Technical Program Director at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Job Summary

• CRS/Nigeria is seeking a Technical Program Director (TPD) to lead the implementation of technical program activities for sustainable improvements in agriculture, food security, nutrition, livelihoods, entrepreneurial skills development and governance.
• The incumbent will provide technical leadership to the management of the project including assessment of progress and performance. S/he will report to the Chief of Party (COP) and will maintain close liaison with the M&E Director and Grants Manager.
• The TPD will ensure adherence to CRS’ technical and program quality standards in implementation and compliance by partners.
• As Technical Program Director s/he will interact closely with the other consortium organizations and technical partners (including 8 civil society organizations - CSOs involved in the implementation of program activities), coordinate inputs by the CRS Technical Advisers, and supervise the work of the other managers/technical team leaders.
• The major responsibilities of the position are technical leadership, team building, strategic leadership, coordination, monitoring/evaluation, mentoring/training, supervision, and report writing. This position will also serve as the Deputy Chief of Party.
  

Job Responsibilities
Primary Function:

• The TPD will work with the Technical Team Leads and Senior Program Manager (SPM) to oversee all technical aspects of the project and ensure that activities are effectively and , efficiently implemented according to proposal objectives and donor requirements.  
  

Specific Responsibilities
Program quality through technical service provision:

• Provide technical direction on agriculture, income generation, nutrition/WASH, education, socialprotectionand governance.
• Manage a team of technical staff in various sectors (agriculture production, nutrition/WASH, savings-led microfinance and governance).
• Ensure all sectoral strategies are aligned with Government of Nigeria priorities and CRS’ “Pathway to Prosperity” intervention modelsas well as other CRS technical and program quality standards.
• Address bottlenecks and scale up best practices to achieve high quality program implementation.
• Develop systems of planning, reporting, targeting and monitoring in consultation with the consortium organizations and Monitoring and Evaluation Director.
• Develop and manage the review of interventions to ensure synergy between sectoral interventions.
• Coordinate the involvement of technical assistance via advanced planning and discussions; managing consultants or technical assistance by developing and enforcing clear scopes of work and consistent engagement.
• Ensure the delivery of quality training and technical assistance on a timely basis
• Lead capacity building of sub-grantees (CSOs) and oversee learning in community of practice and peer exchange activities
• Coordinate with Grants Manager, Technical Leads and SPM in CSO budget development and oversight
• Oversee periodic technical reviews and implement evidence-based changes in program implementation and focus
• Mainstream gender sensitive project interventions, through support and promotion of gender throughout all areas of the project.

Program quality through Promotion of Innovation in technical program areas:

• Identify innovation in the respective technical area from elsewhere and facilitate its adaptation and application within the context of the situation in project locations with all implementing partners.
• Regularly review the project sector strategies to ensure relevance and enhance program impact by suggesting appropriate alternative strategies and changes to the program
• Promote and facilitate innovation through capacity building and motivation of implementing staff.
• Along with the Chief of Party, periodically review progress and direction of the project and identify appropriate actions to achieve planned outputs.

Program quality through facilitation of learning across program technical areas:

• Support M&E Director in developing a "learning agenda / knowledge data base " for the technical areas and coordinate the technical implementation of these learning agendas
• Enhance cross-learning within program technical areas through regular field visits, exchange of staff and other practical ways.
• Support M&E Director to record lessons learned and document success stories within the technical areas and facilitates its effective use to improve program quality and disseminate key achievements.
• With support from team leads, develop mechanisms for regular feedback on the quality of on the ground activities and targeting of supervisory support.
• Provide technical support to M&E Director in developing and conducting surveys and studies.
• Provide input into developing communications and networking systems (newsletter, website, events with government & stakeholders).

Representation and Advocacy:

• In collaboration with the Chief of Party, serve as primary technical program contact to donor and other local and international stakeholders, responsible for addressing all technical program matters.
• Support Chief of Party to liaise with other stakeholders from government, international agencies and NGOs
• Lead in establishing linkages with technical persons from the relevant ministries
• Support CSOs to develop strong working relationships with community and village district administrations, local government institutions, and other existing projects within project locations
• Support Chief of Party to represent project in programming areas especially with relevant government ministries
• In collaboration with Chief of Party, strengthen linkages with existing and potential partner agencies and other donor funded programs
• In collaboration with the Chief of Party, oversee program communication strategies, including compliance with donor’s branding and marketing requirements, as well as CRS marketing and communication procedures.
• Contribute as a member of the Project Senior Management Team

Human Resource Management:

• Lead, manage and supervise all technical staff (including SPM) of the project meet program objectives.
• Conduct periodic reviews of technical program staff and SPM performance in keeping with CRS’ performance management system and mentor staff to ensure high levels of motivation, dedication, commitment, capacity, and teamwork.
• Manage recruitment portfolio of technical staff, in collaboration with the Chief of Party, Human Resources and CRS country program management, to ensure optimum service delivery through recruitment of competent and qualified staff.

Supervisory Responsibilities
Manage a team of technical staff:

• Agriculture, Income Generation, Nutrition/WASH, Savings-led Microfinance, Cash Transfers and Governance

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

• These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results:
  • Serves with Integrity
  • Models Stewardship
  • Cultivates Constructive Relationships
  • Promotes Learning

Key Working Relationships

• Internal: Chief of Party, CRS Country Representative, CRS Deputy Country Representative, CRS Head of Operations, Monitoring and Evaluation Director, Data Manager, Grants Manager, Technical Team Leads and Program Managers
• External: Program Managers of Consortium Organizations and Technical Service Partners, USAID, GON, CSOs, Relevant Government Ministries and Community Leaders
  

Qualification, Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Minimum of Master's degree in Agricultural Economics Rural Development, Business, International Development, and/or Food Security related field
• At least ten (10) years of working experience in agriculture, nutrition, WASH, food security or governance program; Experience in a combination of these is preferred
• Understanding of U.S Government grant provisions, policies, procedures, guidelines and priorities, including reporting requirements.
• Excellent situational leadership style; strategic; analytical; participatory; and supportive and mentoring.
• Excellent partnership skills and the ability to interact effectively with donors, collaborating agencies, and local partners demonstrated through close work experience with international organizations.
• Experience in management of large projects required.
• Effective negotiation and representation skills in order to mentor program teams to follow quality standard and facilitate learning from each other.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrated capacity to understand the current best practices and challenges while coordinating the implementation of program strategies through a participatory approach.
• Flexibility, persistence, and ability to work well with people through cross cultural skills
• Demonstrated commitment to improving gender equality and gender responsiveness in programming and operations.
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as required.
• Excellent English language oral and written communication skills required.
• Knowledge of Northern Nigeria is an added advantage. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and Outlook required.
• Willingness and ability to travel at least 50% of time