Deputy Chief of Party II - Programming, ChildSAFE

CRS is recruiting in anticipation of an award – recruitment for all candidates is contingent upon successful award of the project.

About the role

The Deputy Chief of Party II - Programming will provide overall management of and have responsibility for the programmatic and technical implementation of a large, complex, multi-country child development, care, and protection project to serve vulnerable children, families, and communities. The Deputy Chief of Party will act on behalf of the Chief of Party, as needed, including global representation to the donor. This role ensures the delivery of high-quality programming and advances CRS as a leading agency in child protection, family strengthening, family-based care, and integrated early childhood development. The position supports effective coordination among technical, operations, MEAL, and partner teams to ensure successful implementation, sustainability, and compliance with donor requirements.

As a senior project leader, the Deputy Chief of Party II - Programming will proactively manage programmatic risks and contribute to locally led systems change, cross-country learning, government ownership, sustainability, and adaptive management.

Responsibilities

• Under the guidance of the Chief of Party, manage key aspects of the development, implementation, and consolidation of assigned projects.
• Serve as a secondary point of contact to the donor as well as public, private, and non-government stakeholders.
• Manage key functions of the project to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results, milestones, and budget.
• Contribute to ensuring coordination between program and operations leads and adherence to CRS program quality standards.
• Provide leadership and oversight for technical implementation across participating countries, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based programming and consistent achievement of project objectives and milestone-based deliverables.
• Provide technical guidance and quality assurance to consortium partners and country teams to ensure consistent implementation of project approaches and standards.
• Effectively manage and supervise talent, including team dynamics, staff well-being, coaching, and mentoring.
• Strategically tailor individual development plans and complete performance assessments for direct reports.
• Contribute to the development of staffing plans and the recruitment process of senior staff.
• Manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and regional issues that may impact staff and programming.
• Ensure all CRS safety and security policies and plans are updated and that staff are aware of and adhere to current plans.
• Support safeguarding and accountability efforts by ensuring child protection principles and standards are integrated across all technical activities and partner engagements.
• Promote, uphold, and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources.
• Help ensure compliance with donor grants, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration, and donor reporting.
• Maintain relationships with key staff of consortium partner organizations.
• Contribute to coordination of the roles and activities of staff from other consortium member organizations in implementation in line with CRS partnership principles.
• Promote cross-country learning, knowledge management, and the application of lessons learned to strengthen program quality and project performance.
• Create and maintain proper conditions for learning, including establishing a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties.
• Identify performance gaps and training opportunities for CRS and partner staff and recommend trainings and technical assistance.
• Provide technical oversight and quality assurance of sub-awardee and vendor activities, ensuring partner-delivered results meet project standards, milestones, and technical objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, International Relations, or a relevant technical area.
• Minimum of 5 years’ relevant management and technical experience.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience managing donor funds, including multi-country grants.
• Recognized technical experience and qualifications in the sector as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, etc.
• Experience coaching and mentoring project staff.
• Demonstrated experience of successful management, including management of functions of complex, high-value, multi-activity projects and logistics.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships.
• Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy.
• Experience in managing multi-country opportunities with high-profile donors.
• Experience managing complex USG awards in the field of child protection, child development, or care reform.
• Experience working internationally in Latin America, Africa, or Asia.
• Experience working with and supporting capacity-building activities with local governments to strengthen national systems for scale and impact.

Skills

• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.
• Strong knowledge and experience in budget management.
• Strong knowledge of MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.
• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities, with the ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse and multi-disciplinary teams.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented mindset.

Languages

Fluency in English required. Fluency in French or Spanish a plus.

Travel

Must be willing and able to travel up to 35%.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Yes, this role includes supervisory responsibilities.

Benefits

CRS offers U.S. based staff a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, life insurance, vision, and a generous retirement savings plan. Salary and benefits packages for successful candidates employed outside the U.S. are based on the country of employment/in-country office where the candidate will perform the role.

About Us

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' work culture is a collaborative, mission-driven culture committed to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world. CRS welcomes as part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.