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 are accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.

Position Title:          Senior Project Officer - Gender

Department:            Programing - RFSA

Duty Station:            CRS Ethiopia/Dire Dawa

Employment Term:   Indefinite term (contingent to program funding)

Reports To:                 Deputy Chief of Party - for Gender, Youth and Social Dynamics (DCoP/GYSD)

Application Deadline:   June 28, 2023

Job Summary:

As a member of Ifaa project team, the gender senior project office (SPO) will provide technical advice and support to a range of program design and implementation issues in the area of gender and capacity strengthening of Ifaa/RFSA staff (CRS and partners) in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. The SPO  is particularly expected to coordinate the support to Ifaa partners in gender integration and ensure that Ifaa applies best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve.

 Job Responsibilities

Technical Support

• Provide on-going technical support to Ifaa staff (CRS and partners) to build skills and develop effective strategies to develop and implement gender responsive activities.

• Develop/adapt tools and guidelines that can be used by the project staff during implementation and M&E of the project.

• Provide technical support to partners in development and implementation of gender integration strategies and preparation of plans and reports

• Provide close support and technical guidance to partner gender staff at different levels.

• Develop/adapt training curriculum to the needs of the project staff, provide training, support, and undertake ongoing technical assistance.

• Undertake Ifaa staff capacity needs and technical assistance needs of partner organizations and support and provide capacity building and technical support activities to ensure effective impact.

• Coordination and implementation of all assigned Ifaa gender activities as outlined in the annual work plan (AWP) in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices

• Coordinate planned gender related assessments/studies and support effective implementation

• Support design of Ifaa gender strategy; implement Ifaa gender integration strategies and improve strategies as needed

• Support MEAL team to include gender perspective in research, mid-term and end line evaluations and mainstream sex and age disaggregated and gender-sensitive indicators into the overall MEAL framework.

• Contribute to developing indicators, milestones and plans, and lead reporting on all indicators for gender integration, and program progress.

• Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities and assisting partners in their efforts to collect and analyze project data per specified mechanisms and tools. Collaborate with local partner(s) to prepare reports per established reporting schedule.

• Support integration, collaboration, and accountability between Ifaa sectors through ensuring gender integration throughout Ifaa interventions.

• Collect and analyze program data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices for specific projects to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to the community engagement/local community structure capacity strengthening learning agenda.

• Contribute to maintaining relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in the area of local community structure capacity strengthening to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

• Identifying information for case studies and reports on promising practices; disseminate learning and sharing on community engagement.

• Support behavior monitoring and tracking including documenting community shifts in attitudes and perceptions towards women and girls

• Organize discussion forums and learning events on gender for ifaa staff (CRS and partners).

• Represent CRS/Ifaa at workshops and events where information on gender integration is requested.

• Support the CRS CP protection and safeguarding activities and build capacity of CRS and partner staff..

Job Requirements

Education and Experience

• Completion of 1st Degree (Gender, sociology, social work, development studies) with five years relevant work experience OR

• Completion of 2nd Degree in (Gender, sociology, social work, development studies) with three years relevant work experience.

• At least 5 or 3 years' work experience in developing and supporting gender responsive, integrated and inclusive development and food security programming. Experience with NGO is a plus.

• Experience with conducting gender analyses, assessments and evaluations and other gender- related research, including applying data collection tools and methodologies.

• Experience in participatory action planning and community engagement

• Demonstrated ability to provide technical support and guidance on gender issues, including gender integration, protection.

• Demonstrated experience in gender and development project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

 Personal Skills

• Observation, active listening, and analysis skills with ability to make sound judgment

• Skills and experience in working effectively with partners and stakeholders (government and non- government) to achieve ifaa objectives.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with groups.

• Strong analytical, training, facilitation, and representation skills.

• Sensitivity to different aspects of diversity (cultural, religion), firm belief in teamwork and sensitivity to gender perspectives.

• Attention to details, accuracy, and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities

• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented

Required/Desired Foreign Language

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Afaan Oromo; ability to  draft and edit reports.

• Written and verbal skills in Amharic is a plus

Travel Required: Field travel required.

Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory: None

Internal: Ifaa/RFSA Chief of Party, DCOP for Gender and Youth/ Gender, Youth and Social Dynamics Lead/, DCOP for Programming, Ifaa team technical and operation teams, CP gender unit, all Country Program staff, Regional and Headquarters gender and youth technical advisors

External: Ifaa Consortium members, local government stakeholders and communities and, representatives from for-profit and other non-profit organizations, private sectors and peer organizations operating in Ifaa woredas.

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.

• Integrity

• Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Builds Relationships

• Develops Talent

• Strategic Mindset

• Accountability & Stewardship

 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/231690911401549 and attach your up-to-date CV on/before the application deadline June 28, 2023.

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 & persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply**