Job Vacancies at International Rescue Committee (IRC) – 3 Positions

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is recruiting to fill the following positions:

1.) Education Project Coordinator
2.) Life and Business Skills Officer
3.) Senior EAP Program Manager

 

 

See job details and how to apply below.

 

1.) Education Project Coordinator

 

Job Description

BACKGROUND

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people 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. In addition, the IRC delivers education programs in 22 conflict-affected or post-conflict countries around the world.

Present in Sierra Leone since 1999, IRC supports the Sierra Leonean institutions - government, civil society, community-based organizations, and private sector - to provide improved social services. The IRC does this through programs and partnerships designed to improve the lives of women, youth, and children by implementing Health, Education, and Women's Protection and Empowerment programming.

Job Summary: Under the supervision of the Education and Girl's Empowerment Coordinator, the Education Project Coordinator will be responsible for the overall implementation and management of all education and girls' empowerment programs in the core IRC districts of Kono, Kenema, and Bo and other districts as requested. S/he will be based in Kenema to ensure that the EAGER project team implements timely and high-quality education activities within the areas of operations. Moreover, the Education Project Coordinator will also support the Education and Girl's Empowerment Coordinator in high-level meetings and management of education programs at the district level, including budget reviews and proposal development.

Presently, the Education Project Coordinator will supervise three District Supervisors and one M&E manager. This structure could change as future programs are added to the profile. This position is expected to support and encourage teamwork, create a collaborative working environment, and enable the field team to be proactive and solution oriented with the aim of delivering high quality education and girls empowerment programming.

Major Responsibilities

Technical

· Manage all the IRC activities under the EAGER project in accordance with IRC polices under the guidance of the coordinator.

· Develop and monitor clear work plans for education activities in coordination with district supervisors and M&E manager and staff in the field.

· Develop actionable work plans to ensure the timely implementation of project activities in collaboration with the district supervisors, officers and field team.

· Provide technical leadership in development and ongoing monitoring of the District Annual Work plans

· Provide oversight and guidance to the District Supervisors to support planning and management of districts specific implementation plans and ensure learning and collaboration of best practices.

· Conduct regular field visits to the districts to ensure the delivery of high-quality programmes.

· Compile and develop monthly and weekly plans and any other reports according to donors' requirements.

· Communicate with the Education and Girl's Empowerment Coordinator and CCU team on a regular basis to ensure.

· Build the capacity of education staff through daily mentoring, guidance, and trainings.

• Contribute to the development of robust data collection systems to ensure that the education program is data-driven and that programmatic decisions are grounded in evidence.

· Work with the Education Coordinator, M&E, and CCU team to ensure that key project indicators are tracked, and key project data is regularly analysed to inform decision making, and program adaptation.

· Ensure that key project management tools are updated and regularly used.

· Assist the Education and Girl's Empowerment Coordinator in ensuring program quality, technical leadership and effective coordination of the education projects

Budget Oversight

· In collaboration with the supervisor, review Budget vs. Actual expenditures on a monthly basis, providing relevant feedback to the finance department and adjusting activities as required.

· Budget holder for identified district and national level budget lines.

· Ensure that the district resources are used effectively and transparently.

· Review Budget-vs-Actual, and spending plans and ensure timely adjustments are made to ensure alignment with donor requirement.

· Promptly respond to all budget-related inquiries.

Staff Management

· Direct supervision of the District Field Supervisors (

• and M&E manager (
• in accordance with IRC HR policies
• Actively build the capacity of education program staff, ensuring each staff member has a specific capacity development plan, receives opportunities for training, mentoring and on-the-job learning opportunities.

· Supervise the overall process of hiring new incentive workers and staff, following IRC policies.

· Support the recruitment and induction of any new education staff member.

· Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance.

Representation and Advocacy

· Participate in key internal and external meetings: coordination and managers' meetings, BvA meetings, Education Cluster, donor meetings at district level.

· Develop and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders including government actors, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors.

· Analyse and present data in creative new ways to IRC program staff to influence internal discussions and prioritization of education and girl's empowerment activities, strategy implementation, and decision making.

· Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.

Update

Minimum Qualifications

Qualificaiton

• Undergraduate degree in education or relevant fields

• Minimum seven years' relevant field experience in leading/managing education program and girl's empowerment programming
• Demonstrate strong training and workshop facilitation skills and experience.

· Demonstrated ability in mentoring and leading a team.

· Demonstrated ability to write high quality reports and written and oral communication skills.

· Demonstrated ability to analyse data for decision making.

Strong verbal communication skills and effective in representation and liaison with external actors

· Fluency in English and Krio speaking/writing skills required.

Skills and Abilities

• Proficiency in project planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.

