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Public Donor Liaison

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Public Donor Liaison Department/Country: Overseas Support Department/Baltimore/USA Location: Baltimore, MD-USA Band: D FLSA: Exempt Reports To: Team Leader Job Background/Summary: This position is within the Public Donor Group (PDG) of the Overseas Support Department (OSD) and will have a specific set of country programs to cover, depending on the needs of the team. This position will be expected to demonstrate a high level of donor representation, programming knowledge and troubleshooting capabilities. Key relationships are with donors and country programs, as well as other departments and divisions within CRS will be emphasized. For public award-related activities, functional tasks include: administration of a portfolio of awards requiring support to country program offices in project implementation and management; successful submission and defense of public award proposals; sharing information within the department and with other relevant staff; and being a resource for, mentoring, and training other staff in resource acquisition, compliance, negotiation, and building public donor relations skills as appropriate. The Public Donor Liaison will also take on at least one area of global specialization related to public resources, such as development of expertise in dealing with a donor of particular importance to an assigned region but also to the rest of the agency. Key Responsibilities: • Create, cultivate and maintain strong donor relationships. Undertake frequent travel to Washington to ensure contact with the donor and promote a positive CRS image with the donor. • Maintain a positive donor image of CRS while diplomatically and effectively negotiating desired outcomes for Country Programs. • Apply field experience in program management to identify trouble spots in implementation, assess implications for both the country program and donor, and strategize possible solutions. • Minimize risk to CRS as an agency by proactively identifying and resolving problems before they arise to a critical level. • Drawing on experience, advise HQ and field staff on public resource administration, and mentor less experienced staff, contributing to the broader knowledge base of team. • Perform all duties for a specified portfolio of awards as follows:  Handle day-to-day management of award portfolio, including prompt and proactive resolution of award issues.  Represent and advocate on behalf of country programs to donors, ensuring strong working relationships with public donor officials; ensure that higher level issues are raised to the Team Leader or other appropriate staff for follow up.  Understand and interpret donor regulations, guidance and work preferences to facilitate program award acquisition and management; communicate donor considerations and requirements to country programs; help country programs strategize on best approaches to take with each donor; ensure coordination with other Public Donor staff so that messages reach relevant staff in the agency.  Review, revise, submit, defend, and negotiate proposals for public resources on behalf of assigned countries; handle award amendments, revisions, waiver requests, award closeouts and disposition of equipment, etc.  Review and analyze financial reports periodically to support proper country management of donor and CRS cost share of award funding.  Provide compliance guidance to country programs proactively, particularly in anticipation of potential liabilities; support their management of awards to minimize/mitigate risks.  Communicate and coordinate with other departments on country-specific and/or regional public resource award issues, (e.g. Finance, Program Quality, Business Development Team, Purchasing, US Operations).  The Public Donor Liaison will also take on at least one area of public donor specialization, developing an expertise in understanding and dealing with a donor of particular importance to his/her region but also to the rest of the agency.  Ensure that the auditable files (paper and electronic) of all public awards for assigned countries are maintained up to date, complete, and easily accessible according to CRS filing system for public awards.  Update and maintain agency data collection systems such as the proposal win/loss database.  Contribute to the development of systems that facilitate improved award administration in HQ and by the country programs.  Support country programs through TDYs as needed (e.g. evaluations, strategic planning, proposal development, etc.).  Participate in annual review/analysis of country Annual Program Plans and budgets.  Carry out any other tasks as assigned. Agency-wide Competencies: 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 Key Working Relationships: Internal: Country Programs, Regional staff, Public Resource Representative, Finance, Purchasing, Shipping, Program Quality & Support Dept., Business Development Team, Strategic Issues Advisors, Legal and Compliance staff, Management and Policy Information, and US Operations. External: USAID, Dept. of Labor, USDA, Dept. of State, other public donors and representatives of other PVOs. Qualifications: • Master's degree in international development or related field preferred. • Minimum six years international development work experience, including a minimum of three years field experience developing proposals and implementing public awards in a developing country context and at three years negotiating and backstopping USAID grants or equivalent experience with US Government agencies or departments. Title II experience needed. • Familiarity with USAID, Dept. of State, Dept. of Labor, USDA, Global Fund or other public donor requirements. • Knowledge of CRS program technical areas and Catholic Social Teaching principles. • Strong skills as a mentor, leader, and manager of critical agency relationships. • Experience with and commitment to working in a team structure. • Demonstrated ability to work independently, think critically, and analyze/resolve problems proactively essential. • Ability to work under pressure. • Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication and analytical skills. • Working fluency with Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet) required, experience with SharePoint or similar communication platforms helpful. • Ability and willingness to travel overseas up to 15%. Foreign Language: Fluency in English required. Working ability in French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Arabic preferred.
Disclaimer Clause: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
How to apply:
Note: All interested applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. at the time of application.
EOE/M/F/D/V

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