Job Title: Program Manager II/ Senior DPEM Capacity Strengthening Advisor

Department: Programming/INECD

Band: 10

Reports To: Deputy Chief of Party/ Secondment to NCDA

Country/Location: Rwanda (Kigali)

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, nutrition, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.

Catholic Relief Services has been present in Rwanda since 1960, and currently implements projects in nutrition, WASH, agriculture, youth entrepreneurship, and peacebuilding. The Country Program has over 40 staff and implements its projects through local and international partners, with strong coordination/collaboration with Government of Rwanda structures.

Job Summary:

The Inclusive Nutrition and Early Childhood Development (INECD) activity will promote nurturing and responsive care practices, especially in the areas of health, functioning, nutrition, and early childhood development (ECD) for caregivers and children. Specifically, the activity aims to improve health and nutrition outcomes among women of reproductive age and adolescents and improve infant and young child feeding practices. It also aims to address child development gaps and significant unmet physical rehabilitation and assistive technology (rehab/AT) and social inclusion needs for infants and children. The activity will focus on community-level service delivery, community-health facility linkages, and district-level capacity development, as well as address issues of inclusion and participation, including access to programs and services for children and adults with disabilities, in line with Government of Rwanda priorities.

This position is a Secondment to NCDA while maintaining institutional ties to CRS. The Senior DPEM Capacity Strengthening Advisor will provide technical oversight of the development and implementation of INECD interventions to ensure DPEM functionality at all levels, that effective systems and processes are in place that supports high-quality programming advancing NCDA and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) work in serving the poor and vulnerable. Your management skills and knowledge will ensure that the CP delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the impact of its inclusive nutrition and ECD programming. You will be responsible for planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and documentation of DPEM interventions.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Assist NCDA in the implementation of the NCDA Strategic plan especially DPEM strengthening interventions in compliance with the DPEM guidelines and in collaboration with other partners representatives
• Coordinate DPEM capacity strengthening activities and support their implementation from district to village level.
• Mobilize, strengthen and advocate towards districts leadership to ensure their commitment to DPEM functionality is effective.
• Participate in inclusive nutrition and ECD policy and strategy design and update targeting children, adolescent and women of reproductive health.
• Provide management, guidance, and technical oversight of all new and existing inclusive nutrition and ECD projects within the CP throughout the project cycle to ensure project design, start-up, implementation and close-out are in line with CRS quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices.

• Lead the development of program learning – identify opportunities for learning, research and publications in inclusive nutrition and ECD/DPEM coordination and implementation of MEAL policy. Facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency and NCDA knowledge management agenda. Ensure integration of innovations and best practices.

• Contribute to the proactive pursuit of opportunities for new funding to ensure growth of the CP inclusive nutrition and ECD sector portfolio in line with agency, regional, and CP nutrition, ECD and social inclusion strategic priorities. Serve as the technical lead and technical writer to ensure quality proposals in nutrition, ECD per agency and donor standards. Contribute to budgeting and staffing plans and activities for proposals.

• Oversee technical assistance and capacity strengthening activities in inclusive nutrition and ECD for staff and partner organizations to enhance program quality and impact.
• Oversee the identification, assessment and strengthening of partnerships relevant to nutrition, ECD and the appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools, and approaches.
• Ensure timely and appropriate project expenditures in line with financial plans and efficient use and stewardship of project material sources.
• Ensure timely and highly-quality project activity reports and program documentation are compiled and submitted.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Nutrition sciences, Public Health, Social sciences or related field. Additional experience may substitute for some education.

• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in relevant field-based project management experience required, with preferably at least 2-3 years working in nutrition and ECD
• Experience in managing moderately complex projects preferably with the GoR or an international NGO.

Required Languages – Strong oral and written skills in English, French and Kinyarwanda

Travel – The position is Kigali-based/NCDA. Must be willing and able to travel up to 40% of the time to project sites.

 Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with ability to make sound judgment and decisions and offer innovative solutions
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Good presentation and facilitation skills
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented

 Preferred Qualifications

• Good experience in project grants management, including project design, preferably for grants from multiple public donors, including USAID.
• Demonstrated ability to write high-quality technical proposals.
• Experience engaging with partner organizations
• MEAL skills and experience required.
• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information 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: NCDA leadership and program staff, Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Country Representative, Programming staff, Finance Manager, Regional Technical Advisors.

External: International and local partners, government offices and affiliated agencies, USAID nutrition staff, potential consultants, and TA providers.

 ***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.

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

 CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Interested and qualified candidates should complete the attached application form, Self -Declaration Clause and submit them together with one page Cover letter plus updated CV (maximum three pages) all in/as one document - via email only to: [email protected] not later than Friday, September 17, 2021, at 5:00 pm.

Please, include the below statement in your motivation letter:

“By applying to this job, I understand and acknowledge that CRS requires its staff to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Further, I understand that if I am a successful candidate, I will be subject to a comprehensive background check, and my personal/professional references will be asked to evaluate my behaviors related to the above safeguarding-related topics”

Also, include your full names and title “Capacity strengthening” in the subject line. Due to the anticipated high interest in this post and the expected number of applicants, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Kigali. September 6, 2021 

                                                                 

 Jude-Marie Banatte

 Country Representative

CRS/Rwanda Program