Background:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the world’s leading humanitarian aid and development organizations. For more than 80 years, the IRC has been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts to assist people displaced by war, persecution, and armed conflict, providing life-saving support to help them survive and rebuild their lives. The IRC’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit (EPRU) leads global emergency preparedness and response activities, with a mission to address immediate survival needs and alleviate suffering for populations affected by conflict or disaster during the acute phase of emergencies.
Context:
On May 15, 2026, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo declared the country’s 17th Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak after confirming cases caused by the Bundibugyo virus species (BDBV) in Ituri Province. Initial transmission was detected in and around the health zones of Mongbwalu, Rwampara, and Bunia. On May 17, 2026, the WHO assessed the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) due to the risk of regional spread and a challenging operational environment. The IRC is preparing to support the outbreak response in Ituri and North Kivu by assisting primary healthcare facilities, including EVD case screening and isolation, strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC), community-based infection prevention and control (IPC) activities, and protection activities. By early June 2026, the epidemic had spread to 25 health zones in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, with 488 confirmed cases and 86 deaths. The non-Zairean strain (Bundibugyo) limits the effectiveness of available vaccines, reinforcing the critical importance of IPC and community-based approaches. Community mistrust, fueled by armed conflict, stigmatization, and socioeconomic vulnerability, has led to security incidents targeting response teams. The Integrated Protection Officer will work in this complex and rapidly evolving field environment, requiring strong contextual awareness, flexibility, and adherence to secure programming and IPC protocols at all times.
Scope of work
Under the supervision of the Integrated Protection Manager, the Senior Integrated Protection Officer will be responsible for monitoring all integrated protection activities to ensure they are implemented in accordance with the overall work plan, best practices, and IRC programmatic guidelines and policies. They will work closely with the Integrated Protection Manager and assist them in the management, monitoring, and evaluation of protection activities, focusing on GBV/FPE, child protection, mental and psychosocial support (MSPS), and community risk reduction.
In parallel, they will provide direct supervisory support to social workers and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) assistants in the field, and will provide technical and management support, supervision, and coaching to protection staff on a daily basis. Furthermore, they will lead the coordination of all protection activities within the Protection programs and with other IRC sectors on a daily basis. This role is fully integrated, encompassing social work in emergencies, MHPSS, community risk reduction, and Cash for Protection programming. They will be part of IRC mobile teams, composed of health, IPC/WASH, RCCE, and protection staff, deployed to support the epidemic response in health facilities and affected communities.
Role and responsibility
1. Program Planning and Monitoring
- Acting as the integrated protection officer within the IRC’s mobile team structure, coordinating protection activities (GBV, PE, SMSPS, community risk reduction) in assigned health facilities and communities, while maintaining close contact with community social workers affiliated with the team.
- Prepare and maintain/update detailed work plans on a daily basis, in accordance with the overall integrated protection work plan, to ensure the rapid implementation of protection activities and the achievement of objectives.
- To guide and monitor staff in the implementation of the work plan.
- In collaboration with the Integrated Protection Manager, track expenditures to ensure that all expenditures are in line with approved budgets and disbursement plans.
- Work closely with the Integrated Protection Manager to develop and monitor purchase requests, as well as to develop and ensure the implementation of distribution plans.
- Support the operationalization on the ground of the Cash for Protection program and kit distributions, ensuring the correct application of targeting criteria and the secure and confidential documentation of beneficiary data.
- Conduct regular follow-up field visits to assess progress towards achieving objectives; propose solutions and ensure the implementation of necessary adjustments.
- Ensure that all monitoring activities are fully documented.
- Compile weekly reports to be submitted to the Integrated Protection Manager; contribute to monthly reports as needed.
- Ensure regular communication with the Integrated Protection Manager on the program’s progress, achievements, challenges, lessons learned and opportunities.
2. Technical Quality
- Provide daily guidance on protection activities and ensure regular supervision sessions with the integrated protection team (PE, GBV, SMSPS) to ensure compliance with best practices, minimum standards and IRC programmatic guidelines and policies.
- Provide support and supervision to social workers, SMSPS assistants and volunteers to ensure that activities are context-appropriate and carried out in accordance with the needs and best interests of the beneficiaries.
- Conduct regular follow-up field visits to assess technical quality and/or any implementation problems to be reported to the Integrated Protection Manager; propose solutions and ensure the implementation of necessary adjustments.
