Background/IRC Summary:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
The IRC’s vision is to lead the humanitarian field by implementing high-impact, cost-effective programs for people affected by crisis and by using our learning and experience to shape policy and practice. To achieve that vision, the IRC’s Technical Excellence Unit (TE) provides technical assistance to IRC’s country program staff and shares what we learn to influence policy and practice. TE is comprised of five Technical Units, all of which have deep expertise in their respective sectors: Education, Economic Wellbeing, Governance, Health, and Violence Prevention and Response.
The Violence Prevention and Response Unit (VPRU) works to reduce people’s vulnerability to and support their recovery from violence, and promote transformative work for a future free from violence. The unit houses expertise in the fields of Child Protection, Protection and Rule of Law, and Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE). WPE supports programs to adhere to minimum standards and principles of good practice in the prevention of and response to gender-based violence and to meet the safety, health, psycho-social, and justice needs of women, girls, and survivors of gender-based violence.
Programme Scope:
IRC is seeking a Programme Coordinator to support a seven-year programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to improve prevention and response to violence against women and girls. The ‘What Works to Prevent Violence – Impact at Scale’ Programme will build on the success of its predecessor (‘What Works I’) to prevent and contribute to eliminating violence against women and girls (VAWG) by:
• Systematically designing, implementing and rigorously evaluating a range of approaches to scaling up violence prevention efforts, translating proof-of-concept evidence into robust, largescale programmes and strategies;
• Designing, piloting and testing new theory-driven violence prevention approaches (innovation);
• Strengthening long-term capability and capacity to deliver cutting-edge, evidence-based violence prevention programmes across the programme’s grantees, the UK Government (principally FCDO), and developing country governments; and
• Using evidence to influence a more effective, scaled-up global response to end VAWG.
The Programme Coordinator will support the overall management of the Programme, ensuring that the programme is implemented in-line with the budget and in accordance with FCDO requirements, IRC policies, and international standards for programming and research. Liaising with multiple teams and organisations, the Programme Coordinator will oversee programme M&E and reporting to the FCDO and support the Fund Management Director in the granting of funds to project partners. The Programme Coordinator will also drive effective communications across the Programme, including with FCDO staff, ensuring regular updates and joint-planning and implementation are taking place.
Specific Responsibilities:
Overall Programme Coordination and Management **
• Track deliverables and regularly communicate progress across the What Works team, Consortium partners, and FCDO counterparts;
• Establish work plans, set performance targets, and identify challenges and strategies to achieve Programme aims in coordination with Programme Director and Consortium partners;
• Review financial progress, identify realignments where needed, and ensure resources are being effectively and efficiently used;
• In coordination with the Project Director and Project Finance Officer, directly manage budgets for specific deliverables and workstreams and support the effective management of the What Works Programme budget
• Ensure programme implementation is in compliance with FCDO policies and procedures in consultation with PMU staff and Consortium members, as necessary;
• In-line with FCDO requirements and targets, support the M&E Officer in the delivery of the What Works Programme M&E framework.
• Lead on the coordination, preparation, and submission of donor reports, in collaboration with other PMU staff;
• Support the Programme Director to implement adjustments to account for any gaps in reporting/data collection and work closely with field teams and partners to address them.
• Lead regular Programme management meetings and support wider, cross-Programme coordination and collaboration
Granting and Project Management
• Work with the Fund Management team to develop a work plan for funding windows and fund allocation processes;
• Lead initial scan of all received applications for basic funding eligibility, in-line with FCDO requirements;
• Work with the Fund Management team to support partners in developing project documents including monitoring plans, contracts and activity plans;
• In consultation with other PMU staff, address challenges and resolve issues around performance with Project Partners, as appropriate;
• Ensure that Partners’ responsibilities for donor compliance are tracked and evaluated;
• Ensure that updates on their contract management performance are communicated in a timely and professional manner to appropriate stakeholders.
Communication and Coordination and Representation**
• With the Programme Director, represent the Programme to FCDO, other government officials and stakeholders, and partner organisations;
• Support regular meetings with FCDO to maintain effective communication and information sharing;
• Ensure Consortium members, project team and project partners are continuously consulted and informed of ongoing progress, including relevant FCDO communication, changes in their regulations, and meetings or conferences;
• Act as focal point and liaison between Consortium members, project partners and other stakeholders, where necessary;
• Lead the review of project documents for quality and consistency before external dissemination;
• Ensure information about project achievements and lessons learned are distributed across the Consortium and with peer organisations.
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: What Works Programme Director in VPRU
Position directly supervises: Two staff working on finance and M&E
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Internal: Regular communication with other IRC departments, including Grants, Operations and Admin Unit for TE and the Awards Management Unit
External: Interaction with the Programme Management Unit comprised of representatives from the 4 consortium members as well as other members of the consortium
Job Requirements:
Education: Master’s/post-graduate degree in gender, social work, public health, international development or related field or equivalent work experience in a relevant field.
Work Experience: Work experience in managing and implementing programs that focus on the wellbeing of women and girls. Work experience in coordinating multi-country programmes and working with and/or supporting consortia. Experience in working on FCDO commercial contract. Experience in producing high quality reports. Experience in working closely and managing relationships with external partners and stakeholders.
Demonstrated Skills and Competencies: Excellent organization, coordination and project management skills including budgeting and developing project management documents such as logical frameworks and monitoring tools. Strong understanding of research and programming including how the two can work together for mutually beneficial outcomes. Proven ability to operate in a complex organization, across functions and work on own initiative as well as collaboratively as part of diverse teams. Ability to manage complex and varied workload. Excellent oral and written communication and representation skills
Language Skills: Fluency in English required; proficiency in second language desired.**
Working Environment*:* Based from the London office with international travel, including to insecure environments
All What Works staff commit to and uphold the Programme’s Feminist Principles throughout all aspects of their work.
All IRC staff are required to adhere to THE IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct and the IRC country employment policies.
How to apply
Please apply through our website