Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental agency working across multiple development sectors to assist the poor and disadvantaged in over 100 countries worldwide since 1943. CRS’ mission statement calls the agency to alleviate human suffering, advance full human development, and foster charity and justice in the world.

CRS has been in Haiti for over 62 years and has offices in Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes and Jeremie. CRS/Haiti’s signature program areas include 1) Health and social services, 2) Emergency response and recovery, and 3) Agriculture and livelihoods. Additional programs include urban programming, education and youth. The CRS Haiti Health department’s current efforts are divided into 2 pillars – Hurricane Matthew Emergency Response and Regular Programming with a health systems strengthening lens. The portfolio includes projects in MNCH/nutrition, WASH, child well-being, immunization advocacy and institutional strengthening. The child well-being programs include activities focusing on child protection, child domesticity, child labor, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and children and families infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Two child well-being projects, including a 1.5-year privately-funded pilot project, Family Care for Haitian Children, and a USAID-funded project, Coordinating Comprehensive Care for Children (4Children) will be launching in 2017.

Coordinating Comprehensive Care for Children (4Children) is a five‐year USAID‐funded project implemented by a consortium of organizations led by Catholic Relief Services with partners IntraHealth, Maestral, Pact, Plan and Westat. 4Children is designed to improve health and well-being outcomes for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) affected by HIV and AIDS and other adversities. 4Children’s work utilizes global evidence establishing that HIV and other adversities are best prevented and addressed when families and children have access to both high quality health and social welfare services. The project supports systems and structures at country and regional levels to implement evidence-based interventions that protect against risk, interrupt cycles of vulnerability, and build pathways to resilience leading to an AIDS Free Generation and contributing to overall improvements in quality of life and productivity for vulnerable children and their families.

USAID Haiti has provided funding for a two-year 4Children country program buy-in in Haiti. CRS Haiti is leading the development of this project, which will be up and running by October 2017. The primary objectives of 4Children in Haiti are to increase the availability of, access to, and uptake of: specialized evidence-based services for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in four districts in Haiti (Cap Haitien, Dessalines, Saint Marc and Port-au-Prince) and increase the capacity of OVC partners to provide quality case management and OVC services in Haiti. The latter includes harmonizing case management approaches, strengthening delivery of household economic strengthening (HES) activities to OVC families, strengthening violence prevention and response services, and supporting coordination and quality improvement efforts across the PEPFAR OVC portfolio in Haiti.

JOB SUMMARY:

CRS/Haiti is seeking a Start-up Specialist to ensure timely and quality program design and startup of the 4Children program, in close collaboration with Well-being CRS staff and partners. The Start-up Specialist will have experience in OVC programming, HIV and PEPFAR programs or equivalent programs of size and scope. The Start-up Specialist will play a lead role in the ongoing 4Children program development, including preparation for and participation in a second scoping mission with the 4Children team in June/July. S/he will lead the start-up of program implementation in coordination with 4Children technical advisors and partners, located in Haiti, the LACRO region, CRS’ headquarters in Baltimore, MD, and senior technical advisors. S/he will provide in-country assistance to the local team and partners, and will ensure representation of the project to USAID, the Government of Haiti and other stakeholders in the project implementation districts of Cap Haitien, Dessalines, Saint Marc and Port-au-Prince, and nationally. S/he is responsible for overall management of the project during startup as well as partnerships with local implementing partners, and relationships with the Child Welfare sector and the IBESR, MAST, MSPP, and other sectors relevant to OVC and HIV, including local child protection NGOs, USG Implementing partners, and district social welfare offices, district health offices, and community-based organizations in Haiti. S/he coordinates operational implementation, including adherence to program requirements, ensuring project resources are managed in accordance with CRS and USG rules and regulations. The Specialist will provide a comprehensive handover of duties to the incoming 4Children Project Director.




III. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITES:

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Representation, Coordination, Partnerships:
1. Act as primary program contact to the donor and other local and international stakeholders responsible for addressing all program matters.
2. Foster positive collaboration between 4Children/HQ, CRS/LACRO and USAID/Haiti.
3. Oversee and support local partners in start-up activities, including establishing budgets and workplans, developing and initiating capacity building plans and starting up implementation activities in collaboration with consortium partners.
4. Develop and negotiate sub recipient agreements and facilitate the sub recipient financial management policy assessment process for local implementing partners.
5. Ensure that the program communication strategies, including compliance with 4Children and USAID’s branding and marking requirements as well as CRS marking and communication procedures are followed.
6. Coordinate with other health and child well-being program staff in CRS Haiti. For example, liaise with the Family Care project which works closely with government and church partners to support family tracing and reintegration of children in residential care facilities.
7. Forge and manage complex partnerships with government, civil society, learning institutions, UN agencies, and others as need arises.
8. Support regular communications (i.e., regular consortium meetings) and effective partnerships with MSPP, MAST, IBESR, Church, Caritas, etc.
9. Represent 4Children at health and/or child well-being-related cluster/coordination meetings in Port-au-Prince as needed, and document and distribute meeting minutes to relevant staff.
10. Participate in monthly 4Children mission buy in calls.

