Senior Program Officer

Band / Level / Grade: 8B- Functional support.

Department: CCRD

Project: Education

Location: Islamabad

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 and disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

IRC has been working in Pakistan for approximately 40 years, managing and delivering large, complex programs to meet the needs in health, education, safeguarding, environmental health and livelihoods for displaced, poor and disaster-affected communities. IRC works in partnership with local government and non-governmental organizations and is currently working across the country.

Job Overview/Summary: The senior program officer under the supervision of the POC Chair ensures regular and timely coordination with the project team and POC to project activities are successfully implemented and monitored and objectives are achieved; The Sr. program officer will support the POC and team in the oversight of the implementation of project/s and coordinate with relevant departments such as the technical coordinators, HR, Supply Chain, Finance and implementation to enable smooth implementation of project activities.

Major Responsibilities: Actively participate in project implementation with a focus on coordinating with the project teams to facilitate them, obtain regular updates and provide regular and timely quality information to the POC for decision-making through teamwork while upholding IRC core values. 

Major duties as well as technical, programming, and management responsibilities are described below.

Project planning and Management Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and support POC chair and coordinate with project teams to ensure backstopping for assigned project/s, ensuring all program objectives and goals are met in compliance with donor and IRC regulations.
• Work with field personnel on project-related services and serve as the primary point of contact between assigned field offices and POC/country office.
• Schedule and manage POC meetings and disseminate minutes regularly in addition to follow-ups.
• Track project deliverables and financial targets and report regularly.
• Contribute to the monitoring of project performance for assigned tasks and/or geographic areas.
• Prepare, review, and/or edit project progress reports (monthly, quarterly, annual, etc.) and share them with the supervisor for review to ensure quality reports are submitted. 
• Apprise supervisor/management of any critical issues as they arise.
• Travel to the field to monitor program implementation as and when assigned.
• Represent the team at meetings, conferences, and workshops, when assigned.
• Provide updates, reports, and critical analysis of the field and report to the POC chair. Coordinate
• with relevant departments to ensure effective support to the field, and to provide accurate information to the field regarding implementation and regulations.
• Coordinate with relevant departments for identification, hiring, and supervision of national staff and consultants for project and field offices.
• Coordinate with the project teams for the preparation of program budgets spending plans and work plans.
• Analyze project expenditures against budget and coordinate with relevant department/staff on invoicing of clients.
• Analyze work plans against project deliverables.
• Ensure adherence and compliance to IRC and donor policies and procedures.
• Participate in, coordinate, and/or lead program development and proposal preparation efforts, as
• Needed and attend all scheduled meetings.
• Other duties, as assigned.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: POC chair

Position directly supervises: None.

Other Internal and/or external contacts: With IRC sector managers, project teams, and implementing partners

Job Requirements:

Education:

Master’s degree in social sciences, Project Management, or any other relevant subject. The higher degree can be in lieu of experience and vice versa.

Work Experience:

4 - 5 years of experience in relief/development projects working in diverse teams; and operations of district offices. Experience of working in a large complex organization, including preferably at least three (03) years of working within an international NGO.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

Strong coordination and communication skills with the ability to manage information and present it in reports in the English language (report writing and presentations).

Team player and has experience of managing field team(s)

Respectful, flexible and eager to learn.

Language Skills:

• Fluent in English and Urdu 
• Work Environment:
• Works well in teams, is flexible, respectful and able to handle pressure well and manage competing priorities.
• The IRC Core Values and Commitments.
• The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality. 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 Anti-Retaliation, and Combating Trafficking in Persons.
• IRC is committed to ensuring that IRC staff is suitable to work with children and have the knowledge s/he need to uphold and abide by the IRC’s Child Safeguarding Policy.
• Level of interaction with children: Less frequent direct contact with children
• RC ensures that its staff must actively practice the roles and responsibilities related to client responsiveness, and accountability to people in affected communities and must have competencies to solicits and listen to feedback and other’s perspectives, respond to feedback with maturity and
• sensitivity and takes appropriate decisions and makes changes to behavior or actions in response to feedback.
• IRC recognizes that gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of our organizational mission. As such, IRC is committed to the promotion of gender equality in all aspects of our operations and programs.
• Our organizational policies, procedures, and actions demonstrate this commitment.