· Strong facilitation and training skills.

· Excellent coordination and collaboration skills with local communities, local and national government, civil society, and other NGOs.

• Ability and willingness for frequent and regular travel to field sites.
• Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to work within a team environment.
• Ability to build trust and working relationship with local school communities.
• Positive and solution focused attitude to work.
• Committed to the mission and principles of the International Rescue Committee.

Key Working Relationships

Position Reports to: Education and girls' empowerment coordinator

Position directly supervises: Education and M&E Officer

Indirect Reporting: CCU team lead and CCU education specialist

Other Internal and/or external contacts: Internal: Other IRC Departments in Freetown and field offices (Supply Chain, Human Resources, Finance, M&E, etc.) and other IRC sector team members (Health, Women empowerment, safeguarding and M&E teams)

External: local authorities, community members, INGOs and other local actors working in education, child protection and any other relevant sector

How to Apply

Qualified and interested individuals should click on the button below to apply.

 

 

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2.) Life and Business Skills Officer

 

Job Description

BACKGROUND

Present in Sierra Leone since 1999, IRC supports the Sierra Leonean institutions - government, civil society, community-based organizations and private sector - to provide improved social services, decrease youth unemployment and mitigate gender based violence. IRC does this through programs and partnerships designed to improve the life of women, youth and children by implementing Health, Education, Youth and Women's Protection and Empowerment programming. IRC has a Country Program office in Freetown, a regional Field Office in Kenema, a Field Office in Kono and Satellite Offices in Kailahun and Bo.

SCOPE OF WORK

Building on this work over the years, the IRC in Sierra Leone has developed a new program framework, strategy and vision for 2016 - 2020. The country program has committed to ensuring that children, both in and out of school, have appropriate literacy, numeracy, social-emotional skills, and will work towards the reduction and elimination of barriers to ensure that girls are equally skilled and safe as boys. In line with this commitment, and in partnership with Concern International, Restless Development and BBC Media Action, the IRC will implement the four-year Leave No Girl Behind (LNGB) Program which targets 32,500 out-of-school girls (aged 13-1

• and aims to ensure they have significantly improved learning outcomes and transition to education, training or employment. Upon completion of the learning program, girls will receive one-on-one mentorship to develop their individual transition plans.

Job Overview/Summary

The LNGB Life and Business Skills (LBS) Officer will work under the supervision of the LNGB District supervisor. S/he will be mainly responsible for coordinating, facilitating and monitoring implementation of the Life and Business Skills curriculum within the Program through capacity building, networking, partnership and participation of the communities. S/he will provide practical and emotional support to young girls and teach them the skills they need to enable them to live a successful independent life. S/he will work in partnership with young girls, their families and peers, to identify suitable individual transition plans.

This position is contingent on funding.

Specific Responsibilities

Technical responsibilities, planning and management

· With oversight from the Senior LNGB Program Manager and support from the M&E Manager, work closely with the District Supervisor, the M&E officer and the Local Councils to carry out a needs assessment in targeted communities that will inform the LSB skills curriculum and classes planning process, identify risk and protective factors to inform and produce risk assessments and contingency plans, as needed; this includes participating in and supporting a market analysis to identify available opportunities in the targeted communities;

· Work closely with the District Supervisor, the BLN officers and Local Councils to better understand the local communities and governing bodies, as well as identify any other key stakeholders at local level that would have leverage on the development of the implementation of LSB activities;

· Participate in beneficiaries mapping in the targeted communities to ensure participation of young girls and their families. This includes ensure that the most marginalized girls are adequately identified and outreached in line with beneficiaries' selection criteria, and receive support from the Program enrolling and remaining in the LBS course;

· Work closely with Local Councils to review and activate the LBS curriculum and implement LBS classes in Program-identified safe spaces;

· Ensure the LBS course is delivered on time, in accordance with the LBS curriculum, schedule, tools and approaches approved by the Program, respecting quality standards and principles of equity and inclusion;

· Ensure that the one-on-one mentoring is delivered to adolescents girls upon completion of the LBS course and that each girl receive adequate and holistic support to identify transition goals and develop individual business plans;

· Ensure that competitive start-up/growth grants are provided to young girls graduating from the LBS course and that these grants are utilized in accordance with the individual self-identified pathway for each girl, based on the results of the local market analysis;

· Under the supervision of the District Supervisor, work with the M&E officer and BLN officers to support identifying safe spaces for young girls receiving LBS courses. This includes ensuring that the spaces are girl-friendly, protective and conducive to effective learning;

· Ensure that all safe spaces identified and/or established by the Program to host the LBS course have the approved teaching and learning materials and other relevant tools/equipment;

