Field Operations Manager

Job Summary

Provide field-level operational leadership, coordination, and representation for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Marsabit, supporting timely, high-quality, and accountable implementation of the project and effective functioning of the CRS Marsabit sub-office.

Work closely with project technical, MEAL, supply chain, compliance, security, and operations teams and Caritas Marsabit (DOM), coordinate field implementation, address operational bottlenecks, promote compliance with CRS and donor requirements, and ensure implementation risks and resource needs are appropriately managed.

Serve as a senior CRS representative in Marsabit, coordinating with county and sub-county government authorities, humanitarian coordination structures, communities, partners, and other stakeholders. Significant implementation, operational, security, safeguarding, compliance, and resource-management issues will be addressed within delegated authority or promptly escalated to appropriate project or Country Program leadership.

Job Responsibilities

1. Field Leadership and Implementation Coordination

• Lead day-to-day coordination of CRS field operations in Marsabit and support integrated implementation of project activities in line with approved plans, budgets, SOPs, CRS policies, and donor requirements.
• Coordinate across project activities including food distribution, Food for Assets, nutrition, MEAL/accountability, supply chain, security and operations to identify and resolve field-level implementation bottlenecks.
• Facilitate routine implementation planning and coordination meetings with CRS and partner teams and ensure agreed actions are tracked and completed.
• Monitor implementation readiness, progress, quality, and resource requirements, addressing issues within delegated authority and escalating significant delays, constraints, or resource gaps to the DCoP and relevant functional leads.

2. Partner Coordination

• Serve as a principal field-level coordination point between CRS and Caritas Marsabit (DOM), working closely with relevant CRS technical, operations, MEAL, supply chain, and compliance teams.
• Facilitate regular implementation reviews with DOM to assess performance, address operational bottlenecks, and follow up on agreed actions.
• Support identification of partner capacity-strengthening needs and coordinate appropriate technical or operational support.
• Ensure field coordination respects the respective responsibilities of CRS and DOM under the approved project design and applicable subaward arrangements.

3. Government, Stakeholder Engagement and Representation

• Serve as a senior CRS representative in Marsabit and maintain effective relationships with county and sub-county authorities, NDMA, government departments, community structures, humanitarian actors and other stakeholders.
• Represent the project, as delegated, in County Steering Groups and relevant food security, nutrition and humanitarian coordination mechanisms.
• Coordinate donor, government, CRS leadership and other high-level visits to project sites, warehouses and partner implementation locations.
• Ensure commitments arising from external engagements are communicated to project leadership and appropriately followed up.

4. Field Operations and Resource Management

• Oversee effective day-to-day functioning of the CRS Marsabit sub-office and coordinate administrative and operational support required for project implementation.
• Coordinate with Finance, HR, Supply Chain, Administration, ICT, fleet, and other relevant functions to ensure timely availability and responsible use of project resources.
• Exercise delegated financial and administrative authority in accordance with CRS policies, approved budgets and donor requirements.
• Monitor resource requirements and utilization, address or escalate constraints affecting implementation, and promote responsible stewardship and safeguarding of CRS and donor assets.

5. Commodity and Supply Chain Coordination

• Work closely with the DCoP, Supply Chain Manager, Warehouse Manager, logistics staff, and Compliance Agents to ensure field commodity operations are coordinated and ready to support scheduled distributions.
• Coordinate program, partner, warehouse, logistics, security, MEAL and compliance teams to ensure distribution readiness.
• Monitor issues affecting commodity movement, storage, distribution readiness, and accountability and promptly escalate concerns to appropriate project or supply-chain leadership.
• Promote adherence to approved commodity management controls, SOPs and applicable donor requirements within delegated responsibilities.

6. Risk, Compliance, Safeguarding and Security

• Serve as the Marsabit field-level focal point for operational security coordination, working closely with CRS Kenya security personnel and relevant external stakeholders.
• Support implementation of approved safety and security procedures, staff care measures and contingency arrangements.
• Identify operational and implementation risks and ensure significant concerns are documented, addressed within delegated authority, or escalated to the responsible management or technical function.
• Reinforce compliance with CRS policies, safeguarding standards, FCRM requirements, donor requirements and approved project procedures.
• Ensure timely field follow-up of corrective actions arising from monitoring, compliance reviews, risk assessments, audits, accountability mechanisms and management decisions.
• Immediately escalate suspected fraud, diversion, safeguarding concerns or serious misconduct through established CRS reporting mechanisms.

