Program Manager I, El Niño Preparedness EMPOWER/RAPIDnew

Job Summary

The Program Manager I will provide program management, technical, and coordination support to EMPOWER partners in South America to strengthen El Niño preparedness and readiness for rapid, partner-led emergency response. The position will support implementation of preparedness activities across priority countries and hotspots, helping translate hazard, vulnerability, market, operational, and partner-capacity information into practical readiness actions, quality program designs, and activation-ready response plans. 

Working under the guidance of the Program Manager II and in coordination with technical, MEAL, supply chain, finance, safeguarding, and operations colleagues, the Program Manager I will accompany partners to complete priority preparedness deliverables, address program bottlenecks, test readiness arrangements, and maintain country-level materials that can be rapidly adapted when an EMPOWER/RAPID response is activated.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Support implementation of the El Niño preparedness workplans across assigned South America countries or hotspots in coordination with EMPOWER partners, country teams, RAPID counterparts, and technical and operational colleagues.
• Maintain detailed activity plans, deliverable trackers, meeting records, and follow-up actions that connect program, MEAL, partnership, cash and voucher assistance, supply chain, finance, safeguarding, and operational readiness tasks.
• Compile and synthesize available hazard, vulnerability, exposure, seasonal, and scenario information to help identify priority locations, population groups, likely needs, access constraints, and preparedness triggers for drought, floods, food insecurity, wildfires, and related El Niño impacts.
• Support stakeholder and service mapping with partners, including government authorities, Caritas structures, humanitarian coordination bodies, community actors, technical services, financial service providers, and other response stakeholders.
• Facilitate partner working sessions to develop or update country- and hotspot-specific contingency plans, response strategies, sector and modality options, targeting approaches, geographic priorities, and scalable response scenarios.
• Gather technical inputs and support documentation of minimum program quality standards, intervention packages, eligibility and prioritization criteria, referral pathways, assistance quantities or transfer values, and safe adaptation or substitution rules.
• Coordinate routine follow-up with supply chain and operations colleagues so proposed relief kits, in-kind assistance, and cash or voucher options reflect assessed needs, market capacity, cultural appropriateness, protection considerations, delivery feasibility, lead times, and cost drivers.
• Incorporate validated market and logistics findings into program drafts, implementation schedules, modality recommendations, delivery sequencing, contingency options, and procurement inputs.
• Support partner readiness for cash and voucher assistance, including participant-data requirements, accountability and complaints mechanisms, protection and inclusion measures, reconciliation processes, monitoring, and failed-payment follow-up.
• Prepare and update activation-ready program materials, including rapid assessment tools, response concept drafts, targeting and registration approaches, implementation plans, staffing assumptions, budget inputs, procurement requests, risk registers, and donor narrative inputs.
• Monitor assigned preparedness activities and any activated response tasks, flag delays or quality concerns, and support timely corrective action in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and humanitarian good practice.
• Work with MEAL and information-management colleagues to adapt practical indicators, data-collection tools, monitoring plans, feedback and response mechanisms, and learning questions for partner use.
• Support integration of safeguarding, protection mainstreaming, gender, age, disability inclusion, accountability to affected populations, conflict sensitivity, and disaster risk reduction across assessments, designs, partner tools, simulations, and readiness plans.
• Assist with partner readiness assessments and partner-specific action plans, ensuring that agreed actions, responsibilities, deadlines, support needs, risks, contingencies, and escalation points are clearly documented and followed up.
• Organize and co-facilitate coaching sessions, workshops, simulations, tabletop exercises, and readiness tests, and prepare agendas, materials, participant records, and follow-up notes.
• Provide day-to-day accompaniment and practical technical support to partners, adapting tools and guidance to partner priorities and promoting sustainable local ownership of preparedness systems.
• Contribute to proposal development and resource mobilization through research, technical inputs, drafting, budget inputs, staffing assumptions, and compilation of supporting documentation.
• Document decisions, lessons, tested approaches, readiness gaps, good practices, and recommendations, and maintain orderly shared files for knowledge management and handover.
• Compile the final El Niño preparedness package for assigned countries or workstreams, including analyses, plans, tools, MEAL materials, partner action plans, training resources, ownership arrangements, and maintenance recommendations.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in international development, international relations, humanitarian response, disaster risk management, food security, public health, social sciences, project management, or a related field.
• Minimum of three years of relevant experience in humanitarian program management, emergency preparedness and response, disaster risk reduction, or related programming, including field-based experience.
• Experience supporting moderately complex projects, preferably with an international NGO and with activities implemented across dispersed geographic areas.
• Experience contributing to assessments, contingency planning, response design, implementation planning, budgeting, monitoring, or reporting.
• Demonstrated experience working with and strengthening the capacity of local partners; experience with church or faith-based partners is an advantage.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in international development, international relations, humanitarian response, disaster risk management, food security, public health, social sciences, or a related field. 
• Knowledge of humanitarian principles, standards, coordination systems, and emergency program quality requirements; familiarity with CRS and Caritas Internationalis programming and standards is an advantage.
• Experience with El Niño, drought, floods, wildfires, food security, cash and voucher assistance, WASH, shelter, protection, or other relevant preparedness and response programming.
• Experience coordinating program activities with MEAL, supply chain, finance, operations, safeguarding, and compliance functions.
• Experience working in South America and in remote, insecure, or access-constrained environments.
• Experience contributing to emergency proposals, donor reports, partner training, or preparedness simulations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Good program management skills across emergency preparedness, needs assessment, response design, implementation, monitoring, adaptation, and close-out.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to organize and synthesize hazard, vulnerability, market, operational, and partner information into clear actions and products.
• Working knowledge of project budgets, donor requirements, proposal development, and grants management.
• Working knowledge of MEAL, including practical indicators, data-collection tools, analysis, feedback mechanisms, and reporting. Experience with KoboToolbox, CommCare, or similar tools is desirable.
• Ability to facilitate partner-led processes, build trust, adapt technical support to local priorities, and promote sustainable ownership.
• Strong planning, coordination, documentation, facilitation, presentation, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple assignments and meet deadlines.
• Strong professional communication and relationship-management skills, with the ability to work effectively across cultures, organizations, and technical functions.
• Proactive, resourceful, culturally sensitive, solution-oriented, and results-focused.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, web-conferencing platforms, and common information-management systems.

Required Languages: Professional fluency in English and Spanish is required. Professional proficiency in Portuguese is strongly preferred.

Travel: The assignment will be primarily remote, with in-country or regional travel to priority partners, countries, or hotspots as approved and operationally required. The selected candidate must be willing and able to travel up to 50% within South America and work effectively across time zones and in diverse operating environments.

Supervisory Responsibility: No

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.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Catholic Relief Services works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality.  Catholic Relief Services’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.  We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is committed to safeguarding program participants, community members, staff and volunteers from all forms of exploitation and abuse.  The successful candidate is expected to sign and adhere to CRS´ Code of Conduct.

CRS talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people - especially children and vulnerable adults - to live free from abuse and harm.

Disclaimer:  This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position. 

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.