Livelihoods Specialist (Based in Bicol Region/Cebu Province)

** THIS POSITION IS CONTINGENT UPON DONOR FUNDING **

Job Summary 

As a member of the Country Program (CP) Early Recovery programming in the Philippines, you will provide technical advice and support to a range of program design and implementation issues in the area of Livelihoods in Early Recovery in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ Early Recovery programming is across the globe.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Support the development and contribute to the implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools and best practices in Early Recovery Livelihoods that effectively engage partners, donors, and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to CP teams, 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.
• Contribute to, and in some cases lead the development of the technical design for proposals.  Support the process of preparation, design, submission and approval of project concepts and full-fledged proposals. As needed, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Support capacity strengthening initiatives in Early Recovery Livelihoods programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and coaching.
• Collect and analyze program data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices for specific projects to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to Early Recovery Livelihoods learning agenda.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in Eto collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

Basic Qualifications 

• An advanced degree in a relevant field including international development, agriculture, business, marketing, labor market, and/or food security. An advanced degree can be substituted with an additional 3 years of relevant experience. 
• Minimum 5 years (8 years preferred) demonstrated experience with US Department of State (USDoS) or other similar early recovery projects focused on livelihoods (preferably with experience related to agriculture, fisheries, and small and medium enterprises / agribusiness), resilience and vulnerable households, 
• Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders, including national and local government, donors, community-based organizations, and the private sector 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in both English.
• Established relationship with and/or substantive knowledge of agribusiness firms in the livestock sector
• Strong Microsoft Word and Excel skills. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
• Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in Livelihoods in Early Recovery. 
• General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure a 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 civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• 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 Languages: English and Filipino 

Travel: Based in Bicol Region or Cebu Province and able to travel up to 30% of the time.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Yes

Key Working Relationship: Internal: PM II – Early Recovery, Livelihoods Officers, Senior Project Officers, WASH Specialist, Engineers, MEAL Manager, Operations Project Manager, Finance Manager, Head of Programming, Country Representative. 

External: Local Caritas Partners, Caritas Philippines, UN Agencies, Non-Government Organizations, Donor, Academe.

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

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.