Emergency Program Manager I, Jamaica (Global Remote)

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. 

The Humanitarian Response Department (HRD) provides leadership and support to CRS emergency programming. The HRD strengthens CRS’ impact through high quality, innovative programs; improved technical and management capacity at the field level; and active engagement in global efforts to promote excellence and learning in humanitarian response. The HRD has technical staff that supports emergency program planning, rapid response, and capacity strengthening of staff and partners worldwide.

The EMPOWER (Empowering Partner Organizations Working on Emergency Responses) project is a joint initiative piloted in FY18 of the CRS Latin American and Caribbean Regional Office and the Humanitarian Response Department (HRD). In 2020, CRS expanded this program to Central America and Mexico and it continues to grow a team of LACRO-based emergency responders whose primary role is to support strengthening the emergency response capacity of local partners response in the Caribbean, South and Central America and Mexico and support them implementing high quality emergency responses. 

Through EMPOWER, CRS staff accompany local organizations in institutional capacity self-assessments. Based on self-assessment results, as well as institutional mission, vision, and strategy, participating local organizations develop institutional strengthening plans. In response to expressed priorities and requests, CRS provides participating organizations with demand driven technical resources, support, training and accompaniment, and organizes zonal and regional workshops to facilitate shared learning and strengthening of peer networks among local and national humanitarian response organizations.

Job Summary

You will be seconded to Caritas Antilles in Jamaica to support the Hurricane Melissa Emergency Response implementing projects advancing Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work in localization and serving the poor and vulnerable. Your management skills and knowledge will ensure that the local partner delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the impact of its programming.

The PM I will work closely with Caritas Antilles and the Dioceses in Jamaica’s Melissa emergency response and their primary role will be to strengthen the emergency response and early recovery capacity of local partners and support these partners in implementing high quality emergency and early recovery projects in response to hurricane Melissa. Caritas Antilles, in partnership with its diocesan networks and with technical accompaniment from CRS under the EMPOWER program, is implementing a multi-funded response including emergency relief distribution, shelter, disaster risk reduction, multi-purpose cash assistance, livelihood recovery, and strengthened pathways into Jamaica’s national social protection system. 

To further strengthen delivery capacity during this critical phase, CRS will deploy a PM I to Caritas Antilles to provide operational support, coordination, technical support, and systems strengthening, ensuring alignment across funding streams (AMBFF, IRUSA, Caritas Internationalis (CI), Private Foundations, and future mobilizations, including a potential US Department of State early recovery project where Caritas Antilles will be the prime recipient). The seconded PM I will support Caritas Antilles in managing the Melissa response portfolio, ensuring timely, coordinated, safe, and quality program delivery. The role will provide hands-on operational support while also strengthening systems, workflows, and implementation capacity of diocesan teams in Jamaica. The position will serve as a supporter—not a replacement for local leadership—and will ensure alignment with localization commitments, donor requirements and compliance, safeguarding standards, and humanitarian principles. 

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Support Caritas Antilles in the management and implementation of all activities throughout Hurricane Response and recovery project cycles - project design, start-up, implementation and close-out - to ensure efficient and effective implementation in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices. Ensure project team and partner staff use the appropriate systems and tools. Ensure coherence across all donors - CRS, IRUSA, AMBFF, CI, Private foundations - and any other emerging funding streams.
• Manage team dynamics and staff well-being for deployed staff in Jamaica. 
• Champion learning with project staff and partner teams. Analyze and evaluate project performance data following MEAL policy. Proactively identify issues and concerns and use participatory processes to overcome implementation obstacles. 
• Act as a key resource person in project design and proposal development in respective programming area, gap-filling and taking on growth responsibilities, as needed.
• Coordinate the identification of staff capacity and technical assistance needs of partner organizations and capacity strengthening and required interventions to support quality project implementation. 
• Help identify, assess and strengthen partnerships relevant to Caritas Antilles Hurricane Melissa Response, including to Caritas Antilles institutional policies and procedures, applying appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools and approaches.
• Coordinate and monitor financial and material resources relevant to project needs, through planning and oversight ensure efficient use of project resources.
• Serve as the field Safety & Security Focal Point for CRS staff in Jamaica. 

