The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Today, 13.4 million people in Syria – more than half of the country’s population – are in need of humanitarian assistance with needs increasingly being exacerbated by economic decline. Of these, 6.8 million are refugees and asylum-seekers who have fled the country. This is no short-term humanitarian episode. The devastating human consequences to huge numbers of people will endure for decades. The destruction of relationships, communities, livelihoods, homes and infrastructure will take years to repair.
IRC is offering a robust humanitarian response to the Syria crisis a rapidly expanding portfolio, supported by more than 1000+ staff in Syria Country Program. IRC is undertaking programs in Syria and the neighboring countries of Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan in the fields of health, child protection, early childhood development, education, women’s protection and empowerment, non-food items and food distribution, cash assistance, water and sanitation, protection and rule of law, and livelihood programming. Our work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding and coordination.
Job Overview/Summary
The purpose of the Child Protection Area of Responsibility (AOR) Coordinator position is to guarantee leadership and coordination of Child Protection actors, and to work in coordination and consultation with the Whole of Syria and other stakeholders to ensure a strategic, coherent, effective and efficient Child Protection response in NES. In support of, and collaboration with sector partners, the Child Protection Coordinator will lead the development and implementation of a sound strategy that responds to the Child Protection needs in the short and medium terms. This function has a specific and dedicated focus on the needs of foreign women and children in NES.
Responsibilities:
Coordination mechanisms
• Lead child protection coordination within the existing Protection coordination structure through promoting and facilitating active participation from key actors.
• Work with the NES INGO Protection Working Group (PWG), the NES Forum and other key actors to identify opportunities to integrate child protection into programming, avoid duplication and gaps, optimize coverage and ensure complementarity of partner actions.
• Establish results-oriented, two-way communication channels between protection coordination platforms (including Whole of Syria and NES) to promote, upgrade and strengthen a more standardized child protection response across all affected areas.
Needs assessment, analysis and strategy development
• Work with child protection actors to assess needs; coordinate and oversee inter-agency child protection needs assessments; map out priority protection gaps and identify key resources and assets, including existing child protection systems (both formal and informal).
• Facilitate the development of an agreed interagency child protection response strategy based on identified needs that can be met through collective and complementary service delivery.
• Collaborate with the NES INGO PWG and other stakeholders to ensure that key child protection concerns are reflected in all strategy documents and humanitarian initiatives.
• Together with the NES INGO PWG coordinator, contribute to HNO, HRP, and other HPC processes and tasks on CP issues as part of WOS.
Quality of child protection responses and capacity development
• Ensure that Child Protection partners are aware of, and comply with, agreed sector standards and SOPs in service delivery including for case management
• Work closely with the NES PWG Coordinator to finalise the service mapping and referral pathways.
• Promote and support capacity building of the local authorities (e.g- CPAC Office), civil society and partners based on the mapping and understanding of available capacity.
Monitoring and reporting
• Facilitate processes to monitor the achievement of agreed interagency goals against strategies and action plans, including accurate 4Ws reporting.
• Provide analysis of progress over time to inform decision making and share important information with relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure adequate Child Protection outcome reporting and effective information sharing to demonstrate that gaps in service coverage and quality have been closed.
Intersectoral coordination and advocacy
• Ensure effective links with Whole of Syria and other coordination platforms in NES including coordination with UN actors based in Qamishli and represent the interests of the Child Protection AOR in discussions with relevant stakeholders on prioritization, resource mobilization and advocacy.
• Represent CP AOR at the NES Inter Sector Working Group and contribute to jointly identifying critical issues that require multisectoral responses, and plan the relevant synergistic interventions, including advocacy, with the other clusters concerned.
• Identify core Child Protection advocacy concerns, including resource requirements, and develop/contribute key messages for broader advocacy initiatives.
• Where critical gaps in addressing Child Protection priorities are identified, lobby implementing humanitarian partners to address the gaps, and advocate for the adequate provision of resources and safe access.
Tasks specific to children with alleged ties to UN-listed terrorist groups
• Lead and coordinate fund-raising in relation to CAAFAG children and children at detention center
• Coordinate with key state holders including coalition to support deinstitutionalization, repatriation and reunification of children alleged ties with armed groups
• Work with the CAAFAG coordinator and other key actors to strengthen the response to the affected group, including mobilization of new actors to support child protection interventions.
• Support CAAFAG Coordinator in implementing a joint workplan specific to the needs of this group of children, including but not limited to, provision of quality alternative interim care and solutions in children’s best interests.
• Support advocacy efforts to promote adherence to global guidance and approaches on return and repatriation etc including with local influencers.
• Lead CAAFAG TF in absence of CAAFAG TF coordinator (when needed)
Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development
• Hire, supervise, and build the capacity of team members in relevant technical and management competencies.
• Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches to build the strengths the teams teams in Syria.
• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• 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.
• Approve and manage time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission and carry out probationary reviews.
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, minimally on a monthly basis.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing guidance on career paths.
• As required, identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies.
• 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.
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train and develop capability and capacity of national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by the end of assignment.
Required Experience/qualification/Skills:
• Post graduate degree in international law, human rights or related social science field.
• Minimum of 7 years proven experience working on child protection issues in humanitarian environments, including provision of technical advice to field teams;
• Sound experience in child protection programming and coordination in humanitarian settings
• Excellent understanding of protection issues in emergency situations/conflict environment and detailed knowledge of humanitarian principles, guidelines and laws and the cluster system;
• Demonstrable experience and excellence in advocacy, representation and high-level negotiation skills, including the development of strong interpersonal relationships to facilitate communication within the PWG/cluster and array of key stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and proven success in facilitating interagency processes to achieve a common goal
• Familiarity with the Humanitarian Programme Cycle and associated proceses – HNO, Sector assessments, HRP, HRP related project submissions and vetting.
• Willing and able to work in a challenging work environment.
• Ability to travel up to 50% to points throughout Northeast Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Middle East region
Preferable
• Experience in the MENA region/Syria (ideally Northeast Syria)
• Previous experience in Humanitarian Programme Cycle as coordinator;
• Strong experience with information management as related to the protection sector, including maintaining standards of impartiality and confidentiality with data of a sensitive nature
• Excellent leadership, coordination, capacity building, planning and analytical skills;
• Able to work successfully under pressure and ability to make timely decisions;
• Excellent written and spoken English – Arabic/Kurdish would be an asset;
Language/Travel:
• English is required, Arabic is a plus
• Travel: 30% to field sites in Northeast Syria as well as attending regional and global workshops and meetings in and outside of NES.
Key Working Relationships:
• Position Reports to: WoS Senior Protection Sector Co-Coordinator (IRC hosted)
• Indirect/Technical Reporting: None
• Position directly Supervises: Inter Agency CPIMS+ Manager
• Key Internal Contacts: IRC NES TEAM, DDP, Regional team, WoS Protection Co-Coordinator
• Key External Contacts: UNICEF, NES INGOS, NES UNOCHA, NES INGO Forum, WOS
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 in which this position is based and are currently located outside of your home country and possess over two years of international work experience, the Middle East Region has introduced an attractive remuneration package. The package includes competitive compensation, return flight to post, shipping allowance, temporary housing and a relocation allowance. Certain restrictions may apply. 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.
Gender Equality: IRC 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 parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.
Diversity and Inclusion: at IRC MENA, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Organizations that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, nationality, and perspective are validated to be better organizations. More importantly, creating a safe workspace environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best is the right thing to do. So, bring your whole self to work.
How to apply
https://rescue.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/27828?c=rescue