About CRS: “Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partner’s people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.”

In Ethiopia, CRS has a long and rich history of providing emergency relief and development assistance to the people of Ethiopia since 1958. At present, CRS/Ethiopia implements multiple projects through different partner organizations. CRS/Ethiopia has a highly diverse portfolio currently focusing on community-based food and livelihood security through activities in agriculture, health, peacebuilding, WASH, emergency relief, and savings and lending. CRS is active in nearly all regions of Ethiopia: Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), Somali, Benishangul Gumuz, Afar, and Dire Dawa Regions.

CRS strictly adheres to its Policy on Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults among its staff, consultants, volunteers, and affiliates. CRS is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer: women, minorities, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

As part of the CRS family, you will join the more than 5000 strong and vibrant individuals working globally to accomplish the mission of CRS. CRS/Ethiopia invites you, the qualified candidate, to apply for the following position;

Job Summary:

You will conduct and report on the full range of CRS PDP commodity management monitoring activities. Ensuring that PDP commodity management is in conformity with the donor (USAID/FFP) and CRS rules and regulations. Debrief with PDP management and Logistics Department on best practices and areas for improvement. Report to management on overall PDP performance, record management, general conditions of warehouses and or other facilities, commodities transfer, agreements, and related compliance issues pertinent to US Government commodities and CRS commodity management requirements. You will develop and maintain a good working relationship with the JEOP CRMCU, PDP teams, CRS Logistics Department and CRS Compliance team.

You will provide technical expertise and capacity support; advising, training, coaching, and mentoring Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Ethiopia’s local partners under the JEOP in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, USAID/FFP guidelines, and industry best practice to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Working closely with technical experts your skills and knowledge will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ Ethiopia programming is across the globe.

PDP Compliance Monitoring

• Develop and agree the PDP monitoring plan, in coordination with CRS Field Managers and Logistics Department, and approval from JEOP/DCOP for monitoring, compliance and capacity strengthening.

• Update and or develop PDP monitoring checklist and data collection tools in accordance with CRS financial policies and commodity management rules and regulations for commodities funded by USAID (CRS Supply Chain Manual, GACAP and Reg 11etc.).

• Develop a PDP monitoring plan and corrective action plan (CAP) for relevant warehouse issues in coordination with Field Managers and Logistics Department and as per approval from JEOP/DCOP for monitoring, compliance and capacity strengthening.

• Follow up on a regular basis through direct and email communication with CRS Logistic Department and Field Managers to obtain updates on the status of findings and adherence with developed CAP.

• Conduct regular monitoring of PDPs and verify closure of findings given priorities and urgencies to address and close those findings based on collected evidence. Ensure commodities are handled in line with GACAP (Generally Accepted Commodity Accounting Principles), JEOP/DFSA standards, CRS Supply Management and USAID rules and regulations

PDP monitoring visits will comprise of the following but not be limited to:

1. Physical check of warehouse/storage facilities for conditions and ensure that any findings are in line with CRS Financial policies and Commodity Management rules and regulations, for commodities funded by USAID (CRS Supply Chain Manual, GACAP and Reg 11etc.). Examine PDP commodity management, checking whether or not laid down human resource procedures are implemented by PDP  Management CRS policies and procedures (HR manual, local labor law, etc.).
2. Conduct a physical inventory check of commodities at the PDP. Verify commodities receipt and dispatch to ascertain proper documentation – records, physical inventories tally PDP warehouse balances. Verify that inputs for CSR, RSR and LSR are submitted to CRS SCM timely
3. Validate whether or not commodity dispatches are done in accordance with agreements made between CRS and partners and with transportation companies;
4. Validate whether or not PDP monthly reports, including timely BUBD tracking, are prepared and maintained;
5. Verify that all documentation is filed according to CRS procedure and all documents are available and authorized by relevant signatories, based on authority and segregation of duties procedures;
6. Verify availability and display of adequate and appropriate branding and marking at PDPs, in accordance with USAID Branding and Marking requirement;
7. Monitor condition of commodities, stacking, and records are properly maintained and accounted for;
8. Check that the necessary forms, documents, source of information, etc. are being used properly and regularly;
9. Conduct frequent market/mill assessment around PDP location;

Partner Capacity Strengthening

• Determine and address partner capacity needs, and or gaps from a variety of sources to support partner teams in achieving technical excellence in the JEOP program.

• Support the development of program/project documents and tools, as well as technical manuals or guidance, training materials, presentation, and quality improvement and assessment guidelines.
• Coordinate and or perform various activities in support of commodity management, including but not limited to the training needs assessment, planning technical working group meetings and note-taking, and ICT4D solutions.
• Collect and disseminate JEOP related information and resources to CRS staff and partners and assist with organization, design, and coordination of training workshops to support capacity-building efforts.
• Identify new approaches and methods for promoting partner learning. Contribute to the learning agenda by researching and analyzing information, conducting literature reviews, mappings or information gathering from various internal and external sources on assigned topics. Coordinate the maintenance of documentation databases.
• Convene JEOP commodity management TWG meetings and responsible for note-taking and documentation of proceedings of the TWG
• Assist partners to develop and or update their food assistance strategies and guidelines
• Stay abreast of key food assistance/food security issues in Ethiopia to inform technical support activities.