Technical Advisor I

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Technical Advisor I, Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition

(Based in Vientiane Capital)

This position is available to LAO nationals only

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. 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 is accomplished through programs of emergency response, nutrition, health, agriculture, education, environment, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary

You will provide technical advice and support a range of program design and implementation activities in the area of maternal and child health and nutrition with a focus on infant and young child feeding in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program quality principles and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices. You will provide technical support and oversight to Laos’ Breastfeeding Model Hospital (BFMH) program, supporting quality of care innovation for facilities nationwide and related capacity building activities. You will support the Laos CRS Country Office (CO) team to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive and innovative CRS’ maternal and child health and nutrition programming is in Laos, regionally, and globally.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Support the development and contribute to the implementation of Laos Country Office, standards, tools and best practices in maternal and child health and nutrition for the BFMH activities that effectively engage partners, donors, and governments. Help ensure a cross-sectoral approach integrating gender, social inclusion, and protection mainstreaming.
• Provide technical solutions to the CO, government, and partner teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools and M&E, helping to ensure high-quality implementation of maternal, infant, and young child nutrition activities.
• Support capacity strengthening initiatives in clinical maternal and child health and nutrition programming for staff and partners through helping develop innovative professional learning and training strategies and courses, including development of hybrid learning platforms, standardized assessments, and support the continuing professional development of health professionals.

• Ensure learning properly accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project evaluation activities following MEAL Policy. Proactively identify issues, report them to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
• Collect and analyze program data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices for specific projects to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to the maternal and child health and nutrition learning agenda.
• Contribute to maintaining relationships with Ministry of Health stakeholders, donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions, participate in forums in maternal and child health and nutrition to collect and share best practices and promote CRS’ work.
• Contribute to the technical design for proposals. Support the process of preparation, design, submission and approval of project concepts and full-fledged proposals. As needed, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in medicine, public health, or related field(s) required.
• Minimum of five-eight years of relevant work experience with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of two years’ relevant experience in maternal and child health and nutrition programming.

Preferred Qualifications

• Peer or professional breastfeeding support experience
• Clinical qualification or master’s degree in health-related field.
• Experience working with the Lao Ministry of Health and clinical care.
• Experience developing professional training programs and/or quality of care improvement initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.
• Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in maternal and child health and nutrition. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure a proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in project design and proposal development. Experience in writing content for proposals.
• Knowledge of capacity-strengthening best practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation and analysis.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Strong relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings
• Good strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Good technical writing skills
• Presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented

Required Languages: Fluency in Lao and English required.

Travel: Must be willing and able to travel up to 40% across Laos.

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’s processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

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

APPLICATION INFORMATION: To apply for this position, please submit an application letter stating your expression of interest along with your most current CV by email to LA_HR@crs.org

Closing date for applications: 16 February 2026. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer