Technical Advisor I – Access to Finance and Off Farm 131 views0 applications

Internal/External Job Announcement

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 gender equality, mobilizes for immunization and mitigates the impact of HIV.

 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 two different positions.

Job Summary:

You will provide technical advice and support to a range of program design and implementation issues in the area of formal and informal credit/finance and off farm opportunities in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to CRS’ Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) program teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming. The overarching goal of this multi-sectoral program (RFSA) is improved food security of vulnerable households in targeted Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) communities, contributing to a sustained reduction in rural poverty in Oromia. Your advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ finance and off farm programming is within the RFSA, the CRS Country Program and across the globe.

Job Responsibilities:

·       Support the development and contribute to the implementation of RFSA strategies, standards, tools and best practices in finance/credit and off farm opportunities that effectively engage partners, the donor, and Government of Ethiopia. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.

·       Work with the RFSA Economic Livelihoods Manager and field-based Officers in preparing RFSA work plans with clear objectives and achievable benchmarks, reflecting strategic long-term and short-term priorities.

·       Provide technical solutions to RFSA teams (including partners), remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools and M&E, helping to ensure high-quality implementation. For example, Work with informal (Saving and Internal Lending Communities-SILC) and formal financial service providers (MFIs, SACCO Unions and RuSACCOs) to improve the design and delivery of products and services (credit, savings, insurance) to reach larger numbers of the poor for on-farm and off-farm activities

·       Provide technical support for the establishment and functionality of SILC groups, off farm livelihoods pathway selection, business plan development and link to formal financial services providers to access larger loan to ensure value chain financing.

·       Advise RFSA teams/partners on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements on access to finance and off farm opportunities into CRS’ RFSA approach.

·       Support work to expand existing FSPs reach new geographical areas and design alternative financing (value-chain financing) considering existing value-chain financing actors (multi-purpose cooperatives, agro-dealers, etc.).

·       Support capacity strengthening initiatives in access to finance and off farm opportunities programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curricula, conducting trainings and workshops, and coaching. Work with TVETs and other potential training centers to design training curricula that are relevant to PSNP clients in the off-farm pathway.

·       Collect and analyze RFSA project data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to the RFSA learning agenda, specifically around off farm opportunities and access to finance.

·       Contribute to maintaining relationships with the donor, Government of Ethiopia, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in the area of access to finance and off farm opportunities to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ RFSA work.

Scope: Supervise 2 field-based Project Officers (in Dire Dawa)

Typical Background, Experience & Requirements:

Education and Experience

·       Master’s degree in a relevant field including international development, agriculture, agricultural economics, business, marketing, Cooperative development and/or food security.

·       Minimum of seven years of relevant work experience in access to finance and off farm opportunities with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO.

·       Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in formal and informal finance and off farm opportunities. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.

·       Experience in project design and proposal development. Experience in writing content for proposals.

·       Knowledge of capacity strengthening best practices.

·       Experience with program monitoring and evaluation and analysis.

·       Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.

·       Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Personal Skills

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

·       Good strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment

·       Good technical writing skills

·       Presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills

·       Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Required/Desired Foreign Language

·       Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Afaan Oromo

·       Written and verbal communication skills in Amharic a plus

 Travel Required:  Field travel to and within East Hararghe

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.

·       Strategic Mindset

·       Integrity

·       Accountability & Stewardship

·       Builds Relationships

·       Develops Talent

·       Continuous Improvement & Innovation

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