Background/Context:
The IRC has operated in Syria since 2012, providing protection, health, economic recovery, and early childhood development programs in Idleb, Aleppo, Ar-Raqqa, Hassakeh, and Deir ez-Zor, with new programs expanding into Hama, rural Damascus, and Homs. With a team of over 750 members, the IRC has established trust and strong community relationships, ensuring access and effective service delivery. It plays a significant role in Syria’s NGO, donor, and coordination forums, holding key positions and adapting to the evolving context.
With the new realities under the new government, as of December 2024, the IRC has deployed a team to Damascus to set up operations and engage in coordination structures for newly accessible areas across Syria—including parts of NES, NWS, and other previously unreachable locations in South and Central Syria, adjusting operations to maximize coverage and efficiency.
Healthcare
Since 2012, the IRC has provided comprehensive primary and secondary healthcare through hospitals, clinics, and mobile medical units (MMUs). Ensuring access to vital services like sexual and reproductive health, clinical psychosocial support, and other specialized care. Working alongside our partners, we’ve helped secure a steady supply of medicines and medical equipment into the country, trained healthcare providers, and deployed health personnel to maintain services in even the most challenging conditions.
Job overview:
The Project Manager is responsible for supporting the efficient of Health and IP (integrated protection) services provision across all of Syria including Damascus, Rural Damascus,Homs, and Daraa governorates of Syria, in accordance with national and international standards. The Manager will identify gaps in the health and IP services and advise on necessary steps to address those gaps. He or she will provide operational oversight and training to field-based health staff in the area of primary and secondary health services and IP, with support from the Health/IP Coordinators and technical senior health/IP managers. The Project Manager will ensure timely implementation of program deliverables, tracking and updating on performance indicators, and ensuring sound financial and logistical oversight for health and IP services activities. He or she will be responsible for oversight of health data recording and regular reporting. This position reports to the Health Coordinator.
Responsibilities:
Program Management
- Oversee the implementation and expansion of health/ IP services in the above mentioned governorates including Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs, Daraa, governorates of Syria (MMUs, static clinics including hospitals), ensuring that program goals and objectives are met.
- Identify opportunities for programs expansion: Implement action plans for health services scale up, considering extent of needs and gaps, and IRC’s internal capacity to respond.
- Participate in rapid needs assessments with other IRC sectors and external agencies as required.
- Develop, recommend and implement strategies to maximize utilization of Health/IP Services in areas of implementation.
- Ensure that the health/IP services sub-component is implemented in accordance with health/IP sector objectives and goals, and in accordance with IRC programming principles.
- Conduct regular monitoring and supervision visits, in agreement with the Health/IP Coordinator and Senior Programs Coordinator.
- Oversee implementation of basic emergency obstetric care in supported facilities and ensure adherence to international protocols and guidelines.
- Track budgets, procurement plans, and work plans to ensure proper personnel, facilities, and supplies are available to meet grant deliverables.
- Review and update internal program tracking tools for health/IP services interventions, in coordination with Grants, Finance, and Supply Chain teams.
- Support establishment of high-quality pharmaceutical warehouse management systems, monitoring and follow-up of all pharmaceutical supplies and drugs in IRC and partner health facilities.
- Work closely with supply chain department to ensure medical commodities storage, distribution, and dispensation systems function, and adhere to quality control standards.
- Work closely with the pharmaceutical Management Officer to monitor pharmaceutical consumption at MMUs and static facilities and ensure a rational prescription and dispensing approach is followed.
- Work closely with M&E department to support patient satisfaction survey process, in addition to supporting spot check visits.
- Work with the, CP teams, GBV teams, case management teams, community health care and nutrition focal pounts to ensure health/IP care services meet community needs and adopt an integrated community approach, including monitoring of the supported nutrition activities.
- Provide regular reports on program implementation progress and challenges, and site visit reports to the health coordinator.
- Ensure Progress reports and project work plans are timely prepared, and practical technical assistance is provided to the partners.
- Ensure the capacities of partners and the IRC health/IP officers/staff are empowered through effective capacity building activities in the development, implementation, and management of the Health Program.
- Ensure effective communication, networking and collaboration are achieved with IRC implementing and external partners.
- Ensure partner’s progress reports and project work plans are timely prepared, and practical technical assistance is provided to the partners.
