Project Manager - Infrastruture at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Job Summary:

You will manage, coordinate, and monitor project activities and relationships with partners and other project stakeholders to assist the achievement of the infrastructure interventions under the STaR Project (Stabilization and Reconciliation in the Lake Chad Region) project objectives advancing Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable. Your project management skills and knowledge of infrastructure programming will ensure that the CP delivers high-quality, conflict-sensitive, and community-driven infrastructure and continuously works towards improving the impact and sustainability of this project.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Lead technical, budget management, monitoring and reporting activities through most of the project cycle - start-up, implementation and close-out - in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, KfW/BMZ donor requirements, Government of Nigeria regulations, and good practices.
• Effectively manage talent and supervise technical staff, site supervisors, and contractors. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, contribute to the recruitment process of project staff, and complete performance management for direct reports.
• Ensure learning properly accompanies infrastructure project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities following MEAL Policy. Proactively identify implementation, procurement, contractor performance, and ESHS issues, and report them to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
• Engage and strengthen partnerships relevant to infrastructure programming, including community structures, Government MDAs, contractors, and local partners, applying appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools and approaches.
• Represent the organization with donors, INGO working groups, UN, relevant local partners and relevant local government and community actors for infrastructure and stabilization programming under the STaR Project.
• Coordinate activities required for ensuring the financial, material and human resources for the quality implementation of infrastructure works. Conduct periodic budget reviews and follow-up with partners and contractors on timely submission of financial and progress reports to facilitate proper tracking of resource use.
• Identify staff capacity needs and technical assistance needs of partner organizations and community structures and contribute to capacity strengthening and required interventions to support quality infrastructure delivery and sustainability (including O&M systems and CFW integration).
• Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports and disseminate results. Review infrastructure project documentation to ensure project files are complete, including technical designs, approvals, site documentation, and handover records, and are filed per CRS and KfW/BMZ donor requirements.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment in complex infrastructure and operational environments.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with local stakeholders including government authorities, community leaders, and contractors. Strong representation abilities.
• Ability to contribute to written reports, including technical updates, donor reports, and compliance documentation.
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented with strong accountability.
• Attention to details, accuracy and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities, including documentation and compliance requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant grant management experience, especially for KfW/BMZ or other public donors, a plus.
• Staff supervision experience, particularly in infrastructure or construction-related roles.
• Experience working with stakeholders at various levels and strengthening community partnerships, including conflict-sensitive engagement.
• Ability to contribute to the development of technical proposals, including infrastructure designs, BoQs, and cost estimates, a plus.
• Experience analyzing data and contributing to evaluation reports.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), and familiarity with construction or design tools is an added advantage.

Required Languages: English (required) Hausa (strongly preferred; Kanuri and Fulfulde is an added advantage)

Travel:  Must be willing and able to travel up to 60 %.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Technical supervision of infrastructure staff, site supervisors, and contractors.

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Program Manager II – STaR, Procurement and Logistics Teams, MEAL Team Director, Early Recovery & Resilience
• External: Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Contractors and suppliers, Local and international NGOs, Community leaders and structures, Coordination platforms and working groups

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required. Master’s degree in civil engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Infrastructure Planning, or related field of infrastructure development would be a plus.
• Minimum of 5 years of work experience in project management, ideally in the field of infrastructure programming, construction supervision, or community infrastructure development, and for an NGO or development organization.
• The candidate must be a registered member of relevant construction professional bodies such as engineering, building, architecture, or quantity surveying professional bodies (e.g., COREN, NSE, NIA, NIQS, or equivalent recognized regulatory bodies).
• Additional experience in infrastructure design, construction supervision, or contract management may substitute for some education.