Technical Advisor II, Finance

Job Title: Technical Advisor II, Finance Reports to: Humanitarian Operations TA II Department: Humanitarian Response Department (HRD) Salary Grade: 10

Job Summary

EMPOWER (Empowering Partner Organizations Working in Emergency Response) is a CRS program under the Humanitarian Response Department (HRD) that strengthens local humanitarian actors’ leadership, coordination, institutional capacity, and access to humanitarian funding. In Venezuela, EMPOWER will support a six-month, DHR-funded emergency response led by CRS and Cáritas Venezuela following the June 2026 earthquakes, which caused significant damage, displacement, and urgent needs across affected areas. The response will provide life-saving assistance in WASH, food assistance, emergency shelter and non-food items, and protection/MHPSS, while building on CRS and Cáritas Venezuela’s existing partnership, parish-based structures, volunteer networks, and emergency response systems.

The Technical Advisor II, Finance will provide technical advice and hands-on support to CRS and Cáritas Venezuela teams to ensure strong financial management, compliance, budgeting, reporting, forecasting, internal controls, and audit readiness for this emergency response. Working closely with EMPOWER, HRD, and partner teams, the role will help strengthen finance systems and processes, support timely and accurate donor reporting, and contribute to adaptive, high-quality implementation in line with CRS standards, donor requirements, and partnership principles.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and implementation of agency-wide strategies, standards, tools, and best practices in Finance that effectively engage partners, donors and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction.
• Provide technical solutions to HRD and EMPOWER partners, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to HRD and EMPOWER efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in Finance. Lead or contribute to the development of the technical design for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate monitoring systems and indicators. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Contribute to capacity strengthening initiatives in Finance programming for staff and partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and mentoring and coaching to partner staff.
• Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in forums in Finance to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
• Provide technical solutions to EMPOWER partners and support partner staff remotely and on-siite for budget management, and financial reporting and forecasting, compliance, USG audit preparation, and capacity strengthening in finance and lower-tier subrecipient management while applying best practices and partnership principles, helping to ensure high-quality implementation.
• Support Caritas Venezuela to develop, implement and track internal control procedures and finance-related processes for the USG project, as well as Caritas Venezuela’s broader financial procedures.
• Contribute to EMPOWER and HRD to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities. Contribute to business development efforts through budget development and review. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities, and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.
• Coach CRS and partner in finance and operations staff. Develop and deliver trainings, tools and job aids and help reduce recurring reporting errors to improve report quality.
• Oversee technical quality of finance procedures and practices of Caritas Venezuela and other EMPOWER partners as needed and support these partners in finance reporting.
• Support CRS colleagues with donor reporting, particularly around inputs in finance.
• Conduct financial assessments and financial monitoring visits (virtual or in-person) for ongoing and closing projects.
• Ensure a quality partnership between CRS and Caritas Venezuela in line with CRS and Caritas Internationalis (CI) partnership principles and Modus Operandi. Ensure coordinated, consistent partner strengthening efforts and support the timely resolution of finance challenges via dialogue and support from others.
• Manage the relationship and oversee the outputs of a Finance consultant.

Basic Qualifications

• Required bachelor’s degree in business administration, Accounting, Auditing, International Development, International Relations, or in the field of Humanitarian Operations, or similar.
• Minimum of eight years of relevant international work experience in an advisory or management role, with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, including at least three years supporting programming in finance, emergency response, and partner capacity strengthening.
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful proposals for external donor funding is required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, International Development or related field..
• Experience working with local partners and supporting institutional capacity strengthening.
• Previous experience with USG audits and compliance is highly valued.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated experience in supporting local humanitarian actors who are USG primes in areas such as financial compliance, audit preparation, and sub-recipient management.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, and knowledge-sharing networks.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation, and training applying adult learning principles and practices, especially in the areas of annual planning, budgeting, and cost allocation/ICR methodologies.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving, and systems thinking ski-lls with the capacity to see the big picture and the ability to make sound judgment
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful, and results-oriented

Required Languages: Full English and Spanish level proficiency is required.

Travel: Based in Venezuela. Must be willing and able to travel up to 50% in-country and internationally.

Supervisory Responsibilities: No

Qualifications

Agency 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.

Organization context

General Requirements

CRS offers are contingent on the selected candidate’s ability to legally work where the position is to be performed. Every government has a unique set of work permit eligibility requirements. All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside a home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical clearance; some work permit processes require clearing a separate government administered medical examination.

CRS prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices.