Technical Advisor II, Land and Watershed Restoration

Job Summary  

You will provide hands-on technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues focused on Watershed Restoration/Land Restoration in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices. You will advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable in Malawi and Lesotho. Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to the effectiveness, adaptiveness and innovation of CRS’ watershed restoration programming in Lesotho and Malawi. 

Roles and Key Responsibilities 

• Contribute to the development and implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in Watershed Restoration/Land Restoration that effectively engage partners, donors and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to Malawi and Lesotho, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in Watershed Restoration/Land Restoration. Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators. 
• Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in Watershed Restoration/Land Restoration programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curricula, conducting training and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to CP staff.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Establish and maintain relationships with national and subnational levels of government, donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in forums in the area of Watershed Restoration, agriculture, land restoration, climate change and systems approaches to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
• Maximize visibility and strategic positioning, including through organization of and participation in forums in the area of watershed restoration, agriculture, land restoration, climate change and systems approaches. Collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.

Basic Qualifications 

• Bachelor's Degree in hydrology, natural resource management, agroforestry, agronomy, environmental science or other related field required.
• Minimum of eight years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of three years working for programming interventions in watershed restoration or land restoration.
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is required.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Master's Degree in hydrology, natural resource management, agroforestry, agronomy, environmental science or other related field required is an advantage 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in watershed restoration/land restoration. General knowledge of agriculture, food security, climate change and other related disciplines to ensure a proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in watershed restoration/land restoration, including technical writing.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings. Understanding of partnership principles. 
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented
• Strong networking and partnership building skills

Required Languages: English required. Knowledge of Chichewa and/or Sesotho is a plus. 

Travel: – Successful candidate is requested to travel up to 50% if remote, or up to 30% if locally based.

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

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.  Salary and 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.