Protection Coordinator

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 or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 20 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.

IRC has been working in Pakistan for over 40 years, and manages and delivers large, complex programs to meet the needs in health, education, protection, WASH, and livelihoods for displaced, poor, and disaster-affected communities. IRC works in partnership with local government and non-governmental organizations and is currently present in four provinces including Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the newly Merged Districts of KP.

Job Overview:

The Protection Coordinator leads the IRC’s efforts to create and manage a robust protection team able to meet safety and protection needs of people affected by conflict, displacement, and reducing risk and responding to cases of violence, coercion and deprivation, as well as mainstreaming protection throughout the IRC and partners’ response in Pakistan. This position holder should predominantly focus on Protection (women and child), protection case management, Rule of Law programming includes Community Based Protection, access to justice and protection mainstreaming. In addition, work closely with other protection coordinators in the team to ensure the integration among 3 streams of violence prevention and response (VPR). Protection is a signature Outcome of the IRC’s strategy and the Protection Coordinator will set and manage a clear direction, build the capacity of the team, drive forward implementation and ensure qualitative data is produced and analyzed effectively.

Major Responsibilities:

Technical leadership in program design, delivery and Strategy

• Provide strategic direction, leadership, and overall technical and management support to integrated protection programming in Pakistan, ensuring it is needs-based, context-appropriate and conflict-sensitive, responsive, coherent, collaborative, and operationally feasible.
• Proactively continue to grow the Pakistan Country Program’s protection portfolio through development of concept notes and proposals to existing and new donors, maintaining a coherent strategy across IRC’s areas of intervention.
• Ensuring and strengthening the integrated approach of Protection with Economic Wellbeing, Education, Health and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).
• Lead assessments and context-appropriate research aimed at generating a strong evidence base for IRC protection programming, as well as informing IRC advocacy.
• Support the greater sharing and use of research and learning within IRC’s program sectors, including by contributing to program development and design, to ensure interventions are responsive to needs and informed by a sound understanding of the environment(s).
• Responsible to ensure that programs meet stated objectives within the timeframe and on budget, with specific attention to ensuring quality interventions.
• Ensure that all new budgets accurately reflect program activities and required staffing levels required for quality program delivery.

Program Management

• Ensure projects’ delivery is of high technical quality, meet humanitarian and development standards, mainstream protection, with IRC’s Outcomes and Evidence Framework, and respond to client’s feedback.
• Liaise with relevant Technical Unit advisors to ensure relevant support, tools and resources are in place for country program
• Technical Lead to provide guidance and support on Protection & Rule of Law Programming including protection monitoring, protection case management, access to justice (legal aid programming), community based protection for refugees, displaced communities and other vulnerable segments of clients in current humanitarian and development context
• Capacity building of protection and PRoL field teams and partners on the protection concepts and develop appropriate tools and guidance with support of PRoL TA.
• Lead on the development of a Protection Integrated Work Plan to ensure the program reflects standards for best practices,  quality and modalities of integration, is context specific and need-appropriate.
• Ensure close alignment and coherence with IRC country, regional and global Strategic Action Plan (SAP)
• Proactively identify, assess, monitor and implement measures to reduce or mitigate risks that may impact program delivery, quality or compliance
• Promote joint work across all program outcomes i.e. education, environmental health, Economic Recovery and Development & Health  to enhance impact
• Develop of the internal Standard Operating Procedures for integrated protection programming and reporting
• Provide technical backstopping to partners through ongoing capacity building and field monitoring support.

Staff Capacity Development

• Support in recruitment planning of project teams for protection programming
• Coach, train, and mentor IRC and partner staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team, and providing professional development guidance.
• Supervise and mentor direct-report staff (if any), including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely performance feedback, and performance reviews.
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being.

Reporting

• Ensure that all internal and external reporting requirements are met, that reports are of a high quality and are submitted on time
• Ensure technical quality and accuracy of Protection program reports.
• Lead the compilation and analysis of protection monitoring information for sharing with partners and donors.
• Ensure that protection information is used effectively to advocate on important issues as well as longer term planning for target population

Internal/external Coordination and Representation

• Represent IRC in National Protection, GBV and Child Protection working groups
• Attend relevant coordination forums in country.
• Collaborate with INGO, NGO, governmental and other non-governmental stakeholders as and when required.
• Explore the potential of the IRC to address unmet needs of vulnerable groups in client communities within the parameters of the Strategic Action Plan and sector priorities.
• Ensure internal coordination with IRC country program, region and Head Quarter for effective information sharing and joint understanding of the program delivery and challenges
• Work closely with communication and MEAL departments to ensure the program data is accurate and used for  strategic positioning of Country Program

Key Working Relationships

Position Reports to:  Deputy Director Programs, Pakistan

Position directly supervises:  None,

Indirect Reporting: Protection project teams

Job Requirements:

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in social work, human rights, international law, social science or related field.
• Five to seven year experience implementing protection (including Child protection, women protection, protection and rule of law- PROL)  and demonstrable understanding of the relevance of international humanitarian law and human rights law to humanitarian action;
• Demonstrable knowledge of and commitment to Violence Prevention and Response Programming including women’s protection, empowerment and gender-based violence, Child Protection and Protection Rule of Law.
• Applied experience in case management both in Child Protection and/or Gender Based Violence
• Ability to manage up and across and to influence others to mainstream protection across units;
• Strong team and people leadership, management, organizational and development skills;
• Strong program and budget management skills including planning and reporting across multiple grants;
•    Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external parties;
•    Works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure effectively and productively;
•    Flexible to spend time in remote field locations where IRC deliver its programming
•    Fluent in spoken and written English

Others: Strong computer skills: must be competent in the use of Windows MS office programs (Word, Excel), email programs, etc.

Professional Standards

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the 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.

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, Equality 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 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 needs to uphold and abide by the IRC’s Child Safeguarding Policy.

Level of interaction with children: Less frequent direct contact with children

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.

Women candidates, minorities and persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.