Chief of Party I

Job Title: Project Director

Reports to: Head of Programs

Department: Country Program

Salary Grade: 11

Important: CRS is recruiting in anticipation of an award – recruitment for all candidates is contingent upon successful award of the project.   

About CRS El Salvador
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 has been operating in El Salvador for more than 70 years, focusing on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable populations. CRS El Salvador has supported programs in youth workforce development, juvenile justice, food security, climate-smart agriculture and water management, disaster risk reduction, and emergency response.

Over the past 15 years, CRS El Salvador has implemented a wide range of youth workforce development initiatives, building strong partnerships with vocational training centers, public and private educational institutions, the private sector, and other strategic stakeholders committed to expanding employment opportunities for young people.

CRS El Salvador also advances initiatives aimed at strengthening the capacity, leadership, and sustainability of local actors, including community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and civil society partners. Through technical accompaniment, organizational development, and the establishment of strategic partnerships, CRS contributes to strengthening local leadership and the institutional capacities necessary for these actors to expand their impact, promote sustainable solutions, and make meaningful contributions to the well-being and development of their communities.

Background

CRS is seeking Project Director candidates for an anticipated multi-country child development, care, and protection project. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen national systems that protect vulnerable children, support families, and improve early childhood development through locally led and sustainable approaches. The project will improve outcomes for vulnerable children by strengthening child protection systems, supporting families and caregivers, advancing integrated early childhood health and development, and reducing reliance on residential care.

Job Summary

As the Project Director you will provide leadership and overall management of the child development, care, and protection project in El Salvador, ensuring effective systems and processes are in place to support the project objectives and advance CRS’ work in serving the poor and vulnerable. 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 the field of child development, care, and protection. The role is accountable for day-to-day project leadership, donor compliance, subaward management, and effective coordination with consortium partners and government stakeholders. As a senior leader you will proactively manage security and mitigate security risks.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Relationship Management: Serve as the lead relationship manager and representative with all in-country stakeholders including government institutions, civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, community networks, and private-sector actors relevant to child development and protection. Lead strategic engagement efforts that strengthen national and local systems for child protection and early childhood development. Oversee the identification, assessment, strengthening, and management of partnerships, applying CRS’ partnership principles, concepts, tools, and approaches. Promote locally led development by supporting the leadership, capacity strengthening, and sustainability of local actors to increasingly drive implementation, advocacy, and service delivery efforts.
• Project Management: Lead all aspects of the development, implementation and consolidation of the project in El Salvador. Manage integration of CP project processes and activities with the global project team. Establish a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies. Lead all aspects of project design refinement, implementation, monitoring, adaptation, and consolidation in El Salvador. Ensure strong integration and coordination between national project activities and the global project team. Foster a culture of collaboration, transparency, innovation, and accountability where team members and partners can openly identify challenges and contribute solutions. Utilize data, evidence, monitoring findings, and learning to inform adaptive management decisions and continuously improve project performance, effectiveness, and sustainability. Lead strategic planning for project sustainability, transition, and local ownership from the outset.
• Supervision: Oversee staffing plans and recruitment processes for senior personnel. Provide leadership and effective supervision to senior programmatic and operational staff, ensuring strong coordination across functions. Promote staff well-being, learning, safeguarding, diversity, equity, inclusion, and professional development. Provide coaching and mentoring to strengthen leadership capabilities across the team. Monitor contextual, operational, and security risks and implement mitigation measures to minimize disruptions to staff and programming. Ensure all staff understand and comply with CRS safeguarding, child protection, safety, and security standards.
• Program Quality: Oversee the provision of high-quality technical assistance and capacity-strengthening activities for staff, government institutions, local organizations, and consortium partners. Ensure the project is co-created and implemented in a participatory manner that reflects local priorities and promotes sustainable system-level change. Lead efforts to strengthen child protection systems, family care mechanisms, social service delivery systems, and integrated early childhood development services. Ensure compliance with CRS Program Quality Standards and MEAL policies and procedures.
• Program Learning: Lead the development of program learning and share how the project contributes to the thought leadership of the industry. Identify opportunities for learning, research, and publications. Facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency's knowledge management agenda. Ensure integration of innovations and best practices. 
• Stewardship: Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Ensure compliance with donor guidelines, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, milestones, administration and reporting.  Approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and cost modification requests to donors.
• Communications: Oversee the development and implementation of communication, advocacy, and visibility strategies that highlight project achievements, learning, and impact. Ensure compliance with donor branding requirements and CRS communication standards. Support strategic communications that elevate locally led approaches and position project partners as leaders in strengthening child development, care, and protection systems.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, education, public health, international development, international relations, or a related field. 
• Minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible experience managing complex development programs in child protection, child welfare, family strengthening, early childhood development, social protection, public health, or related sectors. 
• Minimum of 5 years of experience managing donor-funded programs, including large and/or multi-country awards. 
• Demonstrated experience in budget management and donor compliance. 
• Minimum of 5 years of experience supervising multidisciplinary teams and fostering learning-oriented environments. 
• Demonstrated experience strengthening local institutions, government systems, and civil society organizations. 
• Experience managing safeguarding and child protection risks within development or humanitarian programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or Doctoral degree in Social Work, Child Development, Education, Public Health, International Development, Public Policy, or related disciplines. 
• Demonstrated experience leading child protection, alternative care, family strengthening, or early childhood development programs. 
• Experience leading complex consortiums and managing multiple implementing partners. 
• Experience working with government institutions to strengthen policies, systems, and service delivery mechanisms for vulnerable children and families. 
• Recognized technical leadership demonstrated through publications, conference presentations, technical committees, or sector contributions. 
• Experience implementing locally led development and capacity-strengthening approaches. 
• Strong understanding of CRS' partnership principles and partnership strategy.
• Strong understanding of child protection systems strengthening family care reform, alternative care, safeguarding, and early childhood development. 
• Demonstrated ability to support organizational capacity strengthening and locally led development approaches. 
• Experience leading adaptive management processes and using evidence for strategic decision-making. 
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and policy influence skills. 
• Proven ability to lead complex consortiums and multi-stakeholder partnerships. 
• Understanding of safeguarding, PSEAH, accountability, and risk management principles.
• Strong communications and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

