Field Operations Manager (Kenyan Nationals Only)

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.
  

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.
  

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.
  

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.
  

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.
  

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.
  

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.
  

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.
  

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.