Senior Education and Child Protection Manager at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Requisition ID: req9196
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Sector: Education
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Employment Type: Full Time
Open to Expatriates: Yes

Job Description

• IRC entered Nigeria in October 2012 in response to a widespread flood disaster. Since then, the IRC has expanded its scope and size of the programs as new areas became accessible after prolonged conflict and insecurity, in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.
• IRC Nigeria now operates a country office in Abuja and field offices in Mubi and Yola of Adamawa State, Maiduguri and Monguno of Borno state and Damatru of Yobe State.
• The IRC is responding at scale to the humanitarian situation across sectors including Education, Child Protection, Health, Nutrition, Women Protection and Empowerment, Environmental Health, Economic Recovery and Development, Protection and Rule of Law, and Governance. In 2015, IRC Nigeria developed a five-year long-term Strategy Action Plan (SAP): The plan has Health, Education and Economic Wellbeing as high priority program areas.

Job Summary

• The IRC is partnering with ECHO under the Pilot Programmatic Partnership to deliver a three- year regional Programme titled ‘Protective and adaptive Education Approaches for Children in Emergencies (PEACE)’ in Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon between 2020 and 2023. In Nigeria, PEACE takes an integrated and adaptive approach to education and child protection, to support more than 81,000 school-aged boys and girls most affected by crisis across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States (BAY) to access and learn in safe educational environments.
• Under the supervision of the Education Coordinator, and with technical oversight by the Child Protection Coordinator, the Senior Education and Child Protection Manager will be responsible for the overall leadership and management of the PEACE Programme in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. The Senior Education and Child Protection Manager will be based in Maiduguri with frequent visits to all field sites in the three states; and will supervise four three Education Managers, one M & E Manager, and co-supervises three Child Protection Managers.

Key Responsibilities
Technical Monitoring and Program Quality:

• Provide technical supervision of, and technical support to PEACE programme activities
• Ensure that PEACE Programme activities are consistent with established international and national best practices
• Lead all research and learning activities in relation to the Programme
• Ensure appropriate follow-up and decision-making on data relevant to the Programme
• Ensure all stakeholders are provided with updates on PEACE Programme including the regional team, HQ, partners, donors, etc
• Ensure regular performance monitoring of team to achieve the set PEACE’s objectives
• Supervise the development of relevant M&E systems and ensure regular follow-up on monitoring data relevant to the Programme
• Ensure that all internal and external reporting requirements are met, that reports are of a high quality and are submitted on time.
• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor

Strategic Planning:

• Provide strategic direction, leadership and overall technical and management support to the PEACE Programme, ensuring it is needs-based, context-appropriate, responsive, coherent, collaborative, and operationally feasible.
• Lead COVID19 response at the initial phase of the Programme, and work towards mitigating its potential subsequent impact on the Programme
• Monitor evolving needs of the target communities and adjust the programmatic priorities as necessary

Program Development, Communications and Advocacy:

• Design and lead PEACE Programme technical assessments
• Coordinate and initiate development of logical framework, implementation plans and appropriate, realistic and measurable indicators, budget for the Programme
• Together with in-country Coordinators, Technical Advisors, and relevant coordination mechanisms, identify opportunities for advocacy on issues related to education and child protection.

Coordination and Representation:

• Collaborate with other in-country technical coordinators, to ensure an integrated strategy to achieve education and safety outcomes as in the country’s SAP
• In coordination with the supervisor, represent IRC to sector working groups, international and national NGOs, Ministries of Education, and donors for PEACE Programme
• As focal point of the Programme at country level, participate actively in external respective coordination and Cluster forums( EiEWGs and Child Protection Sub-cluster)
• Participate in internal coordination and management meetings to promote effective and efficient information sharing, problem-solving and decision making
• With support from the programs team, ensure accountability to beneficiaries, gender sensitivity and inclusion are adequately addressed in IRC’s Education and Child Protection programs.

Staff Management & Development:

• Coach, train, and mentor staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing professional development guidance
• Supervise and mentor staff, including communicating clear expectations, and in partnership with the direct line supervisor, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely performance feedback, and contribute to the annual and mid-year performance reviews
• Provide constructive feedback and counsel on appropriate career paths and professional development
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being; approve and manage all leave requests to ensure adequate coverage.
• Offer leadership support for successful adherence by staff to IRC’s HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
• Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC HR Policies and Procedures, and communicates through word and example a high standard of compliance with all applicable policies and regulations.

Qualifications and Experiences

• Masters level qualification in Social Sciences, Education, or related subject
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in leading/managing Education and/or Child Protection projects in humanitarian contexts
• Proven experience in managing and/or technically supporting education, case management, and psychosocial support activities for children
• Excellent professional approach, strong building skills and proven ability to build staff capacity
• Prior experience and excellent understanding of working in emergency settings or insecure environments
• Strong leadership, management, project planning, monitoring and evaluation, analytical interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong budget management and reporting skills
• An initiator of initiatives, able to plan, prioritize and manage multiple tasks under pressure and deliver tangible benefits to a team
• Proven problem solving and results-oriented.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment and effective in representation and liaison
• Flexible work attitude – the ability to work productively in a team environment and independently
• Able to respond rapidly to changing environments and work under pressure
• Fluency in English required
• Experience of working in West Africa or North-East Nigeria a plus
• Excellent Computer skills: MS Word, Excel

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to: Education Coordinator, with technical oversight by Child Protection Coordinator and Technical Advisors
• Position directly supervises: Four Education Managers, one M & E Manager, and co-supervises three Child Protection Managers

Standards of Professional Conduct:

• The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of 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, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Working Environment:

• The overall security situation in North-East Nigeria is unpredictable.