Technical Advisor – Food Security & Markets

Job Summary

The Technical Advisor I
- Food Security & Markets provides technical advice and support to a range of program design and implementation issues in the area of Food Security, Livelihoods and Markets in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable.

The Technical Advisor’s advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ Market Based programming work is across the globe.

• Support the development and contribute to the implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in Market-based Programming that effectively engage partners, donors, and governments. Ensure a cross-sectoral approach that integrates gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to CP teams for strategic planning and how to best apply and adapt program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E in Market-based Programming, particularly for aspects of Food Security and Livelihoods.
• Contribute to, and in some cases lead the development of the technical design for proposals for market-based programming. Support the process of preparation, design, submission and approval of project concepts and full-fledged proposals. As needed, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Support capacity strengthening initiatives in aspects of Food Security and Livelihoods, globally for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums; organizing and/or facilitating trainings, workshops and conferences; and mentoring and coaching staff in innovative CRS approaches and tools.
• Support aspects of the agency knowledge management and learning agenda in Food Security and Livelihoods through helping implement conditions for collective learning that ensure the capturing, documenting, and sharing of key successes, promising practices, lessons learned, and evidence-based implementation research, internally and externally, including publications in peer reviewed journals.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in Market Based Programming, focusing on Food Security and Livelihoods to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

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

• Master’s degree in international development, or fields related to Food Security, Livelihoods and Market-based response programming is an advantage.

Excellent spoken and written English and French skills. Good knowledge of Spanish or Arabic desirable.

Must be willing and able to travel up to 50%.

None

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, or fields related to Food Security, Livelihoods and Market-based response programming.
• Minimum of five years of work experience in Market-based Programming with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of two years relevant field-based experience as a technical advisor and/or program manager of a Market-based Program and/or multi-sectoral project with a Food Security and Livelihoods component.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes…