Women’s Protection & Empowerment Coordinator

The IRC ERT staff is expected to be deployed in the field, either in an emergency or roving capacity, for up to 75% of the time (9 months a year) and must be able to deploy to the site of an emergency within 72 hours of notification. 

Members of the Emergency Response Team are deployed to either support existing country programs in their emergency response, or to initiate a new program in the crisis zone. The overall responsibility of the team is to rapidly and effectively design, develop and manage the IRC’s on-site humanitarian response to meet the immediate needs of the affected population. The ERT is also responsible for supporting the transfer of responsibilities and knowledge to the long-term staff to ensure the continuity of IRC programming and operations.

S/he is a member of the Women’s Protection & Empowerment Unit and the Emergency Response and Preparedness Unit (EPRU). During emergency deployments ERT staff will work under the direction of IRC’s Emergency Field Director or designated country emergency lead.  During times with no acute emergency deployment the Coordinator will report to the Director of the Women’s Protection & Empowerment Technical Unit.

Major Responsibilities:

Emergency Response

• Be prepared to be deployed within 72 hours; emergency deployments take precedence over other duties;
• Ensure high quality and timely assessments of the humanitarian needs in large scale/complex emergences and provide prioritized recommendations for program interventions to the ERT Field Director/emergency lead;
• Design program responses and strategy, including geographic areas of intervention, in coordination with internal  and external actors;
• Develop technical proposals and budgets for international donors, work in close collaboration  with IRC grants and finance staff to finalize proposals and respond to any requests for additional information;
• Directly manage and/or supervise field based Coordinators in managing grant/program implementation including staff recruitment and training, work plan development, procurement and inventory planning and budget management;
• Prepare high quality and timely donor and management reports on grants and sector activities
• Design and implement appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems ensuring consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality;
• Ensure compliance with IRC policy and procedures throughout the program team and activities;
• Represent and coordinate with other agencies, local government, donors and other stakeholders to promote delivery of best practice humanitarian assistance;
• In close collaboration with country management and global advocacy units, identify, develop and implement strategies to address IRC  advocacy priorities;
• Support media and communications activities as requested by the ERT Field Director/CD/in-county emergency lead;
• Assess and provide input on post emergency strategies and transition plans for IRC programming;
• Provide a comprehensive handover to successor, including ensuring transfer of all related documentation, program monitoring data and staff performance information.

Emergency Preparedness

• Research and communicate new approaches and best practices in emergency response programming; act as IRC representative in related inter-agency and global forums and initiatives;
• Working with EPRU and HQ program technical staffs lead the development of emergency preparedness and response strategies and tools;
• Lead or participate in the development and management of global  funding proposals to support emergency preparedness;
• Work with country programs to implement emergency preparedness and response in selected IRC countries;
• Contribute to the continual development of appropriate and cost-effective contingency stocks, revising the stock list in accordance with lessons learned in the field and monitoring replenishment.

Non-emergency

• Undertake technical assessments or evaluations of large scale-complex programs;
• Provide technical support to existing country programs remotely and through in-country visits or short-term deployments;
• Assist in the development and launch of new technical policy, procedures and training materials;
• Lead the design and implementation of emergency components of the Technical Unit’s strategic plan.

Job Qualifications:

Education: University degree and technical accreditation or equivalent

Work Experience: 3+ years of experience developing and managing technical projects including time spent in emergency/conflict areas

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with agencies, local governments and community leaders and develop multi-stakeholder support for humanitarian priorities and advocacy initiatives
• Demonstrated ability to identify, recommend and adopt new or changes in technical standards and best practice approaches to ensure rapid, consistent, high quality emergency response strategies and programs
• Experience managing large, complex donor funded programs and grants; including staff management, budget oversight, monitoring and evaluation systems, and technical input to proposal-budget development and donor reports.

Language Skills: Proficiency in a non-English language is highly desirable, depending on area of assignment.

Working Environment: Up to 40% travel may be required.