Job Vacancy at International Rescue Committee (IRC) – LNGB Life and Business Skills Officer

Grade: 8B

Location: Kenema

Reports to: LNGB District Supervisor

Closing Date: 29th June 2021

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 13-17) 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.

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.

Standards for professional Conduct (IRC Way)

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.

Mode of Application: 

All applications must be done using the below link and should include a cover letter, updated CV, names of three referees and their active telephone and email contacts, copies of professional certificates and testimonials.

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

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