7. Monitoring, Accountability and Adaptive Management

• Work with MEAL, accountability, program and partner teams to review implementation data, participant feedback, monitoring findings and operational performance.
• Use field-level evidence to identify implementation bottlenecks and support timely corrective actions and management decisions.
• Facilitate field-level reflection and after-action reviews and ensure agreed improvements inform subsequent implementation.
• Promote a culture of accountability, learning and continuous improvement among staff and partners.

8. Staff Management

• Supervise designated direct reports in accordance with the approved organizational structure and CRS performance management practices.
• Manage team performance, dynamics and staff well-being and promote collaboration across program and operations functions.
• Provide coaching, regular performance feedback and professional development support to direct reports.
• Contribute to field staffing, recruitment, onboarding and capacity strengthening as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong leadership, coordination, interpersonal and relationship-management skills.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, systems-thinking and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to integrate programmatic and operational priorities in a fast-paced field environment.
• Ability to work effectively with government, partners, communities and multidisciplinary teams.
• Sound judgment, including the ability to distinguish between decisions within delegated authority and matters requiring escalation.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-focused.
• Strong commitment to accountability, safeguarding, stewardship and ethical conduct.
• Ability and willingness to work and travel in remote field environments.

Required Languages;

• Professional proficiency in English and Swahili.
• Proficiency in languages commonly used in the targeted areas of Marsabit County is highly desirable.

Travel:

Regular travel to project implementation locations throughout Marsabit County, with occasional travel to Nairobi and other project locations for coordination, training and other project requirements.

Supervisory Responsibilities (if none, state none)

Key Working Relationships

Supervisory: Designated Marsabit-based staff in accordance with the final approved project organizational structure and Country Program supervisory arrangements.

Internal: Chief of Party; Deputy Chief of Party – Operations, Logistics and Compliance Monitoring; Project Manager – Nutrition & Food Security; technical leads; MEAL Manager and field MEAL/accountability staff; Supply Chain Manager and logistics/warehouse staff; Security; Finance; HR; Administration; and other CRS Kenya support functions.

External: Caritas Marsabit (DOM) management and project staff; Marsabit County and sub-county government authorities; NDMA; relevant health and technical departments; humanitarian coordination structures; community representatives; service providers and other stakeholders, as appropriate.

Education and Experience

• Master's degree in Business Administration, International Development, International Relations, Project Management, or another relevant field. Additional relevant experience may substitute for some education, consistent with CRS HR policy.
• Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in international development and/or humanitarian response, including project or field operations management.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating complex field operations involving program teams, operations, implementing partners, government stakeholders, and communities.
• Experience supervising staff and building collaborative, accountable, and high-performing teams.
• Experience working with local implementing partners, including coordination, capacity strengthening, and accountability.
• Experience with donor-funded humanitarian or development programs; food assistance experience is an advantage.
• Knowledge of administration, budgeting, procurement, logistics, security, and resource stewardship.
• Experience in complex, remote or emergency-response environments is strongly preferred.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office and relevant information management systems.

Agency Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. 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.

• Personal Accountability - Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity - Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust - Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others - Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn - Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

 Agency Leadership Competencies:

• Lead Change - Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others - Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhances team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset - Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.

Disclaimer: 

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

What we offer: 

CRS offers a comprehensive benefits package and the opportunity to work in a collaborative, mission-driven culture that is committed to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world. CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting men, women, boys and girls safe from abuse, exploitation, and harm.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply for this position, especially those from marginalized and people with disabilities backgrounds 

Data Protection/Disclaimer: 

Catholic Relief Services is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process, and to provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. 

Recruitment Disclaimer: 

We wish to notify that CRS does not demand or charge any fee/charges from the aspiring candidates for considering their candidature, or at any time during the recruitment process, nor have we authorized any individual, agency or firm to recruit candidates for us. Any person seeking employment with CRS needs to be cautious and not trust any agency or individual claiming to be our representative and charging fees for providing/securing employment with us.