Internal/External Job Announcement (re-Advert)

About CRS

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. For nearly 60 years, CRS has taken the lead in responding to natural and man-made disasters affecting Ethiopia's most vulnerable communities. Moving beyond emergency response, CRS' disaster mitigation and recovery projects in drought and flood-prone areas have rebuilt individual and community assets through non-food aid in the form of agriculture, livestock, health, nutrition, and water and sanitation assistance. CRS's humanitarian work in Ethiopia also provides livelihoods support to farmers and entrepreneurs, promotes equality and inclusion, and mitigates the impact of COVID-19.

 The Joint Emergency Operation (JEOP) is an emergency food assistance program targeting transitory food insecure households through a project participant targeting process led by the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE) National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC). JEOP provides emergency assistance to protect their lives and livelihood where recurrent drought affected in significant harvest loss, livestock death and price increase of essentials. The consortium is led by CRS and includes consortium partners, CARE, Food for the Hungry, Relief Society of Tigray (REST), World Vision and Organization for Relief and Development in Amhara (ORDA). CRS also works thorough local implementing partners Hararghe and Meki Catholic Secretariat (HCS and MCS).

 As part of CRS family, you will join the more than 5000 strong and vibrant individuals working globally to accomplish the mission of CRS. CRS/Ethiopia invites you, the qualified candidate, to apply for the following position.

Announcement:

Internal/External

Position Title: Program Manager I – ICT4D for JEOP

Duty Station: Addis Ababa

Employment term: Indefinite term – contingent upon funding of the JEOP

Reports to: JEOP Chief of Party

Application Deadline: June 11, 2022

Job Summary:

As ICT4D Program Manager you will provide overall strategic coordination and leadership of ICT4D components of JEOP. The JEOP will provide lifesaving food assistance vulnerable people affected by shocks in the target geographies through interventions implemented in collaboration with national, regional, and local stakeholders.

Job Responsibilities

·        Lead the development, implementation, and consolidation of the adoption of innovative technology and approaches to improve data management and analytics, compliance monitoring, beneficiary registration and commodity tracking.

·        Manage ICT4D JEOP partner, Project Balance, responsible for providing technical advising on the design, implementation and streamlining of JEOP’s data management; lead innovation and contribute to operational research that would enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency food aid in Ethiopia and in alignment with BHA’s Digital First strategy.

·        Ensure strategic objectives and results are accomplished and meet technical quality standards through quarterly activity planning and budget forecasts. Lead quarterly and post-implementation technical reviews of implementation plans to meet donor expectations in terms of timely reporting on the results and budget execution.

·        Collaborate with HQ and Country Program IT Department to ensure ICT4D equipment and software purchases are in line with CRS standards and in compliance with donor requirements.

·        Ensure ICT systems are designed, implemented, configured, maintained and stored to meet CRS and donor program service and data privacy and security requirements. 

·        Effectively manage talent and supervise. Ensure job descriptions clearly describe responsibilities and performance expectations in a way that fosters opportunities for learning and development; participate in the recruitment, training, and development of competent ICT4D staff in the use of technology and devices; and in coordination with country program Human Resources Manager, ensure full orientation of new staff.

·        Coordinate with JEOP MEAL Program Manager to oversee the design and implementation of the monitoring and evaluation and early warning systems, using appropriate forms, procedures, and tools for data collection and analysis as the basis for measuring, documenting, and reporting outcome and support the implementation of process improvements. Monitoring includes setting up a Help desk support system to ensure timely response to user support requests or promptly escalate issues as needed and establishing spot-check systems for all ICT4D related processes for accountability and proper management.

·        Manage and mitigate risk. Ensure compliance with donor grants, including oversight of partner budgets, finance and administration, and reporting to donor. Monitor ICT4D system operation and implement measures to ensure consistency in service delivery against established policies, procedures, and service standards and maintenance of the ICT4D devices for successful implementation.

