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Country Representative - CRS Nicaragua

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Country Representative Region: LACRO Location: Nicaragua Reports To: Regional Director Band: E FLSA: Exempt Primary Responsibilities: The Country Representative in Nicaragua provides overall strategic leadership and management of the Country Program, which consists of a staff of 40+, and a budget ranging between $5 million to $6 million per year (estimated). The CRS Nicaragua (CRS/NI) Country Representative must ensure open and effective communication with Church leadership, as well as key donors and local partners (including Caritas and non-Church NGOs and agricultural cooperatives). The CRS/NI Representative must also monitor political activity in country that might affect ongoing CRS programs and maintain strong relationships with Government of Nicaragua officials. The CRS Nicaragua country program (CRS NI) is one of the leading CRS programs around the globe in the area of agricultural livelihoods, and notably in value chain strengthening. While CRS NI does also implement projects in other programmatic sectors, such as disaster risk reduction and potable water activities, over 90 percent of its current financial and human resources are dedicated to agricultural development. Given this specific strategic focus, the Country Representative must possess competencies linked to building relationships with a broad set of corporate, academic and governmental actors, as well as a solid understanding of and passion for promoting rural business opportunities tied to local, national and international (export) markets. Specific Duties: Strategic and Program Management: • Provide strategic leadership in order to ensure CRS NI’s place as a leader in Value Chain / Agro-Enterprise programming in the region and globally; • Contribute toward the development and implementation of CRS’s global Signature Program Area “Agricultural Livelihoods” by representing CRS in key strategic spaces such as CRS trainings/conferences or external conferences such as Sustainable Food Labs, Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), etc.; • Lead process of evaluating and updating CRS NI’s current strategic plan and harmonizing plan with LACRO and global strategic priorities; • Maintain effective communication with key regional project coordination staff to ensure strong performance within the framework of several regionally funded initiatives such as ProSoils and Global Waer Initiative (Howard G. Buffett Foundation) and Blue Harvest (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters); • Promote spirit of accountability results-driven performance among all program staff; • Invest CRS private funds in critical strategic (Nicaragua, LACRO and global) initiatives; • Improve use of ICT4D in Nicaragua with support from LACRO and HQ technical staff. Financial/Administrative Management: • Develop and monitor annual and multi-year program budget execution and forecasting; • Ensure compliance with all CRS and donor administrative and financial regulations; • Promote culture of performance and accountability among finance and administrative staff; • Review existing finance and administrative staff job descriptions and capacities on annual basis and determine need for improvements or adjustments depending on rapidly evolving demands from HQ and/or donors; • Supervise successful monetization of USDA-donated commodities in coordination with relevant HQ staff and consultants as needed. Personnel Management • Directly supervise team of senior managers, including the Head of Programs (HOP), Finance Manager and Administrative Manager; • Develop and implement staff capacity development strategy; • Recruit and develop highly skilled and motivated national and international staff in order to ensure highly performing country program team; • Maintain and encourage principles of a just workplace. Representation and Growth • Maintain and implement an effective business development strategy focusing on winning highly competitive grants from a variety of USG and private foundation donors; • Manage strong relationship with leading USG officials in country such as the USAID Mission Director, the US Ambassador and the USDA Agricultural Attaché, as well as the USDA office in Costa Rica; • Represent CRS Nicaragua and other Central American country programs as needed with key private foundation donors such as the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), Argidius Foundation, Ford Foundation, among others; • Represent CRS and share information regularly with local authorities, the Church, local partners, the UN, other NGOs and other appropriate networks; • Develop key strategic alliances with complementary organizations in Nicaragua and Costa Rica such as CIAT and CATIE (research), Root Capital and Banco Produzcamos (rural finance), as well as private companies such as private sector value chain actors such as Wal-Mart Nicaragua, Ritter Sport Chocolate, UTZ, among others. • Pursue co-funding opportunities with CAFOD and TROCAIRE focusing on National and Diocesan Caritas strengthening. Country Representative 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. • Leads toward Strategic Results • Manages Risk and Complexity • Represents and Partners Strategically • Champions Learning and Performance
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
Supervisory Responsibilities: Head of Programming, senior administrative/finance staff and other senior managers, as necessary.
Key Working Relationships: Internal: Regional Director and regional technical and project coordination staff, Director of Overseas Operations, Chief Financial Officer, Overseas Support Department, US Operations, Program Quality & Support Department, Human Resources, Purchasing and Shipping. External: Local Catholic Bishops Conference, local Catholic Church agencies, representatives of the USCCB and other US-based and international Catholic organizations, local partner organizations, host country government agencies, donor agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, private companies, research institutions, foreign governments. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required: • Masters in Business Administration- MBA- (preferred), or Masters in International Development/Relations or related field with experience working private sector actors; • Eight years or more relevant, progressive management experience in a developing country environment; • Strong interpersonal communications and empathy skills; • Demonstrated experience with short and long-term planning; financial, personnel and program management; • Experience managing a variety of complex, high-value donor-funded (USG, USDA, Howard G. Buffett Foundation, etc…) initiatives ; • Demonstrated leadership, management and supervisory skills; • Demonstrated success in program development and fundraising; • Proven ability to work with broad range of strategic allies including local government, Catholic Church leaders and private sector actors; • Previous experience with institutional strengthening and partnership building; • Demonstrated ability to effectively represent the Catholic, American identity of CRS; • Ability to instill a spirit of high performance among all CRS NI staff and partner organizations; • Proven ability to promote an open and positive work environment for all CRS staff; • Native English and strong fluency in Spanish required. Physical Requirements/Environment: • Nicaragua is a safe family post; no extraordinary security conditions required; • Candidate must be willing and able to travel throughout Nicaragua, within Latin America and to the United States. Disclaimer Clause: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
How to apply:
EOE/M/F/D/V

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