Job Title: Senior Technical Advisor- Child Protection
Division: PIQA/MEAL Unit
Location: Baltimore, MD
Reports to: Director I-4Children
Band: E
FSLA: Exempt
About CRS:
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 partner people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
Job Summary:
Coordinating Comprehensive Care for Children (4Children) is a five‐year USAID‐funded project implemented by a consortium of organizations led by Catholic Relief Services with partners IntraHealth, Maestral, Pact, Plan and Westat. 4Children is designed to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) affected by HIV and AIDS and other adversities. 4Children’s work utilizes global evidence establishing that HIV and other adversities are best prevented and addressed when families and children have access to both high quality health and social welfare services. The project supports systems and structures at country and regional levels to implement evidence-based interventions that protect against risk, interrupt cycles of vulnerability, and build pathways to resilience leading to an AIDS Free Generation and contributing to overall improvements in quality of life and productivity for vulnerable children and their families. Globally, there is very limited, if growing, evidence in low and middle income countries that addresses the causes of child separation, effective mechanisms to prevent and respond to risks and vulnerabilities that lead to such separation, and the contribution of family support interventions in improving child wellbeing outcomes as well as poverty reduction. In an effort to narrow this evidence gap, with dedicated funding from the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), 4Children includes an applied research project called Keeping Children in Healthy and Protective Families (KCHPF), which focuses on strengthening family care among households where there is a high risk of children separating or where children can be reintegrated after having been placed in residential care in Uganda, Rwanda and Cambodia. The 4Children team is currently searching for an experienced child protection professional to assume the leadership of and provide direction for this exciting initiative as Senior Technical Advisor, Child Protection. This is a key technical position within the 4Children team and will oversee all implementation and research aspects of the KCHPF project.
Job Responsibilities:
Responsibilities of the Senior Technical Advisor, Child Protection include: a) Coordinate and oversee the work of all 4Children consortium and external partners involved in KCHPF;b) Secure and sustain the active engagement of a wide range of stakeholders to support project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation including DCOF/USAID, 4Children consortium partners, USAID in-country missions, CRS country offices, national governments and other international and/or local partners as needed;c) Lead the technical design of 4Children country-based projects focused on generating robust evidence regarding interventions that prevent family separation and/or support successful family reintegration;d) Provide technical support and quality assurance for the set-up and implementation of relevant country-based projects, including local team recruitment and orientation, identification and engagement of local implementing partners and identification and engagement of local and/or international research partners;e) Oversee the design and implementation of the KCHPF research component and ensure that findings are shared to inform on-going project design and implementation in the child protection and OVC fields;f) Oversee the production of and contribute to the writing of project briefs, presentations, technical reports, case studies and contribute to drafting peer reviewed articles related to project activities and research findings;g) Contribute to the periodic production of global and country project plans, budgets and reports as required by the 4Children team and the donor;h) Facilitate and foster coordination and direct linkages between 4Children initiatives in the field of child protection, with a particular focus on children outside of family care;i) Foster and maintain productive working relationships with relevant global and regional multilateral agencies, international and national NGOs and networks, academic institutions and other donors and organizations working in the social welfare, child protection and care reform fields;j) Participate in relevant 4Children and KCHPF team meetings, including with partners, country teams and the donor (DCOF-USAID);k) Undertake other related tasks as requested by his/her supervisor.
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.
- Serves with Integrity
- Models Stewardship
- Cultivates Constructive Relationships
- Promotes Learning
Supervisory Responsibilities: None.
Key Working Relationships:
INTERNAL: KCHPF and 4Children project teams; CRS PIQA department; selected Country Offices.
EXTERNAL: 4Children consortium members, DCOF-USAID, RAG members, academia, international NGOs operating in the sector, in-country partners.
Personal Skills:
- Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills;
- Ability to mobilize, engage and sustain positive relationships with a wide-range of stakeholders, often from a distance, towards a common goal;
- Ability to troubleshoot, take initiative and quickly problem-solve, actively seeking support from colleagues when necessary;
- Ability to juggle multiple tasks and work well with many different personalities, across different contexts;
- Desire to work in a collaborative, proactive, and multicultural team environment, but able to work independently;
- Ability to leverage creativity, flexibility and good humor during times of stress;
- Ability to travel internationally approximately once every quarter, for periods of up to two weeks at a time;
- Willingness to work additional hours during critical implementation periods.
Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree or higher in social work, social sciences or a closely related field;
At least ten years of work experience in child welfare and protection, of which at least five years’ work in a low resource context/country;
Experience designing, implementing and managing country-level initiatives in child welfare and protection systems and/or social service workforce initiatives, with a focus on children living outside of family care in/for low resource contexts/countries;
Relevant experience designing, participating in, facilitating and/or overseeing operational research related to child protection, social welfare and/or vulnerable children and families;
Experience engaging effectively with USAID and other bilateral agencies; the United Nations and other international agencies; host-country governments and counterparts; local NGOs and other key stakeholders;
Ability to travel extensively.
ALL APPLICANTS MUST BE LEGALLY AUTHORIZED TO WORK IN THE U.S. AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION.
Language Requirements: Fluency in written and spoken English. Fluency in French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Arabic a plus.
Disclaimer Clause:
This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, duties and responsibilities associated with this position.
CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
EOE/M/F/D/V
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