· Identify, resource, train and coach LSB mentors. This includes working closely with the local community key stakeholders to identify female leaders and positive role models, train them on the LBS curriculum and coach them to support and guide adolescent girls throughout the process of determining their transition goals;

· Ensure that LBS mentors master the use of LBS materials and provide feedback and capacity building when weakness are identified. This includes ensuring that mentors have a clear scheme of work, prepare lesson plans using agreed standard formats and methodologies;

· Monitor the individual workplans/schedule of LBS mentors and assist them to create a professional community/network of practice in which they can share experiences and learn from each other;

· Ensure that instructional materials are effectively used by young girls and safely kept by the custodians of the safe spaces;

· Closely work with LBS mentors, young girls and the communities to develop individual self-identified transition pathway for each girl and support LBS mentors to provide regular follow-ups to ensure the implementation of the identified plans for each girl;

· Ensure that regular termly meetings with communities and young girls are held and that meetings have agenda, issues and action points, all of which are documented;

· Participate in community mobilization and sensitization activities in relation to Life and Business Skills topics in line with the approved curriculum;

· Ensure that cases or suspicions of violence and abuse against adolescent girls as well as any protection risks are reported through program-established and/or existing referral pathways and receive proper case management;

· Effectively obtain, allocate and utilize resources allocated to the Program's LBS component. This includes supporting the District Supervisor in providing the Senior LNGB Program Manager with all needed data and information to produce timely and quality monthly/quarterly spending and procurement plans;

· Submit weekly work plans to the District Supervisor, including needs for any logistics and procurement arrangement for the purpose of the implementation of LSB courses.

Monitoring

· With the support of the M&E officer, track and record young girls and LBS mentors attendance on a daily basis;

· Work closely with the local communities and LBS mentors to ensure that actions are taken against mentors and girls engaged in truancy;

· Conduct regular follow-up on LBS activities and give feedbacks to the District Supervisor. This includes working with M&E officer and Data clerk to monitor and track the attendance, retention and progress of young girls attending the LBS course;

· Work closely with the M&E officer and Data clerk to ensure accurate data are available from activities records and other means of verification to document progress on indicators/achievement of targets using Indicator Performance Tracking Tables (IPTT);

· Work closely with the local communities and LBS mentors to ensure that Child Safeguarding and Do Not Harm principles and requirements are respected rigorously throughout the Program implementation with regard to the delivery of the LBS curriculum.

Reporting

• Provide the District Supervisor with required inputs for reports written during project implementation at the field level with regards to LBS activities;
• Work closely with the M&E officer and Data clerk to ensure accurate data are timely submitted to the M&E Manager for reporting purposes;
• Prepare, produce and present LBS activity reports, with analyzes and summaries, to the District Supervisor;
• Contribute to capture data, pattern and trends from the field and relay feedback to the District Supervisor, that would inform documentation of lessons learned, best practices and success stories for sharing with the Senior Program Manager.

Minimum Qualifications

Requirements

· At least a Professional Teaching/Training certificate/Diploma;

· A diploma in Social Work or relevant professional qualification;

· Excellent computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Access and Word;

· Strong planning, analysis and writing skills;

· Strong experience working with youth, including adolescent girls, and local communities and Education and Social Welfare governing bodies;

· Knowledge in principles and practice of Education;

· Experience in training delivery and facilitation;

· Good verbal communication skills in local languages and working knowledge of English;

· Ability to clearly convey concepts to populations with limited numeracy and literacy skills;

· Excellent training and mentoring skills with ability to work as part of a team with diverse backgrounds;

· Willingness to travel frequently to field sites.

Preferred Qualities

· At least two years' experience working in Life and/or Business Skills programs for youth/adults;

· Experience working in education programs and in rural settings.

· Previous experience working with NGOs a plus.

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, and Anti-Retaliation.

How to Apply

Qualified and interested individuals should click on the button below to apply.

 

 

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3.) Senior EAP Program Manager

 

Job Description

BACKGROUND

The International Rescue Committee, one of the world's largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC has worked in Sierra Leone since 1999. The IRC currently programs across three core sectors:

• Health
• Women and Girls' Protection and Empowerment (WGPE), and
• Education. The IRC is committed to supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in the strengthening of the country. We seek to build upon our programming experience and introduce new programs that are adaptive, collaborative and evidence-driven, leading to a more educated, safe, healthy and empowered Sierra Leone.

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, and Anti-Retaliation."

SCOPE OF WORK

In Sierra Leone, adolescent girls make up 12% of the overall population and are one of the most vulnerable groups in society. According to the 2017 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) report, 12.9% of women aged 20-24 years in Sierra Leone had married before the age of 15 years; 29.9% of women in the same age bracket had married before the age of 18 years; and 89.6% of women aged 15-49 years having undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Rainbo Initiative estimates that 90% of reported FGM cases were of girls between the ages of 11-16; and that girls in Koinadugu and Moyamba districts are more at risk, followed by those in Pujehun and Kambia districts.

