Deputy Regional Director (DRD), Program Quality 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 partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

CRS’s overall 2030 agency strategy has a primary goal that All People Achieve Dignified and Resilient Livelihoods in Flourishing Landscapes.

Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical, underscores this connection between human poverty and environmental degradation. CRS has a strong partnership commitment to see transformational outcomes, through partners thatincludeg the Catholic Church, civil society organizations, governments, the private sector and local communities.

CRS’ experience working with communities and local partners affirms their connection, and experience linking livelihoods and natural solutions to address the increasing impact of climate change within agricultural landscapes, including water catchments.

The Southern Africa Region (SARO) is a large and complex region comprised of six country programs (Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and two outreach countries (Angola and South Africa).

CRS works predominantly in marginalized areas, characterized by arid and semi-arid lands, where agricultural and/or pastoralist communities reside. CRS implements a variety of agricultural programs in the region, including crop production, agro-enterprise development, natural resource management as well as emergency response and early recovery activities.

Climate change has also had significant impacts on agricultural systems in the region. Over the last 24 months alone, CRS has responded to droughts in Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Lesotho and cyclones/flooding in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique, focusing on community managed Disaster Risk Reduction and approaches for building household and community resilience.

New projects are focusing on natural resource management/climate change, scaling-up production of new crops/crop varieties, and linking farmers and crops to specific markets through innovative partnerships with the private sector.

CRS SARO agriculture programming needs to keep pace with community needs, more frequent climate-related threats, increasing environmental degradation and also CRS strengths. CRS Southern Africa needs to expand its agriculture and natural resource management programming in the region, and must ensure that its programming is competitive, innovative, and results-oriented.

CRS is working to better define its niche in the agriculture, climate change, and natural resource management space and to integrate this programming with nutrition, WASH, gender and youth programming and conflict mitigation in this region.

To provide strategic leadership and technical guidance and support in the area of improved livelihoods, agriculture, climate adaptation and mitigation, and watershed and natural resource management to CRS’ Country Programs in Southern Africa;

to maintain and improve the program quality of such programs;

and to help build CRS’ expertise and portfolio in the area of agriculture, with a focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation (and resilience);

Natural resources management;

dry land farming and pastoralist systems and livestock management, water for domestic and productive uses, and market systems development. The position will link SARO with the global Agriculture and Livelihoods community in CRS, including the Landscapes and Livelihoods Platform, to assist SARO countries to develop high quality funding proposals; and to implement programming in line with CRS program quality standards and promote learning and innovation.