Chief of Party I – East Chad Resilience

Job Title: Chief of Party I – East Chad Resilience

Job Location: N’Djamena, Chad

Reports to: Country Manager, Chad

Salary Grade: 11

*This position is contingent on funding and donor approval. Anticipated start date is January 1st, 2025.

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) 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.

CRS started its activities in Chad in 1984, first supporting the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace from the Cameroon office. In 2002, in response to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the Chadian Bishops’ Conference invited CRS to open an office in N’Djamena. Currently, CRS interventions include emergency response, microfinance, livelihoods and agricultural activities, peacebuilding, and capacity-building activities. CRS implements all these projects for vulnerable communities in western, southern, and eastern regions of Chad with the local government and local partners including diocesan Caritas; with financial support from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through KFW, Latter-Day Saints Charities (LDSC), UNICEF, and CRS private sources.

Job Summary

Since the onset of the conflict in Sudan, there has been a significant influx of Sudanese refugees and Chadian returnees into Chad. These individuals have entered Chad through more than 32 border entry points in the East through the provinces of Ouaddai, Sila and Wadi-Fira. Humanitarian teams, in collaboration with the Chadian Government and local authorities, have been working to provide life-saving assistance and a variety of protection services to these refugees and returnees, and as of February 2024, approximately 44% of refugees have been successfully relocated from the spontaneous arrival sites to more organized settlements. However, the conflicts in Sudan persist and the constant influx of new refugees and returnees continues. As a result, the Chadian government estimates that the number of refugees and returnees could reach approximately 910,000 in Chad by the end of 2024.

CRS is currently designing a multi-year project early recovery and resilience project to address the growing needs of these populations so that individuals, households, and communities can reduce vulnerability to shocks and stressors and effectively utilize their assets and capacities to absorb shocks and adapt to longer-term stressors and changing conditions. This will be done through a multi-sectorial approach focusing on community infrastructure, community WASH rehabilitation and sensitization, improving agriculture and livelihoods and strengthening social cohesion and local governance. As Chief of Party, you will support the technical design and provide leadership and overall management of the project to serve the poor and vulnerable in East Chad, all while ensuring gender is effectively mainstreamed across all sectors. Your leadership, management and technical knowledge will ensure the delivery of high-quality programming and advance the position of CRS as a leading agency in early recovery and resilience. As a senior leader you will proactively manage security and mitigate security risks.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Lead all aspects of the development, implementation, and consolidation of the project, including sharing how the project contributes to the thought leadership of the industry. Serve as the primary point of contact to the donor as well as public, private and non-government stakeholders.
• Ensure the project is designed and implemented to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget, including strategies for phase-out and sustainability. Ensure coordination between program and operations leads. Ensure the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures.
• Effectively manage senior programming and operations talent. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Oversee the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff.
• Manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and regional issues that may impact staff and programming. Ensure all staff understand and adhere to CRS staff safety and security policies and plans and ensure the updating of such plans.
• Promote, uphold, and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Ensure compliance with donor grants, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration and reporting to the donor. Approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and cost modification requests to donors.
• Oversee the development of communication strategies and materials, complying with donor and CRS’ branding and marketing requirements and procedures.
• Coordinate relationships with consortium partner organizations, including organization of review/planning workshops. Contribute to coordination of the roles and activities of staff from other consortium member organizations in implementation in line with CRS partnership principles.
• 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.

Basic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in International Development, International Relations, or in the field of humanitarian response required.
• Minimum of 7 years of international project management experience on projects of similar size/nature (multi-year; multi-sectoral – livelihoods, agricultural development, resilience, market-based approaches to economic development, gender, conflict and social cohesion).
• Minimum of 5 years of experience managing donor funds, including multi-country grants. Strong knowledge and experience in budget management.
• Minimum of 5 years of staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment. Experience coaching senior program staff.

Required Languages – Excellent French language oral and written communication skills are required. Working proficiency in English strongly preferred. Knowledge of Arabic and local languages is a plus.

Travel – This position will require regular travel to East Chad (exact location to be determined) as well as remote field sites. Must be willing to travel up to 50%.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Coaching skills.
• Strong communications and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.
• Commitment to gender-sensitive programming and management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with major donors’ (USAID, Government of Germany, FCDO, EU etc.) rules, regulations and requirements. Understanding of KFW (or German Government) grant provisions, policies, and guidelines, including reporting requirements will be an added advantage.
• Experience in managing moderately complex projects with an international NGO in volatile security environments.
• Experience managing infrastructure rehabilitation and/or construction programming, as well as managing complex procurement/supply chain processes, a plus.
• Experience in managing gender transformative programming a plus.
• Demonstrated experience of successful program management, including management of complex, high-value, multi-activity projects, with complicated logistics.
• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, other donor-funded projects and stakeholders, local organizations, and partners.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. 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.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Agency Leadership Competencies:

• Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.

Key Working Relationships: Project Managers, MEAL Manager, and Project Finance and Administrative staff.

Internal: Chad Country Manager, Cameroon/Chad Country Representative, Cameroon/Chad Head of Programs, Cameroon/Chad MEAL Coordinator, Chad Operations and Finance Staff, Infrastructure Technical Advisor, Regional Technical Advisors for Livelihoods and MEAL.

External: Partner organization staff, the donor, Church authorities, government ministries departments and agencies, local and international NGOs, coordination platforms and working groups, and community leaders.