

MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) Competencies:

• Accountability: Improving our accountability to a range of stakeholders through increased participation, transparent communication, responsive feedback mechanisms, and adherence to internal and external quality standards and requirements.
• Analysis and Critical Thinking: Engaging with data, challenging biases and assumptions, posing thoughtful questions, pursuing deeper understanding of evidence through reflection and perspective-taking, and making informed programming decisions.
• Monitoring: Implementing monitoring activities, including timely collection of quality data, set up and maintenance of databases, facilitation of participatory reflection on monitoring results, and submission of timely progress reports.