Protection Consortium Program Manager

BACKGROUND TO IRC

The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation, and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression, and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC is committed to bold leadership, innovation, and creative partnerships. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women's empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, the IRC assists people from harm to home.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in scale and in the response required. No previous outbreak has had as many confirmed cases, or as wide of a geographic spread. The situation is complicated by the porous nature of the regions’ borders, inaccessibility of the terrain, and the presence of multiple active sites of transmission. The outbreak in Sierra Leone started in May 2014 and rapidly spread throughout the country.

SCOPE OF WORK

In December 2014, the Protection Consortium was initiated to support the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children’s  Affairs (MSWGCA) to integrate an inclusive and holistic approach to protection for vulnerable individuals and groups across Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola outbreak. The IRC is the lead agency of the Protection Consortium working with Concern Worldwide, Save the Children, GOAL, A ction Contre la Faim (A CF ) , Plan Sierra Leone, and Handicap International. All partners were working in the country before the emergency and are committed to stay. The IRC is seeking a Protection Consortium Program Manager to lead the overall management of an initial five month emergency protection project that has potential to transition into a longer-term program. The c onsortium partners will work together to provide a quality program in several areas of protection , including child protection, violence against women and girls, disabilities, psychosocial support , and nutrition. 

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support the Coordinator to develop the overarching consortium implementation plan.
• Conduct regular field monitoring visits to provide support to partners and to ensure quality implementation.
• Manage the Protection indicator tracking system and monitor progress to meet program outcomes.
• Participate in grant opening and review meetings to ensure partners are compliant with donor regulations and are on track with spending.
• Work closely with the grants and partnership unit and finance team to manage partners’ spending and narrative reporting.
• Review partners’ narrative reports and lead the writing of the comprehensive consortium reports for internal and donor reporting.
• Develop activity budgets and raise procurement and payment requests for consortium led activities.
• Participate in national-level meetings with MSWGCA and protection stakeholders.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Minimum a Masters degree in social sciences, human rights, international development, or a related field.
• Minimum of two years of previous experience working in protection programming in a developing context.
• Demonstrated ability to implement projects with rigorous deliverables and timelines in accordance with set timeframes and donor regulations while maintaining high quality and with multiple implementing partners.
• Knowledge of key DFID regulations and experience with DFID funding is a plus.
• Experience in the context of an emergency and/or recovery phase is a plus.
• Proven ability in collaborating closely with multi-level stakeholders, including Government, donors, and implementing partners.
• Demonstrated budget management ability.
• Effective and persuasive writing and public speaking.
• Proven sound judgment and decision-making skills.
• Computer skills in MS Office (Word, Excel, Access, Outlook).
• Excellent written and oral English.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing requirements.

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.

HOUSING

Shared housing in a guest house will be provided. The position is unaccompanied.