Global Surge Team Roster: Emergency WPE Coordinator at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Job Overview

• The Emergency Women’s Protection and Empowerment Coordinator, Global Surge is responsible leading WPE programming in acute emergency responses.
• This may include rapid assessment, program start-up, strategy development, proposal development, technical oversight, staff recruitment and management, budget management, grants compliance and local partner relations.
• A successful candidate will demonstrate track record working independently in fast-paced environments and applying creative, flexible design to women’s protection and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) response programming in humanitarian contexts.

Major Responsibilities 

Context evaluation:

• Following the onset of an emergency, identify areas with greatest impact, highest needs, and emerging protection risks for women and girls
• Conduct stakeholder analysis: continually review existing actor mapping with a view to identifying key actors and establishing partnerships with focused on the delivery of GBV prevention and response services
• Design and conduct multisector needs assessments

Program design and management:

• Provide strategic direction, leadership and overall technical management of IRC’s WPE response aligned to the response strategy and emergency outcomes, while ensuring high program quality and alignment with IRC’s standards and approaches
• Lead and directly contribute to the start-up, implementation and coordination of emergency WPE programming, including GBV case management, women and girls’ safe spaces, GBV prevention and risk reduction
• Work with potential partners to develop a WPE strategy to respond to identified GBV risks and needs, outlining a problem statement, response modalities, activity sequencing, and required resources
• In collaboration with response leadership and technical coordinators, input into the design of an overall emergency response strategy, including partnerships so that the IRC is working in ways that are complementary to and in support of partners. Support meaningful and equitable WPE partnerships with community based and national GBV actors, with a focus on partnering with women-led and women’s rights organizations and networks. 
• Lead the adaptation and implementation of RCCE (RISE) and Protection interventions, including Social Work in Emergencies, Community Risk Mitigation Activities, MHPSS, case management referrals, Cash for Protection, and material assistance, ensuring alignment with emergency response priorities and standards. Design and deliver community-based risk mitigation and capacity-strengthening activities, including training on protection mainstreaming, outbreak adaptation, safeguarding, Psychological First Aid, infection prevention and control, and referral pathways, while supporting community-led protection action in complex outbreak and insecure contexts. 
• Participate in cross-departmental collaboration and coordination with child protection, PROL, and other sector colleagues to mitigate risks of GBV, ensure that linkages between programs are made and programs gain from protection best practice
• Ensure – through program design and practice, team capacity and behavior – that clients, especially women and girls in all their diversity, participate in the design and implementation of IRC programs, and that their access to services and programs is meaningful and safe.
• Develop and/or adapt technical tools and approaches, and deliver creative solutions to mitigate challenges in the operating context, to facilitate response start-up and day to day implementation
• Support emergency WPE staff to implement and monitor work plans ensuring that activities reflect the commitments IRC made to the donor and the community
• Oversee IRC’s relationship with partners, ensuring co-design, regular exchange, and project performance monitoring to achieve program objectives
• Design and implement appropriate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems ensuring consistent reporting and analysis of results to improve program effectiveness and quality
• Provide a comprehensive handover to successor, including ensuring transfer of all related documentation, program data and staff performance information.

Grant and financial management:

• Manage emergency grant/program implementation including recruitment and training, work plan development, procurement and inventory planning, budget management, and M&E plans
• Develop high quality technical proposals and reports with relevant program staff in line with IRC and donor requirements
• Collaborate with IRC grants and finance staff to finalize proposals and respond to any requests for additional information.

Staff management:

• Recruit, onboard, and supervise emergency WPE staff, and provide ongoing training and targeted capacity building, including technical guidance, on the job coaching and supervision, and capacity development plans on technical and managerial skills
• Comply with and ensure that new WPE staff understand the IRC Code of Conduct and policies related to Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Child Safeguarding. This includes ensuring that staff and communities have knowledge of and safe, confidential access to reporting mechanisms and support services
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.

Coordination and representation:

• Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with key actors, including donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors
• Regularly attend emergency GBV coordination and task force meetings, at appropriate levels to feed in IRC priorities from the field
• Ensure women’s protection concerns and challenges are brought to relevant fora to advocate for standards and procedures that systematize how GBV programming is implemented and coordinated at the field level

Job Requirements

• Post-graduate Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Social Sciences, other related field, or equivalent work experience
• At least five years’ experience working in the field of GBV response programming at the Coordinator level or above required, with proven track record managing multi-donor portfolios in acute emergency response, program and project start-up
• Proven experience leading RCCE programming in emergency or outbreak response settings, with the ability to design community engagement strategies, address community perceptions and information needs, and coordinate RCCE activities across health, WASH, and protection sectors.
• Experience working with IRC and an understanding of IRC’s systems and processes is strongly preferred
• Familiarity with key donor regulations such as UNHCR, FCDO, BPRM and ECHO
• Experience in working with and coordinating with the UN, donors, INGOs and other humanitarian actors
• Demonstrated experience in staff supervision, capacity building, project design and budget management
• Demonstrated skills in effectively leading and building programs and/or operations in high-pressure, fluid environments. Leadership and team management skills are critical.
• Proven communication, writing and editing skills, including the ability to effectively write and edit grant proposals and reports.
• Flexible work attitude: Be flexible and yet focused & reliable in an environment of limited resources and changing demands. Ability to work well, promote teamwork, be comfortable in a multi-cultural environment.
• Good digital literacy: Facility with MS Word, Excel, and email/internet software.
• Fluency in English. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Working knowledge of French and/or Arabic strongly preferred.