Project Officer Sr

Job Title: Project Officer Sr

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.

As a Senior Project Officer for climate programming  in Iraq , you will have a key role in the implementation, coordination and monitoring of a 12-month climate change project aimed at developing localized climate roadmaps, including by coordinating and reporting on all project activities and providing technical guidance and advice to staff and implementing partner(s) advancing Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable. The incumbent’s coordination and relationship management skills will ensure that the project for which you are responsible applies best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve.

·       Organize and lead the implementation of all assigned project activities as outlined in the detailed implementation plan in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.

·       Serve as the primary focal point for day-to-day project implementation, coordinating with the local partner, monitoring progress against the DIP, and escalating key challenges to the Program Manager and Technical Advisor, as appropriate.

·       Ensure learning properly accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities and guiding partners in their efforts to reflect on project experiences. Analyze implementation challenges and report any inconsistencies and/or gaps to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.

·       Coordinate and oversee working relationships with all local project stakeholders and serve as the liaison between them and the project team to mobilize local actors and promote project activities and impact.

·       Oversee and perform ad-hoc inspections of various processes and resources at project sites to ensure timely project activities implementation and adherence to established process standards and procedures. Ensure proper tracking of resource use for project activities through periodic budget reviews and follow-up with and assistance to

·       Support and coordinate capacity building and technical support activities to ensure assigned project activities are implemented per project guidelines and standards.

·       Coordinate provision of any logistical and administrative support to staff and partners.

·       Ensure project documentation for assigned activities is complete with all required documents and is filed per agency and donor requirements. Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices.

·       Bachelor’s degree in international relations, Business Administration, or other related fields.

·       Minimum of 3 years of work experience in project coordination, partner management, and government engagement experience, as well as project support, ideally in the field of climate action, climate resilience, and localization of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and liaison and communication with central and local government authorities.

Additional experience may substitute for some education

·       Master’s degree in international relations, Business Administration or a related field.

·       Experience working with partners, participatory action planning and community engagement.

·       Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data.

·       Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).

·       Analysis and problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment

·       Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners

Required Languages: Proficiency in Arabic and English

Travel: Must be based in Baghdad, and willing and able to travel to other governorates up to 50%.

Supervisory Responsibilities: No