Context 

On behalf of CRS (www.crs.org) Caritas Bangladesh is seeking a qualified professional as a full-time consultant for the position of Technical Advisor I- Protection.  CRS is a US-based relief and development agency working in nearly 100 countries/territories to alleviate poverty and suffering without regard to race, religion or nationality. In Bangladesh, CRS supports vulnerable people through partner organization, Caritas Bangladesh. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary:  

You will provide technical advice and support to a range of program design and implementation issues in the area of protection programming in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to Country Program (CP) teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ protection programming is across the globe.

The Technical Advisor (TA), Protection programming, will support CRS and Caritas Bangladesh’s protection program with an aim to enhancing program quality, alignment with relevant international and response-specific standards and guidance, and consistency with Caritas Bangladesh’s Protection Strategy for the response. Also, the TA will support with grant management for all protection programming. The TA will work closely with Caritas Bangladesh Manager Protection in Cox’s Bazar office and with the Caritas Bangladesh management team.

You will provide technical support, mentor, and coach the Caritas Bangladesh protection team on a regular basis. You will also maintain relations and coordination with donors and sector partners and ensure maintaining and enhancing Caritas’ and CRS’ capacity and reputation. 

Roles and Key Responsibilities: 

• Support the development and contribute to the implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in protection programming that effectively engages partners, donors, and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to CRS and Caritas Bangladesh teams, remotely and on-site, for how to best apply standards, best practices, partnership principles, and helping to ensure high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to the development of the technical design for proposals.  As needed, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS approach.
• Support capacity strengthening initiatives of the protection staff in case management through training and supervision on the identification of individuals at heightened risk, assessment, safe referrals, and information management. Support mainstreaming of protection principles and prioritization of safety and dignity of beneficiaries in Rohingya context all along case management process.
• Stay aware of protection monitoring and protection trends and advise on cross-cutting protection issues: evolution of the response, community engagement, security, and safety in camp. Build staff capacity in applying protection principles to monitoring, ensuring that they respect principles all along with the project components, understand risks in the camp, and coordinate with other actors on protection issues.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in the area of protection programming to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work. Support Caritas Bangladesh on coordination with protection sector and GBV and CP sub-sectors and other protection actors in camps where Caritas Bangladesh operates and participates as a member of the protection task force team.
• Support the team of staff and volunteers to review current awareness session content for the Rohingya camp context, and to develop new, culturally appropriate content for gender-based violence (GBV) and other protection topics if not available. Train and accompany the team of staff and volunteers to facilitate awareness sessions and community discussions on these topics.
• Accompany the team in community-based and participatory approaches and in encouraging community-led initiatives. Promote community engagement, inclusive of all community members regarding Age, Gender, and Diversity
• Support staff in best approaches where mediation, conflict resolution, and facilitation are requested
• Together with MEAL TA and MEAL Coordinator, set up necessary MEAL systems with data flowcharts: (1) project reporting system (daily, weekly, monthly reporting internally and externally), (2) case management system, if possible, on electronic devices Ensure protection of privacy and data.
• Support Caritas Bangladesh in the rollout of protection programming to the host community.
• Ensure grant management compliance with donor regulation, including the timely and quality preparation of narrative reports, monitoring and evaluation, and proper management and utilization of budgets. Represent donors locally as required.
• Ensure that safeguarding, protection, and gender equity are consistently and intentionally streamlined into all program activities, including staff recruitment and training.

Basic Qualifications 

• Master's Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Social Science, Human Rights or related fields is required.
• Minimum of three – five years relevant work experience with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of two years relevant field-based experience in working in GBV and protection in emergency responses.
• Field experience in social work and case management in an emergency context and technical principles and concepts in protection programming
• Experience with supervision of case managers or social workers.
• Experience developing and delivering culturally appropriate content for awareness sessions and messaging in Protection, GBV, and PSS.
• Experience in facilitation of sessions and workshops with affected communities on protection and PSS-related topics.
• Understanding of the humanitarian coordination system and ability to contribute to the protection response, and coordinate with other protection partners to share learnings
• Experience in project design and proposal development.
• Knowledge of capacity strengthening best practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation and analysis.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.

Required Languages- English proficiency required, Bangla and Rohingya are highly desirable. 

Travel- Must be willing and able to travel up to 60 % within Cox’s Bazar district including to refugee camps and host community villages.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

• Strong 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
• Good strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Good technical writing skills
• Presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Preferred Qualifications 

• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

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.  

• Integrity  
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation 
• Builds Relationships  
• Develops Talent 
• Strategic Mindset 
• Accountability & Stewardship 

Supervisory Responsibilities – None 

Key Working Relationships:  

Internal: Emergency Coordinator, Program Manager, Country Manager, HRD Technical Advisors, MEAL Technical Advisors.
External: Caritas Bangladesh Protection team, Caritas Bangladesh management team, Sector coordinators, UNHCR, and other UN actors. Other NGOs implementing protection programs.

***CRS carries out the commitment to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. 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 protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

By applying to this job, the applicant understands and acknowledges that CRS requires its staff to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Further, the applicant understands that if s/he is a successful candidate, s/he will be subject to a comprehensive background check, and their personal/professional references will be asked to evaluate their behaviors related to the above safeguarding-related topics.

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

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

CRS is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, caste, religion, race, HIV Status etc. CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.