CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES LESOTHO
SENIOR PROJECT OFFICER – LITERACY
REPORTS TO: PROJECT MANAGER -LITERACY
CONTRACT DURATION: 24 MONTHS
About Catholic Relief Services (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.
In Lesotho, CRS plans and coordinates programs in three of Lesotho’s four dioceses, bringing public and private sectors together for community-based development. Our programs involve partnerships with stakeholders such as the Government of Lesotho, local non-government organizations (NGOs), international NGOs, public- and private-sector partners, and Church partners. Our current work in Lesotho focuses on livelihoods, climate change and natural resource management, emergency response, education, microfinance, HIV, and information and communications technology for development.
Job Summary:
As a member of the Bokamoso Ba Bana (3B) Food for Education and Child Nutrition project, you will facilitate the achievement of project objectives by coordinating and reporting on all project activities and providing technical guidance and advice to staff and implementing partner(s) advancing Catholic Relief Services (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable. Your coordination and relationship management skills will ensure that the project for which you are responsible applies best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve.
Roles and responsibilities:
- Organize and lead the implementation of all assigned project activities as outlined in the detailed implementation plan in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.
- Ensure learning properly accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities and guiding partners in their efforts to reflect on project experiences. Analyze implementation challenges and report any inconsistencies and/or gaps to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
- Coordinate and oversee working relationships with all local project stakeholders and serve as the liaison between them and the project team to mobilize local actors and promote project activities and impact.
- Supervise and perform ad-hoc inspections of various processes and resources at project sites to ensure timely project activities implementation and adherence to established process standards and procedures. Ensure proper tracking of resource use for project activities through periodic budget reviews and follow-up with and assistance to implementing partner.
- Support and coordinate capacity building and technical support activities to ensure assigned project activities are implemented per project guidelines and standards.
- Coordinate the provision of any logistical and administrative support to staff and partners.
- Ensure project documentation for assigned activities is complete with all required documents and is filed per agency and donor requirements. Assist with the preparation of trends analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices.
- Support implementing partners to ensure adherence to CRS and donor project management technical standard.
Preferred qualifications and experience
Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations or in the field of Education and Early Child-Development would-be a plus.
- Minimum of 4 years of work experience in project support, ideally in the field of Literacy for an NGO.
- Additional experience may substitute for some education.
- Experience working with partners, participatory action planning, and community engagement.
- Staff supervision experience is a plus.
- Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data.
- Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Analysis and problem-solving skills with the ability to make sound judgments.
- Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners.
- Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented
- Attention to detail, accuracy, and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities.
Preferred Qualifications
Required Languages – Fluent in both English and Sesotho
Travel – Must be willing to relocate to the Project district.
Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and are used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
- Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
- Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
- Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions.
- Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
- Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.
Agency Leadership Competencies:
- Lead Change – Continually look for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
- Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
- Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.
Supervisory Responsibilities (None)
Key Working Relationships:
Internal: Project Officer – Literacy
External: Partners & Vendors
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices.
CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Submission:
Please note that the position is only open to applicants who are Citizens of Lesotho. Interested candidates should submit a CV, cover letter, and certified copies of academic qualifications, no later than 16 August 2023 at 17:00 by email to [email protected] with the subject line: SENIOR PROJECT OFFICER – LITERACY. APPLICANTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED IF THE SUBJECT LINE DOES NOT INDICATE THE POSITION. HARD-COPY APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. ONLY SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED.
Please be advised that CRS requires its employees to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Further, all successful candidates will be subject to a comprehensive background check, and their personal/professional references will be required to evaluate their behaviors related to the above safeguarding-related topics.