Job Description

Position duration: (Tentative July 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027)

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. 

 The Humanitarian Response Department (HRD) provides leadership and support to CRS emergency programming. The HRD strengthens CRS’ impact through high quality, innovative programs; improved technical and management capacity at the field level; and active engagement in global efforts to promote excellence and learning in humanitarian response. The HRD has technical staff that supports emergency program planning, rapid response, and capacity strengthening of staff and partners worldwide.

You will provide technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues with a focus on larger projects in the area of Emergency Response and Recovery in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor 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.

This includes:

• Providing rapid deployment program quality, management and leadership capacity for breaking and ongoing humanitarian responses;

• Guiding CPs and partners on humanitarian funding opportunities and supporting humanitarian proposal design/development, in coordination with the regional teams and the HRD sectoral technical advisors;

• Supporting emergency program quality/management knowledge management, capacity building and sharing as requested to ensure best practices and learning are shared across country programs/partners; and

• Engaging with the regional/CP teams to bring a humanitarian lens to discussions on broader program quality initiatives

Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ Emergency Response and Recovery programming is across the globe.

Roles and Key Responsibilities: 

• Contribute to the development and implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in Emergency Response and Recovery that effectively engage partners, donors and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, safe and dignified programming, and disaster risk reduction.

• Provide technical solutions to regional and CP teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation. Take on acting emergency leadership roles (e.g., Emergency Coordinator, Head of Office) and support the set up and/or management of emergency field offices, teams, and relief operations as requested during field deployments.  Support may also be provided in other response functions such as security, staffing, supply chain/logistics, finance, IT/communications and administration, as needed.

• Contribute to efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in Emergency Response and Recovery. Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.

• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in Emergency Response and Recovery programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff. Capacity strengthening approaches may include formal and on-the-job training; development/streamlining of operational policies/systems; accompaniment of partners, etc. as appropriate.

• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.

• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in forums in the area of Emergency Response and Recovery to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

• Represent the agency and partners at cluster, donor and coordination meetings in the field and at international cluster meetings, as requested.

• Promote health and wellbeing of CRS and partner emergency staff.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in Emergency Response and Recovery. General knowledge of other disciplines to ensure a proper cross-sectoral approach.

• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in emergency response, including technical writing.

• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training, applying adult learning practices.

• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.

• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.

• Strong written and oral communication skills

Preferred Qualifications 

• Master's Degree in International Development, Disaster Response, or a related field is an advantage.

• Located in or able to cover UTC +0 – UTC +4 time zones.

• Knowledge of Humanitarian principles, standards and system, with specific knowledge of CRS and Caritas Internationalis emergency programming and standards a plus.

• Knowledge of design requirements and regulations of major emergency donors, including the US Government, EU/ECHO and UN agencies

• Highly proficient in security protocols and management of emergency programs in insecure environments

• Experience with and enthusiasm for coaching, mentoring and on the job training

• Ability to maintain performance expectations and strong working relationships in diverse cultural contexts, psychologically and physically stressful environments

• Practical knowledge/skills in Information and Community Technology (ICT) and Information Management

Required Languages – Proficiency (verbal and written) in English and at least one of the following languages: French, Spanish, Arabic. Proficiency in additional languages a plus.

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 50% (i.e., 6 months out of the year); duration of a deployment will generally be from 3 to 8 weeks, depending on the needs of the country program. Candidates should have the capacity to live and work in difficult/stressful environments and serve wherever agency needs dictate.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• May be assigned temporary supervisory responsibilities during field deployments, as needed

Basic Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree in International Development, Disaster Response or a related field required.

• Minimum of eight years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of three years working for programming interventions in Emergency Response and Recovery program management.

• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is required.

Agency Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

• 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.

What we offer

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. CRS´ work culture is a collaborative, mission-driven culture committed to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Catholic Relief Services works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. Catholic Relief Services’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is committed to safeguarding program participants, community members, staff and volunteers from all forms of exploitation and abuse.The successful candidate is expected to sign and adhere to CRS´ Code of Conduct.

CRS talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people - especially children and vulnerable adults - to live free from abuse and harm.

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

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.