Vacancy: WARO Program 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: WARO Program Manager II          


• Job Grade: 10


• Department: WARO Regional Office


• Reports To: RTA Stakeholder Engagement/Project Lead


• Country/Location:  Telecommuter

Job Summary

• You will manage and provide technical oversight of the development and implementation of the West Africa Large-Scale Food Fortification (LSFF) Technical Team, a new initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ensuring effective systems and processes are in place that support high-quality technical assistance and grant management advancing Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work in serving the poor and vulnerable. Your management skills, technical knowledge and high-level representation capacity will ensure that the Team delivers high-quality outputs promised on this grant and positions the Team for continued and increased funding to deliver technical assistance to government entities across the 15- member country ECOWAS region.

Job Responsibilities

• Provide management, guidance, and technical oversight of all new and existing projects within the West Africa region focused on large-scale food fortification 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 LSFF Technical Team and directly supervise six team members, including four Technical Advisors and two grant management support staff. Manage team dynamics and staff well- being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, and complete performance management for direct reports.


• Lead the development of program learning - identify opportunities for learning, research and publications in the area of LSFF and implementation of MEAL policy. Facilitate the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned to contribute to the agency knowledge  management agenda. Ensure integration of innovations and best practices.


• Contribute to the proactive pursuit of opportunities for new funding to ensure growth of the LSFF-Nutrition sector portfolio in line with agency, regional and CP Nutrition strategic priorities. Serve as the technical lead and technical writer to ensure quality proposals are submitted as per agency and donor standards. Contribute to budgeting and staffing plans and activities for proposals.


• Oversee LSFF technical assistance and capacity strengthening activities for staff and partner organizations to enhance program quality and impact.


• Oversee the identification, assessment and strengthening of partnerships relevant to LSFF and the appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools and approaches.


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

Key Working Relationships:  

• Internal: CRS country program leadership across the 15 country ECOWAS region; CRS WARO regional leadership; HQ Nutrition STAs; IDEA donor engagement and BD teams, as relevant; CRS CARO Health regional, PQ and BD staff with respect to ECOWAS countries that fall within the CRS Central Africa region.


• External: WAHO; ECOWAS member country Ministries of Health and other government entities relevant to regional and country-level LSFF standards and strategies; peer NGOs active in the LSFF/Nutrition space; donor agency representatives funding LSFF programs, such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID/Feed the Future, GIZ, and others.

Required Skills or Experience

Education and Experience:

• Master's Degree in International Development, Food Science/Technology, Public Health, and/or MBA with at least some relevant experience in the field of Nutrition required. Additional experience may substitute for some education.


• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in relevant field-based project management experience required, with preferably at least 2-3 years working in the area of Large-Scale Food Fortification,


• Experience in managing moderately complex projects preferably with an international NGO.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

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


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


• Good presentation and facilitation skills


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


• Experience in multistakeholder public private partnership coordination with diplomacy, tact, and gravitas

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.


• Experience engaging with partner organizations


• MEAL skills and experience required.


• 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

Required/Desired Foreign Language:

• English and French Preferred

Travel Required:

• Must be willing and able to travel up to 30%, largely within West Africa

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.

• Trusting Relationships


• Professional Growth


• Partnership


• Accountability