·        Coordinate relationships with consortium partner, Project Balance and RedRose. Contribute to coordinating roles and activities of staff from third-party suppliers in line with CRS partnership principles. Act as the primary point of contact for Project Balance and RedRose, as they deploy and maintain the ICT4D system and devices across the program to enhance program implementation effectiveness, and ensure quality system configuration, administration, and security. In coordination with HQ technical staff, ensure the licensing for all users.

·        Drive mainstreaming of safeguarding, protection, environment and gender within ICT4D initiatives in collaboration with technical in JEOP, CRS Ethiopia and regional level counterparts.

·        Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing of 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 to improve staff and partners capacity in ICT4D, especially the Red Rose One System Technology.

·        Develop a centralized JEOP data clearinghouse where information from various streams can be stored and visualized. Currently, JEOP partners collect a large amount of data using various paper-based and digital tools related to commodity tracking, compliance, beneficiary registration and commodity distribution, cash programming, early warning and market monitoring, and routine monitoring for donor reporting. By channeling this data through the centralized database and visualization hub, JEOP partners can easily share information and integrate and share data. This system will strengthen field-level data collection systems; improve identification of inconsistencies in program data and data across programs; better track and view trends related to key participants such as women, youth and PWDs; and tag and layer data from streams such as EWS and PDM to identify trends that can improve program quality.

Key Working Relationships

·        Supervisory: Two (2) ICT4D Project Officers

·        Internal: JEOP Team, Country Representative, Head of Operations, Finance, Procurement and Administration Staff, Regional and Senior Technical Advisors, Deputy Regional Directors for PQ and MQ, RISA, members of CRS ICT community, and owners of CRS business systems, CRS HQ GKIM team

·        External: Project Balance and RedRose Team

Job Requirements

Typical Background, Experience and Requirements

 Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in IT-related field (Computer Science, Computer Networking, Programming, and Information Systems). Significant work experience in a directly related field combined with appropriate training/certificates will be considered in lieu of degree.
• Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert or equivalent.
• Experience with RedRose, CommCare, PowerBI, GIS or similar data collection, management, and analysis tools.
•   A minimum of 5 years work-related experience.
• Previous experience implementing digital solutions at scale in resource poor (limited internet connectivity, electricity, low-mid digital literacy levels) areas.
•  Project Management Experience or certification highly desirable.
• At least 3 years of supervisory experience, including performance evaluation, coaching, and mentoring.
•  Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy and Partner management experience an advantage.
•   Experience coordinating a diverse group of stakeholders. Ability to understand user needs and communicate technical ICT concepts with a nontechnical audience and promote best practices in digital data collection, management and analysis.
•  Excellent report writing skills and oral communication abilities.
•  Excellent knowledge and experience in budget management and project management.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Publisher, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook.
• Previous hand-on experience in designing and deploying mobile technology solution in any emergency response program or related field, required.
• Demonstrated capacity in management of network/server software, hardware devices and platforms.
•  Demonstrated experience building ICT capacity of staff at different skill levels.
• Solid knowledge of backup and disaster recovery systems.

 Personal Skills

• Proven leadership and ability to build and motivate diverse and talented teams.
•   Proven experience in building and maintaining institutional linkages.
•   Ability to work to meet deadlines in multiple tasking environments.
•   Excellent organization, planning and analytical skills; detail oriented.
• Strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture, make sound decisions, and offer creative solutions.
• Ability to anticipate systems’ impact on organizational and user effectiveness.
•  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated strength in relationship management and ability to communicate technical ideas and concerns in a non-technical manner to a wide range of staff.
•  Track record of reliable and consistent performance with strong client-service focus.
• Maturity and discretion, able to work with, and maintain confidential information.

 Required/Desired Language: Written and spoken English and Amharic, required.

Afan Oromo, Tigrinya, Somali a plus.

Travel Required (up to 40% travel)

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

How to Apply:

You should fill the application form through this link: CLICK HERE

 and attach your up-to-date CV on / before the application deadline June 11, 2022.

You will be contacted only if selected for 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 and people with disabilities are highly encouraged to apply**

This job opportunity is open to Ethiopian nationals only.