Technical Advisor II, Land Restoration

Job Summary: 

You will provide hands-on technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues focused on Land Restoration, in particular watershed restoration, in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices. You will advance the delivery of high-quality programming to vulnerable households primarily in Malawi and Lesotho, with possible support to one or two additional East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) countries as new opportunities become concrete. Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to the effectiveness, adaptiveness and innovation of CRS’ watershed restoration programming in ESARO.  

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Provide technical solutions remotely and on-site, for implementation, strategic planning and program design, including best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E to ensure high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to regional and CP efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in watershed restoration/land restoration. Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators.
• Advise project teams on integrating host government and donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in watershed restoration/land restoration programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curricula, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports. Ensure socialization and contribution of this learning to the development and implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in watershed restoration.
• Establish and maintain relationships with national and subnational levels of government, regional actors, private sector, donors, peers research institutions and others focusing on watershed/land restoration, basin management and ecosystem services and the interactions with agriculture, climate change and food systems.
• Maximize visibility and strategic positioning, including through organization of and participation in forums in the area of watershed restoration, agriculture, land restoration, climate change and systems approaches. Collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in hydrology, natural resource management, agroforestry, agronomy, environmental science or other related field required.
• Minimum of five years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, living in a developing country, with minimum of three years working for programming interventions in watershed restoration or land restoration.
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is preferred.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in watershed restoration and natural resource management. General knowledge of agriculture, food security and climate change, and other related disciplines to ensure a proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Understanding of systems change approaches, including experience with co-creation processes and multistakeholder coalitions. 
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in, including technical writing.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Strong experience and skills in networking and relationship building with a wide range of actors such as public sector (national-level ministries and agencies), donors, peer organizations, private sector and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Required Languages – English required. Knowledge of Chichewa and/or Sesotho is a plus.

Travel – Successful candidate is requested to travel up to 30%.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Excellent 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.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Strong networking and partnership building skills.
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Supervisory Responsibilities – none

Key Working Relationships: 

Internal – PIQA Livelihoods, Markets, Agriculture and Climate (LMAC), GREM, ESARO and Country leadership and technical teams.

External – Public sector, private sector actors, civil society, research entities, bi-lateral and multilateral institutions among others

Agency Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

• 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 looks 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.

What we offer

CRS offers U.S. based staff a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, life insurance, vision, and a generous retirement savings plan.  Salary and benefits packages for successful candidates employed outside the U.S. are based on the country of employment/in-country office where the candidate will perform the role.  CRS´ work culture is a collaborative, mission-driven culture committed to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world.

ABOUT US

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.

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