Humanitarian Operations Technical Advisor II

Catholic Relief Services | CRS • United States,

11h • Onsite

About The Position

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is seeking a Humanitarian Operations Technical Advisor II to strengthen its rapid response and ongoing humanitarian operations. This role provides deployable, hands-on operational expertise to support emergency response delivery. The Humanitarian Response Department (HRD) enhances CRS’ surge capacity by providing technical support across core humanitarian operational functions, with a primary emphasis on supply chain management (procurement and logistics) and sub-office setup in emergency contexts. The Technical Advisor II collaborates with other technical departments to support the establishment and strengthening of related operational functions, including human resources, finance, security, ICT/telecommunications, administration, and fleet management. This role promotes high standards of operational management in humanitarian settings by advising on best practices, contributing to the development and rollout of operational guidance, and supporting capacity-building efforts for CRS country programs and partners to ensure timely, compliant, and effective humanitarian response operations.

Requirements

• In-depth knowledge of humanitarian operations systems, with strong expertise in supply chain management, procurement, logistics, and emergency sub-office setup.
• Strong understanding of public donor regulations, operational compliance requirements, and risk management in emergency contexts.
• Solid knowledge of humanitarian best practices, operational standards, and evolving guidance for emergency field operations.
• Familiarity with cross-functional operational areas (HR, finance, security, ICT/telecoms, fleet) and how they integrate into emergency response operations.
• Familiarity with CRS programming principles
• Familiarity with ICT/GIS
• Knowledge of CRS partnership strategy
• Knowledge of emergency coordination mechanisms
• Strong familiarity with SPHERE, Core Humanitarian Standards
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions independently.
• Extremely flexible and can cope with stressful situations in emergency environments.
• Demonstrated ability to provide leadership in strategic planning initiatives
• Ability to work both as a motivating member and a leader of a diverse team
• Strong knowledge of effective management practices desired
• Strong MS Office skills
• Proficiency (verbal and written) in English and at least one of the following languages: French, Spanish, Arabic.
• Must be able and willing to travel at least 50% of time often at very short notice (within 48 hours) and for an average of four-six weeks (with a maximum of two consecutive months under exceptional circumstances).
• Should have the capacity to live and work in difficult/stressful environments and serve wherever agency needs dictate.

Nice To Haves

• Experience setting up and managing humanitarian supply chains
• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Provide rapid deployment, in-country operational surge support during humanitarian emergencies as an expert with focus on supply chain management particularly in procurement and logistics, and emergency sub-office setup.
• Provide operational support across HR, finance, security, GKIM, administration, and fleet management, in coordination with relevant CRS technical leads.
• Provide remote and onsite technical support for emergency operations planning, implementation, and close-out, ensuring alignment with CRS operational standards, donor regulations, and good humanitarian practice.
• Establish and manage relief delivery systems in active emergency contexts.
• Provide on-the-job mentoring, coaching, and training to CRS staff and local partners, and support the design and rollout of operations-focused emergency training activities.
• Support collaboration and partnerships with local organizations and national and international CRS teams to strengthen operational capacity for emergency response and recovery.
• Contribute to technical standards, guidance, and learning for humanitarian field operations and emergency supply chains, including supporting updates to the Emergency Field Operations Manual (EFOM).
• Design and adapt humanitarian operations training modules in collaboration with HQ departments and HRD technical teams.
• Assist with emergency budgeting, basic cost tracking, and supply chain monitoring, and support compliance with public donor regulations and operational requirements.
• Establishment and management of supply chain and accounting systems in new or rapidly evolving emergency responses.
• Ensure awareness of and compliance with public donor regulations and operational requirements relevant to humanitarian operations.
• Represent CRS and HRD in relevant humanitarian coordination, cluster, and operations forums, promote staff care and security, and contribute to CRS-wide operations policy adaptation for emergency contexts.
• Liaise with peer agencies, clusters, and humanitarian fora to promote learning and operational excellence.

Benefits

• CRS offers are contingent on the selected candidate’s ability to legally work where the position is to be performed.
• Every government has a unique set of work permit eligibility requirements.
• All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside a home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical clearance; some work permit processes require clearing a separate government administered medical examination.
• CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed