Job Title: EMPOWER West Africa Coordinator (Program Manager II)

Reports to: Deputy Regional Director, Program Quality West Africa

Department: West Africa Regional Office

Salary Grade: 10

PLEASE NOTE: This position is open to candidates from any location globally, with preference for those who live in any West African country.

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) 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. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Program Background

The EMPOWER ( Empowering Partner Organizations Working on Emergency Responses ) project began in 2018 in the Latin American and Caribbean Region to increase and advance local leadership of humanitarian responses through institutional strengthening and direct funding of Local Humanitarian Actors (LHAs). EMPOWER expanded in 2021 to CRS’ Asia Regional Office and is being launched in CRS’ West Africa Regional Office (WARO) at the start of 2023. Leveraging lessons learned and recommendations from the preceding EMPOWER projects, EMPOWER West Africa will grow a team of emergency response technical advisers whose primary role is to strengthen the emergency response capacity of LHAs in West Africa and support them to implement high quality emergency responses. Based on local organizations’ self-assessment of their self-identified operational and technical support needs and requests for support, EMPOWER provides participating organizations with demand-driven technical resources, on-the-job support, training and accompaniment, and organizes regional workshops to facilitate shared learning and strengthening of peer networks among local humanitarian actors. EMPOWER also manages a rapid response fund, through which, participating local organizations propose and receive funding for emergency response programs to support communities impacted by crises in West Africa.

Job Summary

The EMPOWER West Africa Coordinator will manage and provide technical oversight and strategic leadership of the development and implementation of all EMPOWER West Africa programming , ensuring effective systems and processes are in place that support high-quality programming advancing CRS’ work in serving the poor and vulnerable. Your management skills and knowledge will ensure that EMPOWER West Africa delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the capacity of participating Local Humanitarian Actors to lead emergency preparedness and response activities in their respective countries .