Catholic Relief Services Recruitment for Field Officers – Maternal And Child Health x2

Applications are invited from interested and suitably qualified candidates for Catholic Relief Services Recruitment for Field Officers – Maternal And Child Health x2.

In 1943, the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States established Catholic Relief Services to help war-torn Europe and its refugees recover. During World War II, CRS’ work focused on the resettlement of war refugees in Europe. Today, more than 75 years later, our mission continues to focus on the poor overseas, using the gospel of Jesus Christ as our mandate. We continually seek to help those most in need, providing assistance on the basis of need, without regard to race, creed or nationality.

Job Description

• Company: Catholic Relief Services
• Location: Ghana
• State: Tamale
• Job type: Full-Time

Details

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We are motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to cherish, preserve and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity and justice, and embody Catholic social and moral teaching as we act to:

• Promote human development by responding to major emergencies, fighting disease and poverty, and nurturing peaceful and just societies; and,
• Serve Catholics in the United States as they live their faith in solidarity with their brothers and sisters around the world.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been working in Ghana since 1958 in Health, Agriculture, Peace Building, Water and Sanitation, Microfinance and Education programs. CRS Ghana is currently implementing the Developing Acute Care and Emergency Referral Systems (ACERS) Project for a period of three years which commenced in September 2018 and is expected to end in October 2021.

Description

• Department: Programming (Health)
• Grade/Level: Five (5)
• Reports To: Senior Project Officer – ACERS Project
• Country/Location: One Field Officer will be based in Gushegu (Northern Region) and the other in Nkwanta (Oti Region)
• Start Date: March 2019
• End Date: October 2021

 Summary: 

The primary function of the ACERS Field Officer is to provide field level technical leadership and support to sub-district level staff as well as Community Based Agents (CBAs) to ensure successful achievement of the ACERS Project’s overall objectives and results. The Field Officers will work with the ACERS Senior Project Officers and Ghana Health Services ACERS Coordinator in the implementation of project strategies and activities, including but not limited to: community mobilization and sensitization, formation of community-based groups, logistics for distribution of project supplies, partner monitoring, monitoring and evaluation of project activities, coordination, and reporting.

The Field Officers will assist project implementation by working directly with local partners and community members and coordinating various project activities at the community-level. The position’s service and community relationship skills will ensure local partners and communities feed into and benefit from the project, consistently applying best practices to continuously work towards improving the project’s overall impact.

Key Job Responsibilities:

Project Implementation 

• 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.
• Support the coordination and monitoring of project activities at the field level, ensuring implementation schedules are met as per the detailed activity plan, and that adherence to systems for quality project implementation are strengthened.
• Coordinate communication and facilitate information sharing among the project team, implementing partners, and project beneficiaries at the community-level to assist local partners in strengthening the community interest, involvement and support networks.
• Facilitate/coordinate the formation and/or re-activation of savings and internal lending communities/village savings and loans associations
• Liaise with various community stakeholders and mobilize them to ensure full involvement of community leaders, community representatives, and local government representatives in the overall implementation and improvement of project activities.
• In coordination with the ACERS District Implementation Team (DITs), support capacity building events for community representatives.
• 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.
• Ensure project documentation for health facilities and communities for assigned activities is complete with all required documentation and is filed per agency and donor requirements. Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices.
• Coordinate, supervise, monitor, and report on community-level activities.
• Work with community-based agents and compile data provided at the community-level as per project requirements and contribute to the preparation of reports.
• Prepare and submit project updates to the immediate supervisor as agreed upon.

Other Duties/Assignments:

• Carry out any other duties/assignments as directed by the Senior Project Officer and/or Chief of Party

Scope :

• The Field Officers will coordinate with Government and other Research Partners within their assigned District and Sub-District level

Requirements

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Community Development, Public Health, Nutrition or related field
• 1-2 years of work or volunteer experience in community development and mobilization.
• Experience training and providing technical support to partners/community-based agents
• Preferably experience in maternal and child health, Savings and Internal Lending Communities/Village Savings and Loans Association
• Computer literate and skills in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Personal Skills

• Observation, active listening and analysis skills with ability to make sound judgment
• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to interact effectively with diverse groups
• Proactive, results-oriented and service-oriented
• Excellent English oral and written communication skills
• Ability to ride motorbike in rough terrain

Required/Desired Foreign Language: Knowledge of the local languages of duty post – Gushegu (Dagbani and Mampruli) and Nkwanta South (Ewe)

Travel Required: up to 90% of time spent in the ACERS Project communities with the assigned District

Key Working Relationships: 

• Supervisory: none
• Internal: Senior Project Officers, GHS-ACERS Coordinators, members of the District Health Management Teams, Data Monitors at RIPS, and ACERS Chief of Party
• External:  Ghana Health Service, District Assemblies, National Health Insurance Scheme, Local Leaders/Chiefs, District Director of Health Services

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

MEAL Competencies 

• Monitoring
• Accountability
• Learning
• ICT4MEAL

How to Apply

Interested and suitably qualified candidates should send CV and letter of interest to [email protected]  by 5pm, on March 15 2019.  The e-mail subject line for all applications and CVs should make reference for the position applied i.e., SPO – GESSiP.