Senior Technical Advisor – Development Bank Partnerships

About the role

The Senior Technical Advisor (STA) for Development Bank Partnerships will lead Catholic Relief Services’ engagement with multilateral development banks (MDBs) and other development‑finance partners. Based remotely, the STA will focus on identifying, designing and advancing financing opportunities that support CRS programmes, especially across Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua).

Key responsibilities

• Develop and execute CRS strategy for relationship management and resource mobilization with MDBs such as the World Bank, CAF, GEF, BCIE and IDB.
• Provide technical leadership on financing structures—including sovereign and non‑sovereign loans, co‑financing, climate and blended finance—and create guidance, tools and lessons learned for the organization.
• Identify, design, structure and advance development‑finance opportunities in collaboration with regional, country and global teams.
• Align financing proposals with CRS technical priorities, program strategies and donor requirements, ensuring compliance with standards and emerging practices.
• Represent CRS at MDB forums and engage high‑level donor and government stakeholders to influence funding mechanisms.
• Strengthen staff capacity and organizational readiness to manage complex financing arrangements.
• Contribute to CRS knowledge‑management and learning agenda for development finance.

Required profile

• Extensive experience working with multilateral development banks or similar development‑finance institutions.
• Proven ability to design and manage complex financing structures and partnership models.
• Strong understanding of Central American development contexts and CRS programming priorities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder‑engagement skills at senior‑level forums.
• Ability to work remotely while coordinating with regional and country teams.

Required skills

• Knowledge of MDB financing mechanisms (sovereign loans, co‑financing, blended finance, climate finance).
• Experience developing financing proposals and partnership agreements.
• Familiarity with development‑finance tools and guidance documentation.