Program Officer (Southeast)

Church World Service (CWS) is a not-for-profit, faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable solutions to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. CWS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, genetic information, age, disability, or veteran status in employment or in the provision of services.
The CWS local Offices work with refugees and immigrants to provide services to communities in need. We are a highly motivated, mission-driven team eager to create a welcoming place for all neighbors. CWS is a fun and supportive organization, with competitive salary and benefits.

Imagine waking up every morning with the chance to change someone's life. Imagine knowing your efforts will benefit both your career and our neighbors around the world. At CWS, our team knows they are making a difference every day. Whether you're in our U.S.-based offices supporting refugees, asylees or unaccompanied children ... implementing hygiene initiatives in Cambodia or rebuilding projects in Central America ... or even connecting remotely from your home on fundraising campaigns, grant reports, or critical communications - you have the opportunity to work towards a world where everyone has food, a voice and a safe place to call home. 

The EPRR Program Officer plays a key role in the Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery (EPRR) Program, which sits in CWS’ US Programs department. The goal of the EPRR program is to advance CWS’s commitment to emergency preparedness, response, and recovery for vulnerable communities within the United States. EPRR focuses on, but is not exclusive to, the needs of refugees, immigrants, and unaccompanied children in the disaster lifecycle. Reporting to the EPRR Senior Manager, the EPRR Program Officer supports vulnerable communities with designing and delivering high-quality, technically sound, and collaborative interventions throughout the entire disaster lifecycle. This position represents CWS in various communities, within their specific region, serves as a trusted resource, and subject-matter expert to connect vulnerable populations to appropriate resources and networks. Driven by the EPRR Program strategy, this position will work closely with CWS’s US Local offices, to ensure that CWS continues to build robust local networks and knowledge bases in the areas of preparedness, response, and recovery.  

Responsibilities

• Leads and represents CWS’s EPRR strategy within their assigned region.
• Intentionally engages with and serves as the primary point of contact for external relationships including with state VOAD partners, LTRG, faith-based partners, Emergency Management, and others.
• Develops a deep understanding of the unique challenges and needs of CWS offices, the communities and cultures they support and proposes appropriate solutions and implements EPRR interventions.
• Conducts ongoing preparedness training, provides resources, and develops relevant network connections in vulnerable communities per EPRR program strategy.
• Actively cultivates relationships between CWS local offices, emergency management, response organizations, and CBOs to maximize preparedness efforts and emergency response effectiveness.
• Deploys to impacted region-specific communities where CWS has presence to support response and recovery efforts following disasters and assists CWS local offices with guidance, technical assistance, and navigation.
• Provides regular updates and reports to EPRR leadership, related to ongoing responses within their region.
• Promotes and facilitates EPRR preparedness kit packing events and identifies and vets beneficiary organizations and/or populations.

Education

Bachelor's degree in social services, disaster management, human rights, humanitarian affairs, or related field or equivalent experience in lieu of degree. 

Experience

Minimum of 5 years demonstrated professional and practical experience working on disaster programming.

• Demonstrated experience in emergency response across full spectrum from preparedness to response to recovery; extensive and demonstrated knowledge of the needs of disaster affected communities, especially vulnerable communities.
• Extensive knowledge of disaster response mechanisms and services in the United States, including local, state, and federal response agencies, resources, and processes.
• Higher education with study in or pertinent to the specialized field preferred, including but not limited to 
• Direct experience in designing, commissioning, and delivering training of technical competencies to different target groups preferred.
• Ability to work independently and within a team setting.
• Ability to work within a variety of different cultural contexts and with diverse populations.
• Demonstrated flexibility when working in stressful complex situations.
• Ability to work on several different programs at the same time, as well as flexibility to manage competing priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop and maintain relationships both internal and external to the organization.
• Ability to act with discretion and maintain confidentiality.
• Professional maturity and strong decision-making skills.
• Forward thinking mindset, who actively seeks opportunities and proposes solutions.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power point) and social media platforms and confident in the integration of new programs and technologies.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills are required.
• Required fluency in English with strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Fluency in a refugee language strongly desired. (Desired languages are Pashto, Dari, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, although other languages will be considered.)  

Special Requirements

• Due to the nature of the role, only applicants residing in FL or GA will be considered.
• Will require significant traveling about 50-70% in the southeast region of the US, mostly within FL and GA.
• Proximity to a major airport required.
• Must have access to reliable internet.
• Must be willing to deploy to disaster impacted communities for days and/or weeks at a time.
• Must be willing to travel to locations in national network to conduct training, attend in-person meetings and conferences.
• Standard Work hours, with occasional evening and weekends during a disaster response.