Program Manager Sr. (Business Title: Project Director – Afghanistan Pathway to Prosperity – Resilient Rural Livelihoods Pilot)

CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work are accomplished through programs of anticipatory action, emergency response, social services, agricultural livelihoods, and natural resource management.

Background:

CRS has been working on behalf of Afghan communities since 2002. CRS supports anticipatory action and integrated emergency response, inclusive education, improved agricultural techniques and value chain strengthening, and other life‐enriching services to communities vulnerable to shocks and stresses.

CRS is currently implementing programs with partners across provinces of Bamiyan, Ghor, Herat, Kunar, Samangan, Balkh, and Kabul, and is exploring additional expansion via an expanded local partnership and market system development approach.

Globally and in country CRS has invested significantly in anticipatory action and emergency programming, with a focus on supporting national and local organizations to respond efficiently to unfolding and protracted crises. CRS accompanies emergency support to disaster impacted communities through country-wide and localized approaches to maximize sustained impact, efficient use of resources, and increase the speed and access of response by prioritizing market driven solutions. This approach spans programmatic and operational support to all actors in response livelihoods.

Provide vision, leadership, and overall management for CRS’s pilot project integrating Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Market Systems Development (MSD) to strengthen climate resilient rural livelihoods in Afghanistan. The Project Director, rather than delivering services, leads a facilitative system-driven approach that aligns incentives across market actors, catalyzing private sector co-investment through a competitive Challenge Fund and supports pathways for scale. The Project Director will additionally serve as a key actor in positioning CRS as a partner of choice for major development actors in Afghanistan by deepening strategic engagement with priority donors including the World Bank, EU, BMZ, FCDO, USAID. This includes translating project learning into compelling, evidence-based insights that support donor dialogue for future investment in resilient rural development. As a senior leadership position, the Project Director also plays a key role in strengthening the technical and leadership capacity of project and country office staff, fostering adaptive management, facilitative systems approach, learning and strong program quality.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Provide overall strategic leadership for the pilot, ensuring implementation remains facilitative, market-led, and systems-oriented, rather than service-delivery driven.
• Lead strategic donor engagement and positioning efforts for the pilot, including preparation of targeted donor briefers, evidence summaries, and positioning materials aligned with World Bank, EU, USAID, FCDO and BMZ priorities.
• Coordinate with regional and HQ Business Development teams to identify and cultivate emerging funding opportunities related to resilience, NRM, MSD, and rural livelihoods.
• Ensure that learning and results from the pilot are systematically packaged and shared to influence donor thinking and support future scale‑up.
• Lead full project cycle management (design, start-uo, implementation, close-out) and integrated technical diagnostics, including land use, water management, market systems analysis, and oversight of the competitive Challenge Fund to ensure co-investment and transparent selection.
• Facilitate strategic partnerships among farmers, private sector anchor firms, service providers, financial institutions, community institutions, and relevant authorities to improve coordination, reduce transaction costs, and unlock investment.
• Lead scaling and learning processes, including scaling strategy development, resource mobilization, sustainability/exit planning, structured reflection sessions, after-action reviews, and documentation of lessons learned.
• Ensure the production and dissemination of knowledge management products (toolkits, case studies, learning briefs) to support scale-up and replication.
• Identify and leverage synergies with other CRS and partner projects in Afghanistan and the region.
• Foster technical collaboration and strategic partnerships with local authorities, research institutions, academia, and the private sector to strengthen stakeholder engagement and support resilient livelihoods and local economic development.
• Strengthen the technical and leadership capacity of project and country office staff through coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job training in NRM, MSD, facilitation, adaptive management and systems thinking, while supporting professional development plans, peer learning, and talent development priorities.
• Lead stakeholder mapping and co-creation activities with key partners.
• Serve as primary contact for donors, ensuring timely, high-quality reporting and visibility.
• Represent CRS in coordination forums, technical working groups, and donor meetings.
• Provide team leadership, supervision, compliance oversight, and MEAL management, including staff supervision and mentoring, adherence to CRS and World Bank standards, compliance with Afghan regulations, and ensuring MEAL systems generate evidence for scale, replication, and adaptive management.

• Bachelor’s degree in business management, international development, Agriculture, Economics, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years’ in senior leadership roles managing complex, multi-sectoral projects.
• Proven experience engaging private sector actors, academic and research institutions, government authorities, peer international and national organizations and bilateral donors.
• Demonstrated experience applying market systems development and facilitative approaches, including private sector engagement.
• Strong background in climate resilience, land use, or natural resource management integrated with livelihoods.
• Demonstrated success in scaling interventions, adaptive learning, and technical collaboration.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of NRM, MSD, and resilience programming in fragile contexts
• Strong knowledge of climate-resilient land use, water management, and sustainable intensification.
• Knowledge of food systems performance, including productivity, markets, and trade dynamics.
• Familiarity with different (including bilateral) donors’ requirements for private sector engagement, job creation, compliance, and reporting standards.
• Strong grasp of Afghanistan’s socio-economic, political, and environmental context.

Skills

• Systems thinking: Ability to analyze and influence interconnected land, water, market, and institutional systems.
• Market systems & private sector engagement: Strong capability to align commercial incentives and structure co-investment partnerships, including Challenge Funds.
• Adaptive management: Proven skill in leading learning-oriented programs that adapt to market signals, climate risk, political and economic dynamics.
• Facilitation, partnership building, negotiation & influencing across diverse stakeholders
• Strategic leadership and project management, including multi-sectoral program design and implementation, analytical and problem-solving skills for complex, dynamic environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including donor reporting and knowledge product development.
• Strong donor engagement, negotiation, and influencing skills, with demonstrated ability to position programs with major development actors.

Abilities

• Lead complex, multi-actor programs in dynamic environments and proactively analyze risk to enable locally led solutions.
• Facilitate system change by aligning incentives rather than delivering services directly.
• Translate diagnostics, evidence, and learning into strategic decisions and action.
• Develop and implement scaling strategies and sustainability plans.
• Build and maintain effective partnerships with government, academia, private sector, and civil society.
• Ability to navigate power dynamics, informal institutions, and incentives shaping behavior in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Yes

Required Languages – Fluency in English required; Dari and/or Pashto (preferred).

Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 60%. Must have ability to travel to remote rural areas with challenging terrain.

CRS is committed to providing daily allowances for mahrams who accompany female staff on day trips to the field, and per diem and accommodation for mahrams who accompany female staff on work-related trips that require overnight stays.

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

• 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 enhance 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 skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.  

CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. 

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Protection Acknowledgment: CRS prohibits all forms of abuse and exploitation towards children and vulnerable adults. As a professional candidate, you commit to adhering to the Agency’s policy on protection, rights and dignity of children and vulnerable adults and to safeguard them from abuse and exploitation as defined in CRS’ Safeguarding Policy

Applications comprise a one-page cover letter to explain your interest and suitability for the post and your CV. Please do not attach your education documents and work certificates unless requested.

Dear Applicants!

The process of submitting a CV/Application has been changed to the online system. Therefore, interested candidates are encouraged to apply using the link provided below. Applications sent to any other email address or location will not be considered. Please ensure to rename your application file according to your name entered on the first page of the application forms.

Interested candidates can submit their applications by clicking on this link.

Please note that applications received after the closing date (i.e., March 12^th, 2026), will not be given consideration. Only short-listed candidates whose applications respond to the above criteria will be contacted for tests and interviews.