Required Languages: Fluent English and Spanish

Travel: Must be willing and able to travel up to 25% to visit implementation places. 

 Supervisory Responsibilities: Yes

CRS Core Competencies

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for own actions. 
• Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission; is regarded as honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust – Demonstrates consistency between words and actions. 
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in diverse and cross-cultural teams. 
• Open to Learning – Seeks experiences that broaden perspectives and create learning opportunities. 

Additional Information

CRS’s Catholic identity is at the heart of its mission and operations. CRS welcomes staff of all faiths and secular traditions who share its values and commitment to serving people in need. CRS policies and procedures reflect its commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. 

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

The duration of this position is subject to project and/or country program funding and other internal processes based on local law. 

By applying for this position, candidates acknowledge that CRS requires all staff to treat everyone with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Successful candidates will undergo comprehensive background checks, including reference checks regarding safeguarding-related conduct. 

CRS recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. 

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Catholic Relief Services works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality.  Catholic Relief Services’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.  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 safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is committed to safeguarding program participants, community members, staff and volunteers from all forms of exploitation and abuse.  The successful candidate is expected to sign and adhere to CRS´ Code of Conduct.

CRS talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people - especially children and vulnerable adults - to live free from abuse and harm.

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

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

General Requirements

CRS offers are contingent on the selected candidate’s ability to legally work where the position is to be performed. Every government has a unique set of work permit eligibility requirements.  All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside a home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical clearance; some work permit processes require clearing a separate government administered medical examination.

CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices.