Senior Administrative Officer

Job Posting Organization:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Established in 1943, CRS operates in around 100 countries, focusing on saving, protecting, and transforming lives of those in need, regardless of race, religion, or nationality. The organization has a significant presence in the Philippines, where it has been active since 1945, making it the longest-running continuous CRS country program globally. With over 70 staff members, CRS collaborates with local partners, government agencies, and civil society to implement programs in various sectors including emergency response, disaster risk reduction, health, agriculture, education, and peacebuilding. The organization is committed to safeguarding vulnerable communities and ensuring compliance with humanitarian standards.

Job Overview:
The Senior Administrative Officer will play a crucial role in leading and managing the administrative, procurement, logistics, and operational support functions for the Philippines Carbon Finance Pilot project. This position is essential for ensuring that project implementation is efficient, compliant, and timely. The officer will oversee daily administrative operations, supervise the Project Assistant, and coordinate with CRS support departments and project partners. Additionally, the role involves providing technical and institutional strengthening support to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) to enhance its operational systems. This includes reviewing and updating administrative, procurement, finance, and related policies to improve organizational effectiveness and compliance. The Senior Administrative Officer will also be responsible for ensuring that project resources, procurement actions, contracts, travel, and documentation are managed effectively, thereby contributing to the overall success of the project.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Procurement, Logistics, and Administrative Management: Lead the planning, coordination, and monitoring of procurement, logistics, travel, office administration, asset management, and operational support requirements of the project. Ensure procurement requests are initiated, tracked, and completed in accordance with CRS policies. Coordinate procurement processes, including quotations, bid evaluations, vendor communications, purchase requests, contracts, and delivery monitoring. Oversee travel arrangements, travel authorizations, accommodations, vehicle scheduling, and logistics support for project activities. Supervise office administration functions and ensure adequate operational support for staff, consultants, visitors, workshops, and field activities. Ensure project assets and equipment are properly recorded, labelled, inventoried, maintained, and disposed of in compliance with CRS policies. Supervise and provide technical guidance to the Project Assistant.
• Operational Coordination and Implementation Support: Serve as the focal person for coordinating project operational requirements among Programs, Procurement, Finance, HR, ICT, Administration, and project partners. Monitor administrative and operational readiness of project activities and proactively address bottlenecks that may affect implementation. Support project planning processes by ensuring timely availability of logistics, procurement, staffing, and operational resources. Coordinate consultant onboarding, contracting, payments, travel, and operational requirements.
• Partner Operations Strengthening and Subaward Administration: Support administration of subawards, partner agreements, amendments, and related compliance requirements. Coordinate submission, tracking, organization, and filing of partner deliverables and supporting documentation. Work closely with PEF to strengthen operational systems and business processes. Lead or support reviews of PEF operational policies, procedures, and internal systems. Support capacity strengthening initiatives that improve partner compliance, efficiency, accountability, and institutional sustainability.
• Records Management, Compliance, and Audit Support: Maintain complete, accurate, organized, and audit-ready procurement, administrative, and operational records. Manage administrative filing systems, document repositories, and project records in accordance with CRS and donor requirements. Monitor contract files, procurement documentation, asset records, and administrative trackers to ensure completeness and compliance. Support internal audits, compliance reviews, donor assessments, and monitoring visits. Ensure timely resolution of audit findings and administrative compliance issues. Monitor and follow up on expiring contracts, agreements, permits, and other administrative requirements.

Required Qualifications:
The position requires a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Management, Accounting, Finance, Development Management, or a related field. Candidates should have a minimum of 5 years of experience in administration, procurement, logistics, operations, grants, or project support functions, with at least 2 years of supervisory experience. Experience managing procurement, contracts, logistics, travel, records management, and office administration is essential. Additionally, experience working with partner organizations and capacity strengthening initiatives is highly desirable. Candidates should possess strong knowledge of procurement, logistics, administration, asset management, records management, and operational support systems, along with the ability to establish and improve administrative systems and processes.

Educational Background:
Candidates must hold a Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field such as Business Administration, Public Administration, Management, Accounting, Finance, or Development Management. This educational background is crucial for understanding the complexities of administrative and operational management within the context of humanitarian work.

Experience:
The ideal candidate should have a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in administration, procurement, logistics, operations, grants, or project support functions. This experience should include at least 2 years in a supervisory role, demonstrating the ability to lead teams and manage multiple priorities effectively. Experience in managing procurement processes, contracts, logistics, travel arrangements, and records management is essential for this position. Additionally, familiarity with working alongside partner organizations and implementing capacity strengthening initiatives will be beneficial.

Languages:
Excellent spoken and written English is mandatory for this position. Proficiency in other languages may be considered an asset, but English is the primary language of communication within the organization and for project documentation.

Additional Notes:
The position is full-time and based in the Philippines, with travel requirements of up to 25% to locations such as Malaybalay, Bukidnon, and Talaingod, Davao del Norte. The successful candidate will be expected to adhere to CRS's Code of Conduct and commitment to safeguarding program participants, community members, staff, and volunteers from all forms of exploitation and abuse. CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prioritizes candidates who are citizens or permanent residents of the countries where CRS operates.