Program Manager II – Bahamas Blue Carbon

Catholic Relief Services | CRS•Baltimore, MD

About The Position

CRS is collaborating on a new, ambitious program called the Bahamas Seagrass Blue Carbon Initiative. The initiative was designed by a consortium involving the Government of Bahamas, investors, a financial company, and climate/environmental scientists. It is designed to restore and protect coastal natural capital in a way that sells carbon credits through the formal carbon market, then uses the proceed of carbon credits to (a) sustain the restoration program and (b) allocate funding for long-term social and economic development. CRS has been contracted to serve as the Program Technical Manager for this initiative. CRS will work with other the program partners and sponsors to support the design phase of the program, including: (a) help prioritize project interventions for the short- and medium-term, (b) launch start-up activities in Q2 of 2026, and (c) collaborate with the Government of Bahamas to design a long-term Sustainable Development Strategy, which will be funded in-part through the monetization of carbon credits. CRS is contracted to carry out these design and start-up activities for about five months, and CRS is expected to play a long-term role in program management after this contract. CRS will hire a Program Manager to oversee the design and start-up phase, working directly with technical partners and sponsors, the Government of the Bahamas, and other stakeholders. The Program Manager will coordinate with a CRS Technical Working Group, including CRS Innovative Finance Team, CRS Climate Finance Unit, CRS/EMPOWER, and LACRO. The Program Manager for the Bahamas Blue Carbon initiative will provide technical support to local stakeholders in the Bahamas to develop, coordinate and accompany implementation of the Bahamas Blue Carbon Development Program. S/he will organize capacity building and accompaniment of partners, with the goal of ensuring climate finance projects are in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your technical knowledge, advice and guidance will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ programming is across the globe.

Requirements

Required Languages – English (required)
Must be willing and able to spend at least 50% of time in the Bahamas during this contract period.

Responsibilities

Engage with technical partners and sponsors in the Bahamas to plan and coordinate activities.
Manage CRS’ activities for the Program, including: (a) help prioritize project interventions for the short- and medium-term. (b) launch start-up activities in Q2 of 2026; and (c) collaborate with the Government of Bahamas to design a strategy for a long-term Sustainable Development Program.
Identify and contract local partners and sub-contractors to support the start-up activities.
Coordinate and support local partners and subcontractors, ensure quality implementation
Ensure all activities are in line with CRS quality principles and standards.
Ensure timely and appropriate project expenditures in line with financial plans and efficient use and stewardship of project material sources.
Ensure safeguarding and protection protocol are established and adhered to.
Report to CRS, technical partners, and sponsors on progress, challenges, and recommendations.
Establish monitoring and reporting protocol, aligned with the monitoring, reporting, and verification system that is being designed with technical partners.
Coordinate technical support to local stakeholders in the Bahamas for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
Develop and maintain strong collaboration with CRS technical experts and, in agreement with partners, develop SOWs for in-country support for partners as needed -- especially for technical support in climate finance, environmental restoration and others as selected by the local stakeholders.
Contribute to knowledge management 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.
Contribute to the development of CRS capacity in Climate Finance that effectively engage partners, donors and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
Ensure a quality partnership between CRS and EMPOWER partners in line with CRS and Caritas Internationalis (CI) partnership principles; ensure coordinated, consistent partner strengthening efforts and support timely resolution of partnership challenges via dialogue and support from others, as appropriate.
Support quality partner-led program development, through participation in donor discussions and ensuring quality program design, budgeting and reporting.