About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in over 100 countries globally, irrespective of race, religion or nationality through relief and development programs. CRS’ programs include emergency response, disaster mitigation and recovery, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding among others. For nearly 60 years, CRS has taken the lead in responding to disasters affecting the poor and vulnerable communities in Ethiopia. CRS’ disaster mitigation and recovery interventions in conflict, drought and flood prone areas in the country have restored household and community assets through humanitarian assistance including food, agriculture, health, nutrition, WASH, and peacebuilding projects. 

 This position will be based at CRS Office in Addis Ababa, with frequent field travels to partner managed food distribution sites and will oversee JEOP commodity risk and compliance monitoring; liaise with local authorities, consortium partners and UN agencies; and represent JEOP management in the field as appropriate.

Job Title:                        Technical Advisor I - Private Sector Engagement (PSE) and Business Growth

Band:                              IX

Required number:        One

Department:                 Ethiopia PCS-LL and Strategic Linkages Unit

Employment Term:      Definite term (for 2 years with possibility of extension)

Reports To:                   Senior Program Manager for PCS-LL and Strategic Linkages 

Country/Location:       CRS Ethiopia/Addis Ababa

Job Summary:  

CRS is committed to strengthening our private sector engagement and market systems approaches and working with private sector partners to improve the opportunities and lives of the rural poor. As part of this process, CRS Ethiopia is building its private sector engagement expertise and exploring options to support matching and blended finance strategies within our program portfolio.

 The Technical Advisor for Private Sector Engagement (PSE) and Business Growth (BG) will provide technical guidance and support to programs, Country Program (CP) leadership and CRS local partners. The PSE and BG Advisor will assist teams integrate the most contextually appropriate and sustainable practices around private sector engagement (PSE) and market-based approaches into the design of new programs, while also supporting the implementation of awards and exploring (and developing) new and innovative private sector partnerships and engagement models. The PSE and BG Advisor’s guidance will contribute to effective, adaptive, and innovative PSE within CP programs including CRS Ethiopia local partners. S/he will also contribute to internal learning processes that assist shape and influence CRS’ strategies to better achieve sustainability and expand its ability to reach scale through impactful partnerships and collaboration with private sector actors of all sizes. The TA’s expertise, advice, and influence will significantly contribute to the effectiveness of CRS’ efforts to support local partner capacity strengthening in resource mobilization and organizational sustainability more broadly, and in doing so, you will make a significant contribution to agency efforts to advance local leadership in line with our agency strategy.

Roles and Key Responsibilities: 

• Contribute to the development and implementation of CP and local partner private sector engagement strategies, standards, tools, leveraging learnings and models from across the agency and best practices in PSE and market-based approaches in humanitarian and development programming.

• Assist local partners to cultivate and manage strategic relationships with peer organizations, aligned private sector actors, business development service providers by leading or supporting assessments, mapping exercises, and relationship management processes.

• Provide high-level support in the application of the country level strategy including in the design and implementation of diversified resource mobilization and business growth strategies that support local partner organizations' sustainability.

• Coordinate and engage with colleagues embedded in various projects and initiatives in the country program, to mobilize and leverage resources – this mainly includes technical expertise, financial, and in-kind – to advance the design and implementation of Resource Mobilization Growth (RMG) strategies of local partners organization.

• Support CP, program leadership/teams in close collaboration with EARO PSE TA and HQ Impact Investment team to explore, screen and develop innovative private sector partnerships, conducting financial and business model analysis and appropriate due diligence according to the type(s) of proposed private sector engagement or partnership(s).

• Support programs to effectively engage private sector partners, refine partner business models (both church and private sector businesses) and develop business plans, providing technical assistance directly to private sector partners when needed and identifying other capacity building support needs.

• Link private sector partners with internal and external sources of blended finance to support business growth and expansion.  

• Support CP efforts to pre-position CRS and local partners for growth opportunities in PSE and market systems, especially by contributing to the technical design for large or complex proposals, defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators, and advising teams on integrating donor priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approaches. 

• Participate in efforts to secure new funding opportunities for funding with private sector partners.

• Adapt and deliver training and workshops on PSE and market systems approaches to local partners, while providing ongoing accompaniment (mentoring and coaching) to local partners to adapt/adopt innovative market-based approaches.

• Support knowledge management and learning (KML) through capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and preparing research, case studies, and internal reports.

• Contribute to the identification of CP enterprise strengthening opportunities and advise accordingly with existing resources/tools or engage the Business Development Services (BDS) Specialist.
  

Job Requirements

Basic Qualifications 

• Master's Degree in: Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, Finance or other related fields.

• Minimum of five years relevant work experience with progressive responsibilities, ideally with a private sector company, business management consultancy, international NGO, with minimum of three years relevant field-based experience in private sector engagement and/or market systems development.

• Experience evaluating and developing business plans/financial models and providing business and other technical advisory services

•  Knowledge of principles and concepts in private sector engagement, market-based approaches to development and/or impact investment.

• Experience in project design and proposal development.

• Knowledge of capacity strengthening best practices.

• Experience with program monitoring, evaluation, analysis, capturing and sharing lessons learned.

• Experience in advising and applying adult learning principles and practices.

• Experience and skills in teamwork, networking and relationship building with diverse and complex organizations.

 Required Languages – English fluency required and preferred knowledge of at least two local languages

 Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 50%. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

• Strong relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals from diverse geographical and cultural settings.

• Excellent strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgments.

• Proactive, resourceful, and results-oriented; self-starter with ability to prioritize and identify tangible steps to implement innovative approaches

• Excellent technical writing skills

• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills

• Highly proficient in Excel for business/financial model analysis and development.  Proficient in Word and PowerPoint, Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks, and budget management systems.

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 

 Supervisory Responsibilities – None  

 Key Working Relationships:  

Internal – PCS-LL Unit, Country Program (CP) and program leadership, EARO and HQ Private Sector Engagement Teams, CP and EARO Technical and Business Development Teams

External – Small and Medium Enterprises, related government offices, global multinational corporations, church businesses, impact investors, business service providers, CRS Partners, Donors

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

***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. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. ***

How to Apply

You should fill the application form through this link: You should fill the application form through this link: CLICK HERE and attach your up-to-date CV on / before the application deadline July 24, 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**

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer