Technical Advisor II – Collaborating Learning and Adapting (CLA) –

Development and Project Management, Economics, Social Sciences and Community

About CRS

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. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. CRS has been working in Ethiopia for nearly 60 years, responding to natural and man-made disasters affecting Ethiopia’s most vulnerable communities. Moving beyond emergency response, CRS’ disaster mitigation and recovery projects in drought and flood-prone areas have rebuilt individual and community assets through non-food aid in the form of agriculture, livestock, health, nutrition, and water and sanitation assistance.

Job Title:                        Technical Advisor II – Collaborating Learning and Adapting (CLA) 

Job grade:                      10

Required number:        One

Department:                 Programming – Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA)

Employment Term:      Definite Term (i.e. till September 2026

Reports To:                   Deputy Chief of Party – MEAL

Country/Location:       CRS Ethiopia/Addis Ababa

Deadline:                        April 25, 2024

Job Summary: 

Your role will entail providing technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues focusing on collaboration, learning and adapting within the Ifaa/RFSA and in alignment with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, USAID-BHA guidelines, and industry best practices to regional and Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your expertise will be instrumental in assessing the effectiveness, adaptiveness, and innovation of CRS Ethiopia’s programming globally. You will be pivotal in sharing project experiences, lessons learned and successes with internal and external stakeholders, fostering   collaboration and learning among Ifaa/RFSA staff and other activities in the implementation area. You will ensure the activity includes active, intentional, and adaptive learning within and across interventions, and will play a critical role in incorporating refinement activities and learning into implementation. This includes but is not limited to U.S. Government, Government of Ethiopia, donors, multilateral organizations, and private sector investments. Additionally, peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing, capacity strengthening, and evidence and data utilization, you will support adaptive management within and beyond the project’s sustainability phase. . You will also foster coordination and joint planning with other USAID and other donor funded activities (specifically the USAID food security and resilience portfolio), GoE initiatives, and private sector engagement.

 Job Responsibilities:

• Refine and oversee the project learning and adaptation strategy, systems, and tools to enhance knowledge acquisition, management, documentation, dissemination and learning at multiple levels.  Ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, youth protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Offer technical expertise to the food security program on-site, aiding in strategic planning and the application of program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and monitoring and evaluation, to ensure high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning by gathering and analyzing program data. Lead and document active, intentional, and adaptive learning within and across activity interventions, incorporating refinement activities and learning into implementation. Include active, intentional, and adaptive learning within and across interventions.
• Consistently apply data and experiential learning with a focus on adult needs   throughout the activity life cycle. Utilize evidence, activity data, and active learning to deepen understanding of formal and informal institutions and social dynamics.
• Establish and manage dynamic feedback systems to capture experiential learning and unintended consequences,
• Foster collaboration across systems, initiatives, teams, or organizations.
• Lead regular theory of change assessment, review, and revision exercises to reflect evolving contexts, priorities and learning by engaging multiple levels of CRS and partner staff and ensure understanding of the Theory of Change and how it guides programming among staff.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research, and other institutions. Ensure appropriate and continued coordination and joint-planning with other USAID and other donor activities (specifically the USAID food security and resilience portfolio), host-government initiatives, and private sector engagement.
• Ensure robust partner engagement and consultative processes with communities, local government, civil society, other donor funded projects, local researchers, and academics.
• Lead development, and production of high-quality learning materials including but not limited to job aids, factsheets, implementation guides, technical and research briefs in collaboration with subject matter experts to meet specific learning objectives and audience needs.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening of project staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff.
• Facilitate engaging and interactive learning sessions and workshops aimed at fostering knowledge sharing and skill development for diverse groups of participants, utilizing a variety of methodologies and techniques.

 Scope: Supervises senior communications officer, senior knowledge management and learning officer and field-based learning and context monitoring senior officer. 

Education and Experience 

• An advanced degree (PhD or Master’s) in the social sciences including economics, sociology, development studies, or field(s) related to Strategic Learning is plus a minimum of three years relevant work experience or a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years relevant experience is required.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in facilitating learning and knowledge sharing processes; establishing and managing dynamic feedback systems to capture experiential learning and unintended consequences.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with large donors such as USAID/BHA, USAID/FTF preferred as well as peer organizations, faith-based and civil society partners.
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is required.
• Experience on innovative learning practice including Internal Change Management for CLA, Evaluative thinking and Adaptive management.
• Skills in analyzing, interpreting, and communicating information to a wide range or stakeholders, including producing publications and organizing public events.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation, and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including developing and applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation, and oversight of researchers or evaluators.
• Proficiency in programming using at least one statistical package including R Studio, STATA, SPSS.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management, knowledge-sharing networks.

 Personal Skills

• Strong critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with culturally diverse groups.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to write reports
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment.

 Travel – 30% field travel required.

 Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory: Supervises senior communications officer, knowledge management and learning senior officer and field-based learning and context monitoring senior officer.

Internal: CoP, DCoP Programs, DCoP  Gender, Youth and  Social Dynamics, DCoP MEAL,  MEAL Managers, Senior MEAL Officers, Accountability Senior Officer; CRS Ethiopia MEAL Manager and ICT4D unit.

External:  Implementing partner organizations, USAID learning partners, Government staff managing respective MIS, other organizations working in ICT4D

 Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. 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.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission.  Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

  Agency Leadership Competencies:

• Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.

 Disclaimer:  This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

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