Project Officer - MEAL

Job Posting Organization:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Established to serve those in need, CRS operates in more than 100 countries, providing relief and development assistance without regard to race, religion, or nationality. The organization focuses on various sectors including emergency response, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding. CRS is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation, ensuring that its processes and policies reflect this commitment. The agency welcomes individuals from diverse faiths and secular traditions who share its values and dedication to serving those in need. With a workforce that spans multiple countries, CRS emphasizes the importance of personal accountability, integrity, trust-building, collaboration, and a willingness to learn among its staff.

Job Overview:
As a Project Officer for the None Core Graduation project team, you will play a crucial role in facilitating the achievement of project objectives. This involves coordinating and reporting on all project activities while providing technical guidance and advice to staff and implementing partners. Your coordination and relationship management skills will be essential in ensuring that the project adheres to best practices and continuously improves its impact on the communities served. The role requires a proactive approach to managing relationships with local stakeholders, ensuring that project activities are implemented effectively and in alignment with CRS program quality principles and standards. You will also be responsible for data management and digitization, which includes designing and implementing digital data collection systems, maintaining project dashboards, and ensuring data integrity and compliance with organizational and donor requirements. Your analytical skills will be put to use in performing qualitative and quantitative analysis, visualizing data, and preparing reports that reflect project trends and outcomes.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Project Officer will be responsible for a comprehensive set of duties including: designing and implementing digital data collection systems such as mobile apps and online forms; developing and maintaining project dashboards and databases for real-time monitoring; ensuring data integrity and compliance with organizational and donor requirements; performing qualitative and quantitative analysis using tools like Excel, SPSS, R, or Python; visualizing data through interactive dashboards and charts; organizing and leading the implementation of project activities as outlined in the detailed implementation plan; ensuring that learning accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle; supporting accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities; analyzing implementation challenges and reporting inconsistencies; coordinating and overseeing relationships with local project stakeholders; supervising and performing inspections at project sites; tracking resource use for project activities; supporting capacity building and technical support activities; coordinating logistical and administrative support; ensuring complete project documentation; and assisting with the preparation of trends analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a Bachelor's Degree, preferably in International Relations, Monitoring & Evaluation, Agriculture, Livelihoods, or Development Studies. A minimum of 4 years of work experience in project support, ideally in the field of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) for an NGO, is required. Additional experience may substitute for some educational qualifications. The role demands strong technical skills in data management and analysis, as well as proficiency in tools such as Power BI, Tableau, SQL, and mobile data collection applications. Candidates should also demonstrate strong analytical skills, effective communication, problem-solving abilities, and a proactive, results-oriented approach.

Educational Background:
The educational background required for this position includes a Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field such as International Relations, Monitoring & Evaluation, Agriculture, Livelihoods, or Development Studies. This educational foundation is essential for understanding the complexities of project management and evaluation in a humanitarian context.

Experience:
The position requires a minimum of 4 years of relevant work experience in project support, particularly in Monitoring and Evaluation within the NGO sector. This experience should include working with partners, participatory action planning, and community engagement. Experience in monitoring projects and collecting relevant data is also essential, along with familiarity with MS Windows and MS Office packages.

Languages:
The mandatory language for this position is English, with Chichewa being a preferred language. Proficiency in both languages will facilitate effective communication with local stakeholders and project partners.

Additional Notes:
The role may require travel up to 25%. CRS offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical coverage and a pension scheme. The successful candidate will be expected to adhere to CRS's Code of Conduct and safeguarding policies. The position may involve supervising enumerators during data collection and requires a commitment to safeguarding program participants and community members from exploitation and abuse. The agency prioritizes candidates who are citizens or permanent residents of the countries where CRS operates.