Program Design, Implementation, Management & Quality:
1. Ensure timely and quality accomplishment of startup activities, providing timely feedback to Head of Health and 4C HQ team on key challenges.
2. Lead development of work plans, detailed implementation plans, results frameworks, MEAL plans, etc. for 4Children and 4Children implementing partners.
3. Assist with the recruitment and hiring of project staff in coordination with 4Children HQ and CRS LACRO.
4. Manage onboarding of key project staff and establish key team management and work processes for 4Children.
5. Work closely with government (MSPP, MAST and IBESR) and ensure project activities are in alignment with government priorities.
6. Conduct regular visits to 4Children implementing partner sites and submit trip reports
7. Ensure that program startup and execution is in line with program vision and CRS agency and country program guiding principles and strategies.
8. Ensure staff and project compliance with all CRS administrative, operational, and financial procedures and policies, as well as applicable to the donor regulations.

Technical Assistance (TA)
1. Act as liaison to Technical Advisors ensuring TA needs are met through collaboration with 4Children/HQ support. Facilitate the design of project activities and development of partnerships for HIV/AIDS, OVC and AGYW components of 4Children, including capacity strengthening activities for PEPFAR OVC partners implementing case management in coordination with the 4C Senior Technical Advisor and Program Specialist.
2. Identify and assess key strategic local partners for 4Children.
3. Coordinate second scoping mission with the 4Children and USAID team in June/July, including scheduling meetings with key stakeholders and providing necessary logistical support.
4. Provide limited technical guidance during the design and rollout of a nation-wide mapping of Catholic RCCs in Haiti in collaboration with Family Care project staff and MEAL staff.
o The Family Care project will work closely with government and church partners to support family tracing and reintegration of children in residential care facilities, and will be first piloted in two Catholic residential care centers (RCCs). Residential care services for children will be transitioned to provide family- and community-based services. The Start-up Specialist will not be responsible for management of this project, but will provide limited technical guidance and support.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) / Research:
1. Identify learning from other countries and organizations that can be adopted, adapted or replicated in the CP, including other 4C countries, especially those implementing DREAMS-like approaches
2. Actively encourage innovation and use of ICT4D and explore possibilities of these being scaled up and/or replicated in 4Children project
3. Support development of key indicators and data collection processes for the project and with local implementing partners and PEPFAR OVC partners in response to reporting requirements or CRS proposal/project development, as needed
4. Support development of project MEAL Plans including planning for the implementation of baseline and financial evaluations, operations research and other assessments


IV. KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Internal:
• Head of Health Program
• 4Children VAC and Case Management STAs, Health and Child Well-being Technical Advisors in HQ, 4Children Program Specialist for Haiti
• Health and Child Well-being Program/Project Managers;
• Health and Child Well-being Consultants, TYDers and Interns;
• Health MEAL Officer;
• Head of Programs;
• Country Representative; and
• Operations Team. External:
• 4C Consortium and Implementing Partners;
• USG/PEPFAR Implementing Partners;
• Family Care Residential Care Centers;
• Diocesan Caritas;
• IBESR/MAST;
• MSPP;
• USAID;
• Other Partners, Donors, Government, iNGOs, Church, Caritas, etc.

Supervisory Responsibility: There are no supervisory requirements for this position but there may be onboarding of new staff with temporary supervision.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Masters degree in social sciences/development, social work, child well-being/protection, public health, international development or a relevant technical field;
• Minimum 5 years of experience in programs focused on child well-being and/or child protection, OVC, AGYW and/or HIV/AIDS in developing context;
• Demonstrated knowledge and technical capacity in adolescents or youth programming and HIV programming; Experience with family strengthening programs, case management and referral systems approaches, gender-sensitive approaches, and social service systems strengthening strongly preferred;
• Oral and written fluency in English; professional proficiency in French and/or Haitian Creole.
• Familiarity with USG rules and regulations and experience managing USAID projects including minimum 5 years managing significant USG-funded or programs of similar complexity required; knowledge of key USG regulations
• Knowledge of local health and child well-being context in Haiti including key stakeholders such as government, strong relationship with IBESR/MAST is a plus;
• Experience with successful project development activities with USG funding
• Proven experience in building and maintaining institutional linkages required. Advocacy skills and facilitation skills are a plus.
• Excellent interpersonal, coordination and partnership skills and ability to represent CRS to donors, partners, government, church and other actors;
• Excellent administrative, planning, budgeting and financial management skills, including the ability to prepare and analyze work plans and budgets.
• Excellent analytical, decision making and organizational skills and strong initiative without direct supervision;
• Ability to travel national and internationally, up to 40%;
• Excellent computer literacy (Web, MS Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); and
• Experience using MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, and knowledge sharing networks.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
• Serves with Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning

VI. WORK ENVIRONMENT / PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

The Specialist will work out of the CRS Head Office in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Moderate to high travel to project sites within Port-au-Prince and other areas of Haiti will be required.

VII. DISCLAIMER CLAUSE:

This Job Description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults for abuse and exploitation.
EOE/M/F/D/V.

The concerned candidates are asked to send their complete application (cover letter, CV, copy diplomas) confirming the subject: Start-up Specialist, AGYW, Child Protection & HIV/AIDS 4Children

CRS’ recruitment and selection procedures reflect our engagement to protecting children and vulnerable adults from exploitation and abuse.