Project Manager Community Engagement US NGO Jobs – Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Job Title: Project Manager Community Engagement
Organization: Catholic Relief Services
Duty Station: Uganda
Reports to: Homes and Communities Program Manager
About US:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-profit organization which implements 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.
Job Summary: The Project Manager Community Engagement will be responsible for integrating the community engagement tool into Homes and Communities activities, ensuring a successful pilot of the Community Center and the promotion of community participation in the Homes and Communities project. They will also play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the Community Conversations approach.
Key Duties and Responsibilities: Under the supervision of the Homes and Communities Program Manager, the Community Engagement Project Manager will:
- Lead community needs assessments and adapt programming based on results;
- Lead establishment of community committees for participatory design and monitoring throughout the project;
- Engage with settlement management, other NGO actors, district local government and refugee welfare committees to promote community buy-in and participation in Homes and Communities platform;
- Support Senior Management to refine the Homes and Communities strategy and related influence hypothesis. Identify influencing opportunities based on an up to date stakeholders’ analysis (including power dynamic) at community and district level;
- Ensure that supervised staff are aware of the Strategic Change Platform Homes and Communities and the grander CRS Vision 2030. Empower team to take action to contribute to the vision and influence hypothesis within their scope of work;
- Lead thinking around scaling-up community engagement and replicating Community Centers;
- In collaboration with the Gender and Protection Mainstreaming Officer, lead thinking around increasing community autonomy for engaging with local government, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders / service providers;
- In collaboration with the MEAL team, lead roll-out of a community engagement tool to prioritize household needs;
- Lead creation of a pilot Community Center, which will act as a hub for local government, partner agencies, national and international NGOs and private sector to facilitate an integrated system of services;
- Lead thinking around increasing community autonomy for engaging with or running Community Centers;
- Ensure Community Center is staffed by qualified community members and has a widely disseminated program of activities available and accessible to the community considerate of language preferences and literacy levels;
- Document and disseminate learning from establishment and management of Community Center to leverage influence among stakeholders, government, private sector and partner agencies;
- Work together with Gender and Protection Sr. Project Officer to roll out a program of community-based conversations within the community;
- Maintain the detailed implementation plan (DIP) in accordance with the agreed Homes and Communities platform strategy to ensure successful outcomes;
- Ensure coordination and synergy between all project components (i.e. shelter, gender, WASH etc.);
- Ensure collaboration with all ongoing CRS emergency projects to establish synergy for community engagement across all projects in the settlement;
- Prepare and monitor community engagement project spending against the Homes and Communities budget;
- Produce regular reporting updates on the status of community engagement activities related to CRS operations;
- Compile and submit timely weekly activity reports and monthly progress reports
- Participate in relevant coordination platforms at settlement and zonal levels;
- Provide support to Caritas, the government and NGOs to strengthen organizational capacity;
- Advise management about issues affecting project implementation, or key local issues affecting future project developments;
- Support Accountability staff to ensure Feedback Response Mechanisms (FRM) are in place and are accessible to all members of the community;
- Ensure women, elderly, people living with disabilities and the most vulnerable are included in decision-making for all project activities;
- Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics as well as staff and community volunteer well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, contribute to the recruitment process of project staff, and complete performance management for direct reports.
- Contributes in collecting good practices, case studies for documentation, evidence-building and demonstration alternative solutions and designs that can reach scale.
- Pilot alternative solutions and processes for families to attain safe dignified home
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The ideal applicant for the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Project Manager Community Engagement job must hold a Degree in Sociology, Social Work, Law, Administration/Management or relevant discipline from a recognized academic institution. Master’s degree achieved or in progress.
- At least five years of professional experience. Appropriate relevant and comprehensive experience in the field of humanitarian response/early recovery;
- Proven experience in implementing programs through local partners. Demonstrated understanding of mentoring and capacity building of partners including training facilitation skills
- Proven experience in liaison with all levels of Local Government.
- Fluent English language (speaking and writing)
- Languages: Knowledge of the local languages spoken by South Sudanese and host communities living on or near Bidibidi settlement
Agency-Wide Competencies (for all CRS staff): These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
- Serves with Integrity
- Models Stewardship
- Cultivates Constructive Relationships
- Promotes Learning
Emergency Competencies: Each staff member working in emergencies is expected to use the following competencies to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
- Communicates strategically under pressure
- Manages stress and complexity
- Actively promotes safety and security
- Manages and implements high-quality emergency programs
Influence Competencies (for all Homes and Communities Staff)
- Effectively communicates the agency’s priorities and leverages local relationships to bring stakeholders perspective to decision-makers, based on job-specific responsibilities
Desirable:
- A capacity and desire to pass on skills and information, a confident communicator and willing to work in a collaborative and respectful way with target communities.
- Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and meeting deadlines in changing situations
- Knowledge and understanding of good practices in protection mainstreaming
How to Apply:
All candidates should Email a cover letter and CV only to ug_recruitment@crs.org. Large files and/or scans of documents will lead to rejection of your application, in the subject
line of the email, copy and paste – PROJECTMANAGERCOMMUNITYENGAGEMENT. All applications that do not contain this exact subject line will be rejected and not read.
Deadline: 20th May 2020