Traditional expectations of adolescent girls also mean that they are afforded less opportunity than boys to develop their capacities and engage in personal and community development. Girls in Sierra Leone especially in the rural areas have a narrow range of life options and due to a higher rate of poverty in these areas have lower educational opportunities. These dynamics of low educational opportunities, traditional and social norms, and gender-based violence all contribute to preventing girls from reaching their full potential.

The Empowerment of Adolescents' Project (EAP) will seek to address these problems through the implementation of gender-transformative interventions for adolescent girls and boys in safe spaces. Additionally, efforts will be made to promote a supportive and gender equal environment through raising awareness of gender inequalities and their negative consequences by engaging influencers to challenge existing social norms and traditions to protect girls from violence and harmful practices. In collaboration with two local partner organizations IRC will reach 12,000 girls and 6,000 boys per year in two districts in Sierra Leone.

Job Overview/Summary

The Senior EAP Program Manager will be working under the supervision of the Education Coordinator with technical support from the WGPE Coordinator. S/he will be mainly responsible for supporting the effective implementation of Program activities as per the EAP implementation plan, approach and strategy.

Areas of responsibilities

Program management

• Lead monthly planning in the two districts in accordance with the program workplan, as well as carry out any adjustment as required based on Program's needs;
• Support the partner organization's Program Managers, ensuring activity schedule, monitoring and spending is on track and aligned to the agreed program workplan;
• Regularly monitor Program progress against established Program targets in accordance with the Program workplan and logframe;
• Ensure monitoring through field visits, regular meetings and other appropriate instruments, identify existing challenges and potential risks, and relay feedback to the Education Coordinator; this includes ensuring that all information, data and other required inputs are provided timely for relaying to the relevant partners' focal point
• Write quarterly and annual technical reports in compliance with the program timelines and donor requirements;
• Oversee procurement and operational processes as required based on Program implementation's needs
• Supervise the M&E Manager to ensure quality data are generated and collected timely, meet quality standards and are properly stored and available for monitoring of Program progress and evaluation of Program impact, in line with the M&E framework;
• Support the M&E Manager to organize regular data review meetings involving partners' technical leads.
• Contribute to draw evidence-based lessons learned from the field, identify success stories and best practices, and relay feedback to the Education Coordinator;
• Adapt existing girls and boys life skills curricula to the project requirements;
• Support the development of proposals, budgets and concept notes;
• Develop and Organize capacity development trainings for partners and their staff

Financial Management

• Ensure efficient regular management of the Program budget as well as close monitoring of spending, and relay prompt feedback on potential over/underspend to the Education Coordinator;
• In collaboration with the Finance unit, draft monthly expenditure forecasts/spending plan as well as quarterly expenditure forecasts in compliance with donor requirements; this includes ensuring that all required monthly expenditure forecasts/spending plans are timely available for transmission to the relevant partners' focal point within the consortium coordination unit, as the Program timelines dictate;
• In conjunction with the Finance unit, support the production and review monthly management account and quarterly financial reports in compliance with donor requirements; this includes ensuring that all required financial reports are produced as per the Program reporting timeline for transmission to the relevant partners' focal point within the consortium coordination unit, as the Program timelines dictate.

· Participate in Grants Opening, Monthly Review, and Grant Closing meetings.

· Review and raise appropriate Purchase Requests (PRs) with correct budget codes and in-line with the allocated budget for those activities.

Human Resources Management

• Ensure support and provide leadership of partner's implementation teams assigned to the Program in the targeted Districts, ensuring weekly and monthly planning is timely performed and quality information needed for reporting and monitoring are available;
• Ensure field staff assigned to the Program abide by the IRC core values as well as Do Not Harm and Child Safeguarding principles and donor requirements;
• Perform periodic staff evaluations as required by the IRC internal policy.

Stakeholders Management

• Represent the Program with government partners and education and protection stakeholders at the district and national level as needed, to foster local ownership of Program approaches and effective participation in Program planning and implementation, in line with a community-based and human-rights based approach;
• Coordinate implementation between the Program field teams in the two targeted Districts, and develop and maintain synergies during Program implementation.

Update

Minimum Qualifications

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Child Protection or related fields.
• 4 or more years of related work experience.
• Excellent knowledge of project management systems and procedures.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to multi-task and priorities work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Positive gender and child protection attitudes.
• Proficiency in MS Office.
• Previous experience working with NGOs a plus.

How to Apply

Qualified and interested individuals should click on the button below to apply.

 

 

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