Women’s Protection and Empowerment Coordinator (Head of Unit) At International Rescue Committee

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.

Since 2012, the IRC Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) program has been providing, directly and in partnership, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response services to Syrian refugee women and girls, as well as women and girls from the Lebanese host communities in various locations in the Northern, Bekaa and Beirut and Mount Lebanon Governorates. The IRC is also a lead actor in coaching and capacity strengthening in GBV programming and an active participant in relevant humanitarian coordination fora. In addition to Women’s Protection and Empowerment programming, the IRC Lebanon also has robust programs in Economic Recovery and Development, Child Protection, Protection and Rule of Law, Education and Early Childhood Development.

Job Overview/Summary:

The WPE Coordinator is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic vision, coordination, and technical support to maintain and expand IRC’s WPE programming in Lebanon working closely with colleagues from other sectors and organizations towards the best outcomes for women and girls. The WPE Coordinator is a member of IRC Country Leadership Team and responsible for the overall management of the WPE team to ensure successful implementation of WPE projects. The WPE Coordinator plays a key role in program development through contributions to new concepts and proposals, including design and writing of technical proposal sections, with support from the IRC Technical Unit and relevant departments of the Lebanon country program and HQ. The coordinator is responsible for strengthening and building new partnerships as well as strengthening the capacity of key staff to enable them to take greater responsibility for overall management of the WPE portfolio.

The WPE Coordinator is responsible for four key objectives:

• Program Quality and Implementation: Plan and execute effective implementation of Women’s Protection and Empowerment programming to support quality GBV prevention and response programming including: GBV case management, psychosocial support, and empowerment activities for at risk and diverse women, girls and GBV survivors.
• Integration: Ensure program quality and integration of WPE program within the broader IRC Lebanon portfolio.
• Representation: Represent IRC inside Lebanon at relevant meetings and events in close coordination with the Senior Management Team and Advocacy colleagues.
• Partnerships: Establish and strengthen productive relationships with local organizations, women-led organizations and networks, technical experts, government agencies and donors within Lebanon in coordination with CD, Deputy Director of Programs, Partnership Coordinator, Technical Advisor, and other country program colleagues, as relevant.

Major Responsibilities:

Program Quality and Implementation

• Lead on WPE strategy development/refresh and the implementation of the Lebanon Strategic Action Plan by ensuring that program activities align and contribute to identified priority outcomes.
• Provide clear technical support, supervision, training and mentoring to the WPE team, including training needed to build specialized skills in GBV case management, psychosocial support and GBV risk mitigation.
• Ensure that WPE staff and services adhere to GBV best practice, WPE technical guidelines, professional standards, and principles.
• Support the implementation of programming to include mobile services and women and girls’ safe spaces.
• Strengthening community engagement and outreach including GBV risk mitigation activities.
• Supervise the execution of relevant M&E systems and ensure regular follow-up on monitoring data relevant to WPE programs.

Integration

• Lead and support integration, joint working, and collaboration of WPE programming across other IRC sectors, including Child Protection, Protection and Rule of Law, Economic Recovery and Development, Health, Education and Early Childhood Development.

Representation

• Support GBV coordination at the national and sub-national levels and actively contribute to advocacy efforts on identified priorities.
• Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders including donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors.
• Maintain productive working relationship with GBV Taskforce and field level working group meetings.
• Ensure key field concerns are brought to relevant stakeholders to advocate for standards that systematize how GBV is implemented and promote the delivery of inclusive and high quality GBV services.

Partnerships

• Develop strategic partnerships with local and national organizations in line with sector partnership strategic priorities.
• Ensure, in close collaboration with the IRC Partnership Unit, regular performance monitoring of partners to achieve the set project’s objectives and provide technical support and guidance.
• Continuing to support the expansion of partnerships across Lebanon to include direct service provision by partners and support to these interventions by IRC.

Grant Monitoring and Business Development

• Support and ensure donor compliance, including appropriate and timely spending of grants to achieve program goals, grant reporting contributions, use and distribution of supplies and resources.
• Ensure the submission of timely, accurate and well written proposals, budgets, donor reports and other reporting requirements for all WPE programming in Lebanon.
• Lead the development of new business concept notes and proposals for the continuation and expansion of WPE programming in Lebanon.

Staff Management and Development

• Coach, train, and mentor staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team, and providing professional development guidance.
• Develop and implement staff capacity strengthening plans to ensure quality WPE programming across programming teams and other IRC programming.
• Conduct timely and quality performance evaluations and give regular and constructive feedback to staff through the year to ensure a culture of accountability.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Deputy Director for Programs

Position directly supervises: WPE Senior Manager, WPE Quality Assurance Manager, WPE Program Support Senior Officer.

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Grants Unit, WPE Technical Unit, IRC Program Coordinators, Supply Chain, HR, Finance, Field Coordinators.

External: SGBV task force, Case Management working group, peer and partner agencies, donors.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Advanced degree in Social Work, Women’s Studies, or another related field.
• Minimum of 5-6 years professional experience in implementation of emergency GBV programming.
• Proven experience working in emergency contexts.
• Proven experience supervising and providing case management services and support.
• Thorough understanding of gender-based violence response protocols and service provision.
• Strong strategic thinking and proposal writing skills.
• Strong leadership skills.
• Strong capacity building skills.
• Strong budget management skills.
• Experience in working in partnership.
• Excellent communication skills, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, ability to improvise, team player.
• Ability to productively work under pressure.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills; proven ability to prioritize and deliver on time.
• Ability to work both independently and in a dynamic, cross-functional global team structure.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to manage and work through change in a proactive and positive manner.
• Previous experience managing programs financed institutional bilateral and multilateral donors, including budget holder responsibilities.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external parties.
• Fluent in spoken and written English and Arabic.

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The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional 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, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.