FLSA: Exempt
Reports To: **Bangladesh Country Manager
About CRS: Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
Background: CRS has supported Caritas Bangladesh for years in programs involving emergency relief and education. In 2006, the two agencies launched an ambitious multi-year Emergency Response and Preparedness (EPRT) program that greatly increased CRS staff activity in the country. In late 2007, CRS support to Caritas increased significantly, and at the invitation of Caritas Bangladesh, CRS placed a Country Manager (CM) in the Caritas Bangladesh office. The placement of the CRS CM also coincided with a significant increase in CRS support for Caritas programs in the wake of severe flooding and Cyclone SIDR. To follow up on the successful response to these disasters, CRS and Caritas will now be partnering with Helen Keller International (HKI) to implement a food security program through a recently awarded USAID Development Food Assistance Program (DFAP). Through this program, CRS will be responsible for providing strong technical support around all Disaster Risk Reduction activities, in close collaboration with Caritas Bangladesh and other local organizations. DRR actions will link closely to food security and nutrition interventions that will be implemented by Caritas Bangladesh and other local organizations in conjunction with HKI. This project will work directly with rural communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh.
Job Summary: The Technical Advisor (TA) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) has primary responsibilities of providing all necessary technical support and coordination of DRR projects. The TA will ensure high quality program development, provide strategic direction, help monitor progress of the project objectives for CRS and Bangladesh partners, ensure technical compliance with donors' and CRS program quality standards, and support reporting and CRS/donor administrative and financial requirements. Special emphasis is placed on promoting collaborative relationships, networking and advocating for CRS approaches in emergency response, DRR and climate change with donors, like-minded organizations and relevant Bangladesh Government departments and agencies. The TA is also responsible for promoting and ensuring organizational learning processes, internally and externally, throughout the projects' implementation stage. This position is based in Dhaka with about 40% travel to project sites in the CHT Region of Bangladesh.
Specific Responsibilities:
Program Management:
- Provide technical support for all DRR activities associated with the USAID-funded DFAP in the CHT to ensure high program quality, and correlation with budget
- Facilitate the development of detail implementation plans and budget reconciliation documents alongside the partner team
- Support the DRR team with quarterly planning meetings to review and reflect progress and results, identify gaps and solutions and share technical ideas for the projects with partner, CRS and others.
- Coordinate and review monthly DRR team's work plans, individual work plans and reflection processes
- Ensure a strong learning process at all stages of the implementation based on the donor's requirements and CRS standards
- Coordinate with the project staff and the CRS Asia Regional Technical Advisors to set-up project MEAL systems following CRS, prime and donor standards
- Provide technical support and regular visits to the project sites to ensure high project quality
- Support and contribute to the development of any new or similar projects and proposals in collaboration with the sub-regional HoP, Country Manager, internal DRR team and local partners
- Participate in the development of any DRR strategy
- Compliance: Support partner and CRS Organizational Capacity Advisor to provide sound financial management of the project and compliance with project donors
- Budgeting: Support partner with the annual project' budget and extend guidance and support to the project staff in management of project finances through budget planning and preparation of annual program plans, quarterly cash forecasts and project balances
- Financial Reporting: Coordinate with the Organizational Capacity Advisor, partner finance team, project staff and partners to ensure effective tracking and timely reporting on budget expenses, including financial reports to external donor/s
- Develop a strong understanding and knowledge on CRS' partnership principles and behaviors within the DRR team
- Identifies any partnership issues early on that need HoP and Country Manager attention to provide problem solving strategic guidance
- Maintain positive and strengthening partnerships with diverse partners at various levels · Maintain regular and respectful communication with partners and extend all support as needed in close coordination with supervisors and the DRR team
- Ensure that project staff relate to local partners in a manner consistent with CRS partnership principles
- Build the capacity of partners in DRR, emergency response, effective project implementation and MEAL
- Donor Reports: Ensure high quality donor reports, submitted in a timely manner to the Prime (HKI) and in the required format
- Monitoring and Learning: In coordination with the HKI's MEAL staff, Country Manager and CRS regional technical experts, support the design and timely implementation of baseline, mid-term and final evaluations of the project
- Ensure regular and strong institutional learning and reflection processes for DRR projects
- Provide regular and timely trip reports to their supervisor
- Documenting: Provide technical inputs to develop documentation of the CRS DRR models, lessons learned and project best practicesAdvocacy and Networking: Governmental agencies:
- Contribute to the advocacy and relationship-building at the district, provincial and ministry levels
- Provide technical ideas as necessary in policy review of Bangladesh legislative documents and other project documents to work with relevant ministries on topics relating to DRR and Climate Change Adaptation
- Maintain positive working relations with relevant government bodies, international organizations and local partnersDRR and Climate Change Adaptation sectors:
- Collaborate with Bangladesh and international organizations involved in emergency response and DRR/CCA issues.
- In coordination with the DRR team members, represent CRS in the DRR/CCA sector working groups, attend external meetings and networking activities related to DRR/CCA and promote CRS CBDRR/CCA models and approaches. Emergency Response:
- Coordinate and support the CRS country office in the event of any emergencies in the project area or in the country
- Organize and conduct participatory assessments, analyses, preparations of sitreps, emergency response project designs and implementation of response activities together with local partner
Key Working Relationships: ***Internal: Country Manager, Sub-Regional Head of Programming, CRS Organizational Capacity Advisor, CRS India DRR staff, CRS Administrative and Finance staff, DRR Technical Consultants, CRS MEAL and Emergency Preparedness Response Technical Advisors External: Caritas Bangladesh programming staff, other local partners' programming staff, local government partners, donors as required and as assigned by the Country Manager*
Required Qualifications and Experience:
- Masters degree, preferably in rural development, natural resources management or agriculture
- Further specializations in DRR/climate change adaptation and emergency response are desired
- At least 5 years proven experience of managing development program and projects related to disaster risk reduction, emergency response, climate change adaptation, integration of climate in rural development and/or related domains
- Technical knowledge on designing and managing disaster risk reduction initiatives, community based disaster risk reduction management (CBDRM), participatory capacity vulnerability analysis and climate change adaptation (CCA) projects
- Technical knowledge and practical experience in emergency response programs, including Sphere and other humanitarian standards
- Working experiences of integrating DRR/CCA into livelihood and other development programs
- Practical experience in developing and facilitating DRR/CCA related trainings
- Must be strong in participatory approaches, learning processes, capacity for innovation and to promote new initiatives
- Work experience with NGOs or international development organization is preferable
- Sound experience in resource management
- Ability to network and coordinate with government and non-government organizations at both the local and national level
- A good team builder, problem solver, honest and transparent person with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to lead the implement processes in the field
- Fluent in written and spoken English
Required Travel: **Able to travel (at least 40% of total time) to field locations in the CHT Bandarban district in Bangladesh
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.
Equal Opportunity Employer
How to apply:
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