Background

CRS is recruiting in anticipation of an award – recruitment for all candidates is contingent upon successful award of the project.

CRS is seeking Project Director candidates for an anticipated multi-county child development, care, and protection project. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen national systems that protect vulnerable children, support families, and improve early childhood development through locally led and sustainable approaches. The project will improve outcomes for vulnerable children by strengthening child protection systems, supporting families and caregivers, advancing integrated early childhood health and development, and reducing reliance on residential care.

Job Summary

As the Project Director, you will provide leadership and overall management of the child development, care, and protection project in Malawi, ensuring that effective systems and processes are in place to support the project objectives and advance CRS’ work in serving the poor and vulnerable. Your leadership, management and technical knowledge will ensure the delivery of high-quality programming and advance the position of CRS as a leading agency in the field of child development, care, and protection. The role is accountable for day-to-day project leadership, donor compliance, subaward management, and effective coordination with consortium partners and government stakeholders. As a senior leader, you will proactively manage security and mitigate security risks.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

Relationship Management: Serve as lead relationship manager and representative with all in-country stakeholders, including the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, foreign governments, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, civil society partners, other FBOs, and community networks. Oversee the identification, assessment and strengthening of partnerships relevant to the project, applying CRS’ partnership principles, concepts, tools and approaches.

Project Management: Lead all aspects of the development, implementation and consolidation of the project in Malawi. Provide management, guidance, and technical oversight of the Liberia FCI project throughout the project cycle to ensure project design, start-up, implementation and close-out are in line with CRS quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices. Manage integration of CP project processes and activities with the global project team. Establish a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies.

Supervision: Oversee the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff. Effectively manage senior programming and operations talent, ensuring coordination between program and operations leads. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and regional issues that may impact staff and programming. Ensure all staff understand and adhere to CRS staff safety and security policies and plans.

Program Quality: Oversee the project technical assistance and capacity strengthening activities for staff and partner organizations to enhance program quality and impact. Ensure the project is co-created and implemented to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget, including strategies for phase out and sustainability. Ensure the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures.

Program Learning: Lead the development of program learning and share how the project contributes to the thought leadership of the industry. Identify opportunities for learning, research, and publications. Facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency’s knowledge management agenda. Ensure integration of innovations and best practices.

Stewardship: Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Ensure compliance with donor guidelines, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, milestones, administration and reporting. Approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and cost modification requests to donors.

Communications: Oversee the development of communication strategies and materials, complying with donor and CRS’ branding and marketing requirements and procedures.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Demonstrated understanding of service delivery systems in the health sector, primary health care, national health strategies, and the role of governmental, civil society, and faith-based partners.

Strong relations management abilities. Ability to lead and manage partner relationships at high levels, and to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.

Demonstrated experience of successful program management, leading and coaching diverse, multi-disciplinary teams. Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.

Strong communications and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.

Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.

• Serve as lead relationship manager and representative with all in-country stakeholders, including the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, foreign governments, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, civil society partners, other FBOs, and community networks.
• Oversee the identification, assessment and strengthening of partnerships relevant to the project, applying CRS’ partnership principles, concepts, tools and approaches.
• Lead all aspects of the development, implementation and consolidation of the project in Malawi.
• Provide management, guidance, and technical oversight of the Liberia FCI project throughout the project cycle to ensure project design, start-up, implementation and close-out are in line with CRS quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices.
• Manage integration of CP project processes and activities with the global project team.
• Establish a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies.
• Oversee the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff.
• Effectively manage senior programming and operations talent, ensuring coordination between program and operations leads.
• Manage team dynamics and staff well-being.
• Provide coaching and mentoring.
• Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports.
• Manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and regional issues that may impact staff and programming.
• Ensure all staff understand and adhere to CRS staff safety and security policies and plans.
• Oversee the project technical assistance and capacity strengthening activities for staff and partner organizations to enhance program quality and impact.
• Ensure the project is co-created and implemented to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget, including strategies for phase out and sustainability.
• Ensure the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures.
• Lead the development of program learning and share how the project contributes to the thought leadership of the industry.
• Identify opportunities for learning, research, and publications.
• Facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency’s knowledge management agenda.
• Ensure integration of innovations and best practices.
• Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources.
• Ensure compliance with donor guidelines, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, milestones, administration and reporting.
• Approve program expenditures, budget adjustments, and cost modification requests to donors.
• Oversee the development of communication strategies and materials, complying with donor and CRS’ branding and marketing requirements and procedures.

• Demonstrated understanding of service delivery systems in the health sector, primary health care, national health strategies, and the role of governmental, civil society, and faith-based partners.
• Strong relations management abilities.
• Ability to lead and manage partner relationships at high levels, and to relate to people at all levels internally and externally.
• Strategic approach to relationships.
• Demonstrated experience of successful program management.
• Experience leading and coaching diverse, multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Capacity to see the big picture.
• Ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong communications and presentation skills.
• Ability to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio).
• Experience with Web Conferencing Applications.
• Experience with information and budget management systems.

• Demonstrated understanding of service delivery systems in the health sector, primary health care, national health strategies, and the role of governmental, civil society, and faith-based partners.
• Strong relations management abilities.
• Ability to lead and manage partner relationships at high levels, and to relate to people at all levels internally and externally.
• Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Demonstrated experience of successful program management, leading and coaching diverse, multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong communications and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
• Experience in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.