Vacancy: Project Manager II

Company Profile

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. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been working in Ghana since 1958 in Health, Agriculture, Peacebuilding, Water and Sanitation, Microfinance, and Education programs.

Job Description

• Job Title: Project Manager II


• Department: Agric


• Grade: 10


• Reports To:  Head of Programming


• Country/Location:   Northern Region/Ghana

Job Summary

CRS seeks an individual well experience in the development of agricultural market systems, livelihoods and landscapes, climate-smart agriculture, nature-based solutions, and resilience programming. This person will serve as the technical lead for activities anticipated under the agriculture sector for CRS programs in Ghana.

The Manager will provide technical oversight of the development and implementation of all CRS activities in Agriculture.  The Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) activities will facilitate the development of a competitive market space in northern Ghana that is inclusive.  CRS Ghana seeks for the development of a resilient and sustainable demand-driven market-led, livelihoods and landscapes agriculture programming in the country, including climate-smart agriculture, nature-based solutions, market systems, and resilient agriculture.

The approach for this activity will help identify and minimize the root causes of market failure for barriers that disadvantage the vulnerable, women and youth, and exclude them from economic opportunities. This activity will also create incentives for actors to invest in developing and sustaining productive relationships for the efficient delivery of goods and services and an improved enabling and regulatory environment for agricultural sector growth.  The Program Manager’s knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to effective, adaptive, and innovative agriculture, livelihoods, and landscapes programming in the Country Program, with a particular focus on climate-smart agriculture and nature-based solutions, market systems, and resilience.

This position will report to the HOP and will be based in Tamale, Ghana, with frequent travel across Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions of Northern Ghana. The Agricultural market systems, livelihoods, and landscapes development Manager will use their management skills and knowledge to ensure the CP delivers high-quality programming and continuously works to ensure growth towards improving the impact of its agriculture programming.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide management, guidance, and technical oversight 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.


• Effectively manage talent for the MS&R Project and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, and complete performance management for direct reports.


•  Lead country program efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in agriculture, market-led agriculture, livelihoods and landscapes, and climate change programming. Serve as Technical Lead on proposals.


• Support community identification and entry activities, including establishing relationships with key community leaders and stakeholders using the Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) approach.


• Led community mapping activities, including community-based agribusiness dealer mapping and financial services provider mapping.


• Leads activities to promote improved use of production and post-harvest handling practices and services by smallholder farmers by linking them to agro-dealers and service providers to provide sensitization training, workshops, and demonstrations.


• Leads activities to increase adoption of fundamental and commercial business practices by smallholder farmers in areas like financial literacy, record keeping, and use of market information.


• Led activities to support commercialization and access to finance for smallholder farmers through promotion of VSLAs and SILCs, access to mobile money, and financial literacy training.


• Support the creation and strengthening of inclusive and service-oriented smallholder farmer groups which provide improved services to their members.


• Ensure timely and appropriate project expenditures in line with financial plans and efficient use and stewardship of project material sources.


• Support the country program in developing a collaborative understanding of underlying drivers and environmental and economic impact of land degradation within agricultural landscapes/water catchments


•  Provide technical advice and guidance to increase country programs’ knowledge and understanding of agricultural landscape planning and spatial analysis to implement sustainable land management and nature-based solutions to restore vital ecosystems services and improve livelihoods.


• Provide technical advice to the country program to understand the climate change, environment and agricultural policy and strategies, map key stakeholders and identify entry points to dialogue with government, private sector, and civil society


• Reinforce the country program capacities in effective stakeholder engagement and communication approaches as a foundation for effective collaboration and sustainable systems change


• Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining and/or aligning appropriate monitoring systems to country level or global indicators.


• Advise Country Program on aligning the CRS approach to government and donor strategies, priorities, and technical requirements.


• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in agriculture market systems, livelihoods, and landscapes programming for staff and partners through the development of learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting training and workshops, and mentoring and coaching for country program staff.

Required Skills or Experience

Basic Qualifications

• Master's Degree in International Development, Economics, Business, Agricultural or Rural Development or another relevant field.


• Minimum of 9 years of experience in relevant field-based project management experience, such as work in economic growth, value chain development, or agricultural development programs is required.


• Proven track record as program manager or technical leader of donor-funded agriculture programming.


• Experience with climate-smart agriculture and cross-cutting objectives (e.g., gender, youth).


• Experience with staple crops, such as maize, soybean, groundnut, and cowpea, and high-value export-oriented crops, such as horticulture, shea, and other tree crops a plus.


• Knowledge of the market facilitation approach (M4P) is required.


• Knowledgeable and experienced with international development contracting policies and procedures, specifically USAID. Experience working with grantees preferred.

Required Languages - English

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 30%.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make sound judgments and decisions and offer innovative solutions


• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate and collaborate with people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.


• Proven ability to interpret MEAL data and use it to adaptively manage programs/projects


• Excellent oral and written skills with good presentation and facilitation skills


• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented


• Knowledge of finance and private sector investment


• Understanding of agricultural policy environment in targeted counties and value chains required

Preferred Qualifications

• Good experience in project grants management, including project design, preferably for grants from multiple public donors, including USAID.


• Demonstrated ability to write high-quality technical proposals.


• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.


• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information management systems.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity


• Continuous Improvement & Innovation


• Builds Relationships


• Develops Talent


• Strategic Mindset


• Accountability & Stewardship

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: Head of Programming, Country representative, Business Development Specialist, Head of operations, ACERS Chief of party (COP), WASH Program Manager II; Youth and Migration Program Manager, Sector Influence Manager.

External: National Association of Religious women, Ghana, Partner congregations and Sisters, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, ECD experts, Ghana Health Service, District Assemblies, Local Leaders/Chiefs, District Director of Health Services, and other stakeholders.