Additional Responsibilities

• Represent Caritas Antilles (when delegated) in coordination platforms: clusters, Cash Working Group, ODPEM technical meetings, donor updates. 
• Ensure adherence to international guiding principles and program quality standards, including the Project Management Standards (PMS), Protection Mainstreaming Guidelines, and Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) in Emergencies, as well as SPHERE standards and Caritas Antilles Code of Conduct principles across all activities. 
• As applicable, contribute to new project design and proposals related to Melissa funding opportunities (needs assessments, gap analysis, coordination, lead writing and reviewing),
• Support in the development, review, and submission of final close-out deliverables, including but not limited to, final financial reports, project reports, result indicators, and exit strategy. 
• Identify bottlenecks and co-create practical solutions with CA and diocesan teams (procurement, HR onboarding, supply chain flows, MEAL tracking, budget follow-up, compliance alignment).
• Support the strengthening and application of financial and operational SOPs and policies and procedures related to per diem, travel, retention & knowledge management, distributions, MPCA delivery, and safeguarding compliance, in collaboration and guidance of Caritas Antilles’ regional (St Lucia) and local (Jamaica) team.
• Support Caritas Antilles in aligning response operations with the Social Protection Benefits Calculator and MLSS systems. 
• Provide structured coaching and accompaniment for Project Officers, Finance Assistant, Community Promoters, and diocesan focal points, as applicable.
• Facilitate technical support linkages with CRS (WASH, MEAL, Finance, Cash, Safeguarding), as/if requested by Caritas Antilles. 
• Document learning and feed into a sustainable handover plan and future preparedness improvements, particularly prior to the end of deployment.
• Support development of sitreps, donor reports, and internal updates. 
• Ensure alignment with donor requirements (IRUSA, AMBFF, CI Emergency Appeal, Private Foundations, future donors) without overburdening Caritas teams. 
• Lead periodic reviews on progress, risks, and adaptation needs with CA leadership.
• Support the PSEA focal point and Emergency response coordinator that PSEA, safeguarding, AAP, and Duty of Care & Staff Well Being standards are embedded in all project activities.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information management systems.
• Experience engaging with partner organizations.
• Experience contributing to the development of technical proposals.
• Strong critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with culturally diverse groups.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to write reports
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented

Required Languages: English required

Travel: Must be able to be based full time in Jamaica, based in Kingston with travel around the island as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities: none

Working Relationships: 

• CRS: HRD EMPOWER Team and other HRD sector TAs, Regional TAs 
• Caritas Antilles: Emergency Response Coordinator, Regional team, Local team in Jamaica 
• External: UN agencies, government entities (e.g. MLSS, ODPEM), donor agencies, and other humanitarian stakeholders.  

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, International Relations or in the field of Project Management, or related fields, is required. 
• Minimum of 2-3 years of relevant field-based experience in coordinating or managing moderately complex projects required, preferably with an international NGO. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of and ability to navigate the humanitarian coordination systems and platforms, including stakeholder engagement with local partners, UN bodies, and clusters. 
• Knowledge of humanitarian programming, Integral Human Development, SPHERE standards and Catholic Social Teaching principles preferred. 
• Demonstrated knowledge/experience of integrating cross-cutting themes such as capacity building, emergency response, early recovery, disaster risk reduction, cash assistance, and systems strengthening. 
• Demonstrated knowledge/experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning, particularly during proposal design, start-up, and close-out, as well as development of MEAL tools and methodologies for data collection and analysis. 
• Demonstrated experience of working with and building capacity of local partners.  Experience with church partners a plus.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills. 
• Excellent professional communications skills, both oral and written, in English. 
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions independently. 
• Extremely flexible, and the ability to cope with stressful situations in emergency environments. 
• Strong computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and Power Point) are necessary. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree
• Project management experience in disaster risk reduction, MPCA, livelihoods, shelter, and/or food security highly desirable.
• MEAL skills and experience preferred.

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.  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.