Job Title: Country Representative Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire
Job Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Job Type: Regular, Full Time
Reports to: West Africa Regional Director
About 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.
Job Summary:
As Country Representative you will lead, manage and advance the programming and operations objectives and the mission of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to serve the poor and vulnerable. Your strategic leadership will enable you to adva nce CRS’ reputation and impact while you proactively manage security and mitigate security risks and liabilities.
Roles and Key Responsibilities:

  • Champion and lead the vision, mission and strategy. Lead the design of medium and long-term goals. Ensure program and operations leads coordinate their objectives in alignment with the strategy.
  • Ensure that all projects meet and exceed donor expectations and are designed and implemented for maximum impact and reach. Ensure the CRS program quality standards are adhered to per MEAL policy and procedures, are managed on time and on budget.
  • Effectively manage senior programming and operations talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching and mentoring for HOP and Head of Operations as well as other direct reports. Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports. Oversee the development of staffing plans for large and complex projects and the recruitment process of senior staff.
  • Lead the development of strategic partnerships with national and international organizations that leverages resources, reputation, and expertise in line with CRS partnership principles. Ensure strong representation to key stakeholders, including Church partners, local and national government, US government and international donors.
  • 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 and ensure the updating of such plans.
  • Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Ensure compliance in operations functions. Provide oversight and analysis regarding monthly expenditures.
  • Lead and direct the pursuit of strategic growth opportunities, prepositioning and capture planning.
  • Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing of ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies. Promote accountability, learning and knowledge management overseeing application of the MEAL policy, as well as cross-sectoral and cross-department learning.

Required Languages – French and English fluency required
Travel – Should be willing and able to travel up to 15-20%, consisting of one or two international trips per year and short trips within the country once per month.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

  • Excellent strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
  • Excellent relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
  • Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Coaching/mentoring skills.
  • Strong communications and presentation skills; able to develop tailored and persuasive messaging for varied audiences.
  • Experience with humanitarian response/emergency programming
  • Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Demonstrated experience successfully managing a variety of complex, high-value projects from multiple international donors, including USAID, USDA, BHA, the Global Fund as well as major foundations; understanding of relevant donor regulations.
  • Experience engaging partners, promoting local leadership and strengthening partnerships. Experience working with Catholic Church partners and faith-based institutions, a plus.
  • Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment. Experience coaching and mentoring senior program staff.
  • Experience with humanitarian response/emergency programming
  • Ability to represent the agency at high levels.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Head of Operations, Risk and Compliance Officer, Head of Programming, and Executive Assistant.
Key Working Relationships
Internal: West Africa Regional Director, Deputy Regional Directors for Program Quality and Management Quality, Regional Finance Officer, Regional Business Development Manager, Head of Operations, Head of Programming, Business Development Specialist, Partnership Manager, Executive Assistant, Deputy Head of Programming.
External: BHA, USAID, USDA, Helmsley Foundation, Hilton Foundation, Episcopal Conference of Burkina Faso, OCADES Burkina National Director and Diocesan Directors, Episcopal Conference of Cote d’Ivoire, Caritas National Director for Cote d’Ivoire, Ministry of Education – School Feeding, Ministry of Health – Malaria Program, Ministry of Agriculture, local provincial and district government authorities, Charity Water, OCHA, peer NGOs.
CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate, the duration of their assignment is subject to a term limit of three to five years, subject to the needs of the agency.
Basic Qualifications
? Master’s degree in international development, International Relations or a related field.
? 10 or more years’ experience managing complex relief and development programs.

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.

This vacancy is archived.

Recommended for you