Technical Advisor I - Safe and Dignified Programming

Position duration: 18 months (tentative July 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027)

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. 

Job Summary 

You will provide technical advice and support to a range of program design and implementation issues in the area of Safe and Dignified Programming in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to CRS and partner teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ Safe and Dignified Programming is across the globe.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Support the development and contribute to the implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools and best practices in Safe and Dignified Programming that effectively engage partners, donors, and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to project teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools and M&E, helping to ensure high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to the development of the technical design for proposals.  Support the process of preparation, design, submission and approval of project concepts and full-fledged proposals. As needed, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Support capacity strengthening initiatives in Safe and Dignified Programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and coaching.
• Collect and analyze program data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices for specific projects to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to the Safe and Dignified Programming learning agenda.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in Safe and Dignified Programming to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
• Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in Safe and Dignified Programming.
• General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure a proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in project design and proposal development. Experience in writing content for proposals.
• Knowledge of capacity-strengthening best practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation and analysis.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Strong 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
• Good strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Good technical writing skills
• Presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Preferred Qualifications 

• Master's Degree in Social Inclusion or Protection Studies is an advantage
• Located in or able to cover UTC +0 – UTC +4 time zones.

Required Languages: Fluency in English required. Fluency in French, Spanish or Arabic required, 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 1 to 3 months, depending on the needs of the country program/partner. Candidates should have the capacity to live and work in difficult/stressful environments and serve wherever agency needs dictate.

Supervisory Responsibilities: No.

Basic Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, International Development, or Humanitarian Action required. 
• Minimum of five to eight years of work experience in Safe and Dignified Programming/Protection Mainstreaming and PSEA with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of two years in relevant field-based experience in Safe and Dignified Programming.

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.