- Routinely check in with health/IP partners, provide technical support and partnership monitoring (weekly)
- As needed support with PEERS requirements, partnership mapping, as well as work collaboratively with the Syria partnership team
- Directly supervise and onboard newly hired Health/IP Officers/senior officers.
- Review the IRC’s partner and direct led program implementation ensuring technical aspects are followed based on the UNHCR, WHO guidelines, IRC, and Sphere standards.
- Build stronger relationships with partner organizations to facilitate strong collaboration and provide capacity building based on the assessment.
- Follow up with the field and partners’ team to ensure health/IP guidance are appropriately implemented and monitored.
- Collaborate with the Health/IP Officers/ Managers, the CP teams, GBV teams, Case management Teams, Community Health focal point, the Pharmacy Manager, and the Senior MHPSS Officer to ensure one IRC approach is followed for the health implementation.
- Work in close collaboration with field management teams and other sector departments to ensure proper coordination and implementation of integrated approaches; attend regular site-specific field coordination meetings; provide regular reports as it relates to health activities.
- Conduct and oversee needs assessment for health/IP activities to plan and add health/IP activities in the field.
- Identify, strengthen and promote partnerships, dialogue and exchanges.
- Follow up with the daily and monthly requirements for the health/IP static clinics / MMUs and CHW teams.
- Raise PRs for health/IP program he/she will be operator on integra System for Pharmaceutical and non-Pharma items (Rise the item forecast and submit it to IR and follow up the implementation.
- track the budgets with the Health/ IP Coordinator and do action plans.
- Assist health/IP officers/community health officers to arrange for the trainings of health/IP program staff/IWs; booking venues, provide training materials.
- Assist the Officers in the drafting and submission of attendance sheets, payment requests and other key operational documents.
- Collect the financial documents related to clinics’ running costs and submit them on regular basis.
- ensure correct inventory and consumption report for non-Pharma items at health facilities, coordinate with focal points from health centers for timely reporting.
- Implement rapid IPC infrastructural and operational analysis treatment centers and designated health facilities in line with IRCs Standard Operating Procedures for Health facilities.
- Build capacity of front-line health/IP care workers in IPC and WASH through daily mentoring.
- Strengthen overall IPC competencies at health facilities and partner organizations through training of practitioners and support staff in IPC and Health Care Waste Management.
- In consultation with the Community health officers, develop timely messages on IPC to be disseminated to the community.
- Actively participate in the IPC committees and take leading role to better respond to the outbreak.
- define the needs of the community regarding the WASH sector.
- Supervise the distribution activities and ensure that all targets of the distribution are met.
- Ensure water quality check performed by IPC focal points at health facilities and sources of water.
Staff Management
- Support health/IP staff recruitment in conjunction with the Human Resources Department.: Maintain updated job descriptions, conduct interviews, and orient new staff.
- Supervise Health/IP Services staff directly, overseeing implementation and coordination of activity plans to ensure targets are met.
- Provide supportive supervision, including development and monitoring of regular work plans.
- Provide timely and quality performance evaluations.
- Identify capacity building needs of national staff and develop capacity building plans to maximize performance and professional development.
- Participate in training and mentoring of health/IP and other staff members in response to capacity building needs.
- Ensure IRC HR policies are always respected.
- Promote the IRC Way with all supervisee.
Grant implementation and Budget management
- Participate in development, monitoring and implementation of health/IP budgets and activities, in alignment with agreed and/or contractual timelines.
- Provide direction and monitor staff in their implementation of work plans and ensure adherence with grant guidelines.
- Ensure that the project interventions are implemented according to internal IRC and donor regulations with an overall review by the Health/IP Coordinator
- Participate in grant opening, midterm review, and grant closing meetings for all health grants and ensure that the same process is implemented in the field
- Write and submit quality monthly/quarterly reports with inputs from the field-based health/IP teams and partners.
- Support partners staff in the use of grant management tools such as the budget tracking tools, activity progress monitoring tools, procurement, spending plans, etc.
- Conduct monthly BVA reviews and make appropriate recommendations to the finance and logistics staff as well as the partners.
- Ensure that assigned budgets of the implementing partners are spent according to plan and as per contractual agreements and donor expectations.