- Ensure that all SMSPS group activities and safe space operations are preceded by a risk and feasibility assessment, and are implemented in accordance with IPC-adapted POS, in coordination with members of the health and IPC/WASH teams.
- Play a key role in supporting the implementation of all Integrated Protection MEAL activities, particularly with regard to group cash transfers and Cash for Protection activities.
- Supporting safe and ethical data collection, documentation and storage at field sites.
- In collaboration with the MEAL team and the Integrated Protection Manager, lead the establishment and implementation of feedback mechanisms for protection activities, including safe spaces and mechanisms accessible to all beneficiary groups (children, women, GBV survivors, people affected by EVD), respectful and sensitive to the experience of survivors.
- Provide support and supervision to protection teams to ensure respect for the participation of children and adults in all activities, including by consulting with them regularly and proactively.
- Ensure regular communication with the Integrated Protection Manager to strengthen safety outcomes for children and their families.
3. Staff Supervision and Capacity Building
- To directly supervise social workers and SMSPS assistants, and indirectly community volunteers.
- Compile and ensure timely submission of monthly timesheets, probationary period evaluations, annual performance reviews, etc. by the protection team.
- Provide ongoing guidance and capacity building for protection personnel in technical and management skills; identify needs to further strengthen the capacity of protection personnel.
- Maintain open and professional relationships with team members, fostering a strong team spirit, and providing supervision and guidance to enable protection personnel to succeed in their duties.
- Support social workers and the Protection team in the recruitment and management of Community Facilitators.
4.Coordination et representation
- Facilitate and ensure close collaboration and coordination between the IRC’s Protection, RCCE and Health teams.
- Lead the coordination of all protection activities with other IRC sectors at the field level.
- Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders,
- Participate in relevant community-level coordination meetings.
- At the request of the Integrated Protection Manager, participate in integrated protection coordination meetings (PE, GBV, SMSPS) at sub-national and national levels to contribute to coordination and advocacy for multi-stakeholder integrated protection responses.
- Supporting the active engagement of Ebola survivors and other key actors as community messengers in community risk reduction and CRE activities, in coordination with the CRE team and community structures.
5. Program administration and development
- Ensure the filing and archiving of all important documents and correspondence relating to protection activities.
- Contribute to the collection of monitoring and evaluation data to support the development of project proposals and the strategy of the integrated protection program (PE, GBV, SMSPS).
6. Safeguarding, Cross-Cutting Protection and PCI
- Comply with all safeguarding policies, cross-cutting protection standards and IRC code of conduct requirements.
- Adhere to established IPC measures for outbreak response operations and ensure that staff under their supervision understand and follow the required protocols.
- Collaborating with health and protection teams to support safe, confidential and appropriate referrals to health, protection, SMSPS, GBV and child protection services, as needed.
- Supporting training and strengthening of safeguarding principles, and basic psychosocial support for protection staff and volunteers
7. Other
- Participate in relevant training and information sessions organised by the IRC or response coordination mechanisms.
- To act professionally and personally in a way that enhances the IRC’s humanitarian mission and reputation.
- Monitor security conditions affecting field teams and promptly report concerns through established channels.
- Perform any other tasks assigned by the supervisor to support the Ebola response.
Required profile:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Social Work, Psychology, Education, Human Rights, Social Sciences, Humanities or a related field.
- At least 3 to 4 years of experience in implementing integrated protection programs, including PE case management, GBV response, SMSPS programming and protection risk reduction, in humanitarian or development contexts.
- Experience in epidemic contexts is an asset.
- Demonstrated knowledge of survivor-centered principles and GBV guiding principles, including safety, confidentiality, respect and non-discrimination.
- Good understanding of integrated protection programming, including PE and/or GBV case management, SMSPS programming to promote healing and recovery, and protection risk reduction approaches to prevent and reduce protection risks in crisis settings.
- Prior experience in supervising and managing a team in an intercultural context.
- Proven experience in capacity building and staff mentoring.
- Prior experience in emergency response preferred.
- Positive and professional attitude, including the ability to lead and work well in a team.
- Excellent planning and organizational skills, strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Personal qualities: team spirit, ability to network, flexibility, ability to manage multiple tasks and to handle pressure well.
- Good computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- Fluency in French is required; fluency in relevant local languages ​​of Ituri is highly desirable; English is an advantage.