USA: ERT Women’s Protection & Empowerment Coordinator

Jul 12, 2021 | International Rescue Committee
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The IRC Emergencies & Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) leads or oversees IRCs global emergency preparedness and response activities. The mission of the EHAU is to help meet the immediate survival needs and reduce suffering in conflict or disaster affected populations during the acute phase of an emergency. The EHAU is also charged with enhancing the IRCs global and country level emergency preparedness capacity. The Emergency Response Team serves as the standing team of specialized professionals ready to deploy to an emergency within 72 hours.

The IRC Violence Prevention and Response Unit (VPRU) seeks to reduce people’s vulnerability to and support their recovery from violence, and promote transformative work for a future free from violence. VPRU includes a team of Women’s Protection & Empowerment (WPE) technical experts that design and lead programming to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. WPE emergency experts work closely with the EHAU, with VPRU technical experts in Child Protection and Protection/Rule of Law, with other IRC sectors, and in partnership with local communities to promote and protect women and girls’ human rights and to meet the safety, health and psychosocial needs of survivors of gender-based violence.    

Job Overview/Summary

The IRC ERT staff is expected to be deployed in the field, either in an emergency or roving capacity, for up to 65% of the time 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. 
The WPE Emergency Response Team Coordinator is a member of VPRU and the EHAU. During emergency deployments ERT staff will work under the direction of IRC’s ERT Country Director or designated country emergency lead. During times with no acute emergency deployment the ERT Coordinator will report to the Senior Technical Advisor, VPRU Emergencies. 

Languages: A strong preference for fluency in one of the following languages Spanish, French, Spanish.

Major Responsibilities

1. Emergency Response

• Deploy within 72 hours (emergency deployments take precedence over other duties);
• Ensure high quality and timely assessments of GBV and broader violence prevention and response needs in large scale/complex emergences and provide prioritized recommendations for program interventions to the EHAU ERT Country Director/in-country emergency lead or Deputy Director for Programs as stipulated by ToR;
• Design WPE program responses and strategy, including geographic areas of intervention, in coordination with internal  and external actors;
• Oversee the delivery of high quality technical proposals and reports, in line with donor requirements. This includes: 

• Work in close collaboration with IRC grants and finance staff to finalize proposals and respond to any requests for additional information.
• Manage grant/program implementation including staff recruitment and training, work plan development, procurement and inventory planning, and budget management.
• Ensure consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality

• Design and implement appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems ensuring consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality;
• Ensure regular trend analysis of broader protection context and highlight needs in other technical fields within VPRU – Child Protection and Protection/Rule of Law – where necessary;
• Ensure – through program design and practice, team capacity and behavior – that the people the IRC serves drive our action, are part of the design and implementation of programs, and that their access to services and programs is meaningful and safe;
• Ensure compliance with IRC policy and procedures across all activities. This includes acting in line with the IRC Code of Conduct, the Do No Harm Imperative, and international accords including the UN Secretary General's Bulletin on the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse;
• Coordinate with other agencies, local government, donors and other stakeholders to promote delivery of best practice humanitarian assistance; 
• Support media and communications activities as requested by the ERT Country Director/in-county emergency lead;
• In close collaboration with country management and global advocacy units, contribute to strategies to address IRC  advocacy priorities;
• 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.

2. Emergency Preparedness

• Work with VPRU and the EHAU in the development of emergency preparedness and response strategies and tools; 
• Contribute to efforts to engage and strengthen the capacity of members of the IRC’s External Emergency Roster and Country Emergency Teams. 
• Participate in the development and management of global funding proposals to support VPRU emergency preparedness;
• Provide remote technical support as required to existing country programs or responses as required, in partnership with WPE Technical Advisors.

Key Working Relationships: 

• Position reports to: Senior Technical Advisor, VPRU Emergencies
• Position directly supervises: N/A
• Indirect reporting: During deployments reports to EHAU Country Director/in-country emergency lead or Deputy Director for Programs as stipulated by ToR

Job Requirements

• At least five years of experience developing and managing GBV programming in humanitarian contexts;
• 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 creative and appropriate solutions for the populations affected by crisis, considering factors including the context and an individual client's developmental stage, gender and status;
• 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;
• University degree and/or technical accreditation not required but is an advantage;
• Fluency in English & French
• Experience working directly or in partnership with other VPRU technical fields – Child Protection and Protection/Rule of Law – is not required but is an advantage.

EHAU strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a unit and deliver the best possible services to our clients. 

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, Equality 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

Narrowing the Gender Gap: The International Rescue Committee is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including a flexible hours (when possible), maternity leave, transportation support, and gender-sensitive security protocols.