Strategy Action Plan Coordinator

The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Inside Syria, 7.6 million people are internally displaced and 12.2 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, while 3.9 million people have fled; most of them are refugees in the neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.

In order to best meet the growing need in the Syria region as well as other parts of the world, the IRC has defined a new strategic mission and vision, along with initiatives and key processes that will deliver to the strategic objectives. Each country program will be developing a Strategy Action Plan (SAP) to map out how the program will deliver on the organization’s mission, vision, and objectives. The SAP development process for the Syria Regional Response (SRR) countries of Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, begins August 2015 and concludes December 2015.

SCOPE OF WORK:
The Strategy Action Plan Coordinator (SAPC) will provide temporary project management support to the Country Director and Deputy Director Programs and Deputy Director of Cross-Border Programs in advancing the IRC Jordan Strategic Action Plan (SAP). As the project manager for the process, the SAPC will be responsible for maintaining work plans and engagement plans as needed, liaising with key process stakeholders, both internal and external to the IRC, managing project inputs, and providing support on drafting final products.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Project Management
  • Work with Country Director (CD), Deputy Director of Programs (DDP), Deputy Director Cross-border (DDXB), Syria Response Director (SRD) and Regional Strategy Support Coordinator (RSSC) on mapping and finalizing components of the process, with a focus on Part 1 of the SAP (with facilitation for Part 2). Parts 2 and 3 will be co-facilitated with DDs, but the DDs will lead the process development and finalization of Parts 2 and 3. SAPC will consolidate all inputs from the SAP 1, 2 and 3 aspects and develop a first narrative. The narrative will be reviewed by the SMT.
  • Maintain project work plans and stakeholder engagement plans;
  • Track progress towards deliverables, flag and raise issues and recommendations to CD, DDP, DDXB, RSSC and SRD as needed;
  • Support the CD and DDP/DDXB in coordinating the engagement of various stakeholders in the process;
  • Co-facilitate SAP steering committee meetings with CD or DDP/DDXB;
  • Plan and if necessary facilitate internal SAP meetings and workshops;
  • With the CD or DDP/DDXB, participate in regular SAP focal point calls with HQ;
  • Lead Part 1 of the process (including data analysis and report writing);
  • Co-facilitate/contribute to Part 2;
  • Produce Draft 1 of the strategic plan document;
  • Post process tracker and document updates to Box;
  • Be active on IRC2020 Portal message board, sharing learning and best practices;
  • Ensure SAP is aligned with overall organizational strategy.
• Communications
  • Maintain communications with steering committee and internal stakeholders feeding into the SAP process;
  • Communicate regularly with Regional Strategy Support Coordinator to ensure country program SAP process is on track with the rest of the region;
  • Circulate updates, drafts, and other communications as necessary to steering committee, regional staff, or HQ-based strategy team as needed.
• Writing & Editing
  • Write SAP sections, specifically for Part 1, 2 and 3 depending on rate of progress (with inputs from relevant sector heads/DDs and CD);
  • Draft SAP update emails to staff for CD to send;
  • Review and edit SAP drafts.

Key working relationships:

• Position Reports to: Country Director
• Position directly supervises:  N/A  
• Indirect Reporting: DDP and DDXB
• Other Internal and/or external contacts: SAP Steering Committees, Regional Strategy Support Coordinator, Program Coordinators

Professional Standards
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Proven project management expertise
• Superior communication skills; experience facilitating meetings
• Strong interest in strategic planning process
• Strong coordination skills
• Strong research and assessment skills

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:
The position will be based in Amman, Jordan, with shared housing, and with occasional travel in country and in the region.