Reporting
- Maintain effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control, and reporting systems and processes.
- Work with IM officers to prepare a weekly IM report for the health/IP coordinator, other internal actors, and external stakeholders as required.
- Work with IM officer to provide weekly beneficiary counts and analysis of health/IP cases, to determine epidemiological trends.
- Participate in drafting timely, analytical, and accurate internal and donor reports.
- Ensure regular field monitoring and recommend modifications of the health/IP program approach as required.
- Participate in writing internal and donor reports as per set schedules (monthly, quarterly, and annually) on grant activities, indicators, and achievements that are produced in quality.
- Development/ maintenance of effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control, and reporting systems and processes.
Representation & Coordination
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with external stakeholders – including I/NGOs, UN agencies, Local Organizations, community-based organizations\leaders, and other IRC sectors to enhance cooperation and coordination.
- Ensure presence in coordination meetings in the absence of the Health/IP Coordinator, and ensure relevant coordination-related data is shared with the WoS Health/IP Clusters.
- Participate in interagency health/IP working groups or committees as required.
Partner Management
- Support identification of local health/IP implementing partners when necessary and oversight of the IRC – partner relations. Participate in establishment of new relations with local partners and assist development and review of partnership agreements and relations.
- Assist in regular performance monitoring of partners to achieve the set project’s objectives; provide technical support and guidance.
- Ensure regular capacity building plans and implement activities for partner organizations.
- Support coordination with health partners to ensure effective coverage of health needs and avoid deconfliction and overlap in program intervention.
Program Quality Assurance:
- Monitor the direct and partner’s program implementation against work plans and overall project objectives, documenting progress and achievements.
- Conduct regular project review meetings incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data, with partners to assess the level of achievement of project targets for the assigned partners and direct supported facilities.
- Collaborate with the MEAL unit to develop detailed log frames and work plans, and update the quality assurance tools in line with the program objectives.
Job Requirements:
Education:
- Project management or any related business development and management certificate and background are required.
- Medical Doctor, Protection specialist, or other relevant health/IP educational backgrounds are an asset.
Work Experience:
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in a humanitarian organization of which a minimum of 3 years at a managerial level, preferably in a similar context.
- Excellent organizational and program management experience, including with staff and implementation workplans, budget management, and monitoring and evaluation.
- Experience in implementing systems and standards to enhance program quality.
- Experience writing and coordinating high-value proposals for major donors.
- Experience with situation analysis and needs assessments.
- Experience in capacity building and mentoring staff.
- Excellent computer skills: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and the internet.
Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:
- A commitment to IRC’s mission, vision, values, and IRC Way – Professional Code of Conduct.
- Credible written, presentation, and verbal communication skills; ability to convey information effectively and solid experience providing training and staff development.
- Validated sense of professional discretion, integrity, and ability to handle complex situations diplomatically and to effective resolution.
- Excellent management and interpersonal skills and a solid ability to promote harmonious/cohesive teamwork, in a cross-cultural context.
- Validated ability to plan long-term, organize priorities, and work under administrative and programmatic pressures with detail orientation and professional patience.
- Highly collaborative and resourceful; ability to establish positive working relationships with senior-level management and all other partners to maximize cooperation and productivity.
- Curiosity, a desire to continually learn and develop, and a sense of humor are a must.
- Analytical ability in creating effective solutions to complex matters while adhering to labor laws and internal policies.
Language/Travel:
- Travel: 70% to field sites in all of Syria as well as attending regional and global workshops and meetings.
- Proficiency in English language is essential; knowledge of Arabic is a mandate.
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Health Coordinator.
Indirect Reporting (If applicable): N/A
Key Internal Contacts: Health Coordinator, IP ccordinator, Technical Senior Health managers, Pharma Manager, Partnership Unit, Field Management, Protection Department, Humanitarian Access Managers, Health/IP Field staff, and Finance unit, and Grants unit.
Key External Contacts: Health/social affairs authorities and Partners counterparts.
Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.
Returning National Candidates: We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a citizen of the country where this position is based and are currently residing outside of your home country, you may be eligible for an attractive relocation package. Eligibility is determined based on IRC’s operational needs and specific role requirements. IRC strives to attract, motivate, and retain qualified national staff in our programs.
Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.