Technical Advisor I – Climate Change Adaptation & Livelihoods at Catholic Relief

Job Summary:  

Reporting to the Head of Programming, the Technical Advisor - Climate Change Adaptation & Livelihoods will provide technical assistance, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design issues with a focus on climate change adaptation, focused business development efforts and play a lead role in establishing CRS as a climate change adaptation thought leader in Kenya in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to the Country Program (CP). S/he will contribute to the development of programs, strategies, tools and best practices in climate change adaptation and livelihoods that effectively engage communities, partners, donors and governments, with specific focus on climate financing and advocacy, climate smart agriculture, integrated livelihoods and value chains.

Roles and Key Responsibilities: 

• Contribute to the development and implementation of programs, strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in climate change adaptation and livelihoods that effectively engage communities, partners, donors and governments. Specific areas of focus include climate financing and advocacy, climate smart agriculture, integrated livelihoods and value chains.
• Contribute to the CP’s efforts to position for growth opportunities to support CRS’s Strategic Change Platform on Resilient Livelihoods and Flourishing Landscapes. 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 climate change adaptation and livelihoods programming for staff and partner through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to staff.
• Contribute to research, knowledge management, documentation 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.
• Capture and disseminate the ECCAT learning journey for enforcing accountability and documenting learning for scale with the final learning product being a comprehensive guide to securing community climate financing for use within and beyond Kenya.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in forums around integrated climate change adaptation and livelihoods to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
• Develop and as appropriate, lead small innovation projects advancing CRS’ agenda in climate change adaptation and livelihoods
• Work closely with the project MEAL lead to implement and strategically adapt to the global and geographical trends and best practices documented in course on the project implementation.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

• 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.
• 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

Basic Qualifications                         

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Master's Degree in resilience, climate change adaptation, natural resource management, or related field, required.
• Minimum of five years relevant working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with a minimum of three years working for programming interventions in climate change adaptation and livelihoods.
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is required. Experience with donors including USAID, the EU, German Government, Green Climate Fund, and various UN agencies preferred.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts climate change adaptation and livelihoods. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in climate change adaptation and livelihoods, 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 and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
• Demonstrated commitment to respect, equity, diversity and inclusion including gender equality.