Child Protection and Education Coordinator

Background/IRC Summary

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a leading nonsectarian, nongovernmental international relief and development organization working with people and communities affected by conflicts around the world with operations in 42 countries.

Founded in 1933, the IRC's mission is to provide emergency relief, post-conflict development and resettlement services, to work for the protection of human rights and to advocate for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. We work to restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from Harm to Home.

The IRC opened its Burundi office in 1996, responding to the urgent needs of internally displaced people, focusing on water sanitation, environmental health programming, and protection for vulnerable children. With the end of the Burundian civil war in 2006 and the ensuing return of Burundian refugees, the IRC took a first step towards post conflict reconstruction programs.

Today, IRC Burundi has a vibrant post-conflict program encompassing prevention and response to gender based violence, child protection as well as access to rights and good governance. At present there is a particularly strong and dynamic child protection program consisting of support to unaccompanied minors and separated children, setting up child protection community based mechanisms, providing child protection assistance to Congolese refugee children, deinstitutionalizing of children currently living in residential centers and improving nurturing parenting skills. In response to the current crisis, the nature of IRC's child protection programming is evolving in 2016 to respond to urgent child protection needs including family tracing and reconciliation, psychosocial support, direct case management, providing safe and learning healing environments. The IRC has its main office in Bujumbura, serving not only as headquarters but also the base for programs in Bujumbura Rural. Field offices are located in Makamba, Muyinga and Ruyigi.

Job Overview/Summary

The Child Protection and Education (CP&E) Coordinator is a key actor in the national coordination regarding child protection in development and emergency situations. The CP&E Coordinator is expected to assure that IRC Burundi maintains its current position as a leader in child protection and continues to develop new opportunities in response to the current crisis, both in Child Protection and Education.

The CP&E Coordinator provides overall strategic direction and vision for the extensive child protection and education program portfolio. In addition to overseeing the implementation of the activities listed above, the position plays an active role in the general strategic leadership of the country program. The position also serves as a representative of the CP&E program at various levels including the national and local government, international and local NGO partners, UN organizations and other strategic partnerships. The position reports to the Deputy Director for Program (DDP).

Major Responsibilities

Technical Quality & Program Strategy Development

• Design a strategy for the CP&E portfolio in Burundi based on the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) and align it with the Outcomes & Evidence Framework (OEF) and the relevant theories of change (ToC)
• Lead the continued revision of the strategy in coordination with the CP&E technical unit and the DDP
• Provide technical and management support to all Child Protection and Education programming in Burundi in accordance with best practice and IRC policy including new types of emergency interventions
• Assess the appropriateness of different programming options, additions, adaptation and ensure implementation modalities best respond the needs and context
• Liaise with relevant technical advisors within the technical unit to ensure relevant support, tools and resources are being provided and integrated into programming

Representation & Partnership

• Form strong relationships with relevant Ministry officials, developing and maintaining the IRC as a key actor in child protection and education interventions and advocacy at the national level
• Develop, maintain and/or initiate partnerships with community based organizations, NGOs, UN agencies and government ministries to support Child Protection and Education programming
• Represent the IRC at program-related coordination meetings, ensuring proper dissemination of information among relevant stakeholders
• Support key staff to establish and/or maintain coordination mechanisms at provincial level; support transfer of these responsibilities to relevant government bodies

Program Management and Business Development

• Coordinate and support Child Protection and Education project components within the IRC Burundi
• Strengthen coordination with IRC Child Protection and Education counterparts; improve information sharing and programming
• Identify new funding opportunities and develop proposals in line with the SAP and OEF
• Ensure technical quality of proposals and reporting
• Develop and maintain a monitoring and evaluation plan, including the systematic collection and analysis of data, in collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
• Ensure that Child Protection Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Action are used and respected
• Develop synergies with other programming areas as well as coordinate with various technical support units to ensure quality programming

HR Management

• Lead the CP&E team and directly supervise and support project managers
• Participate in recruiting, training and mentorship of CP&E staff
• Ensure that CP&E staff have regular performance evaluations and receive ongoing feedback
• Develop a capacity-building plan for CP&E staff and actively seek out formal and informal training opportunities for staff

Budget, Administrative and Grants Management

• Ensure Child Protection and Education grants are implemented according to donor regulations and guidelines
• Ensure budget development, management and compliance
• Review Budget vs. Actual (BvA) reports, providing feedback as necessary; oversee development of spending plans
• In collaboration with the M&E team, supervise the development of relevant M&E systems and ensure regular follow-up on relevant data to feed into on-going review of project cycle and decision-making for programming
• Ensure Child Protection and Education staff and partners understand and respect the IRC Way regarding sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment and financial misappropriation and IRC Child Safeguarding Policy
• Ensure high quality IRC and donor reports on grant activities, indicators and achievements

Other

• Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team; promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with community leaders and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs

Job Requirements

Education

• Master's degree in related field and demonstrated expertise in related field protection, social work, education, or community work
• Academic experience in research preferred

Work Experience

• At least five years' experience in development or emergency settings implementing Child Protection programs
• At least three years' experience in development or emergency settings implementing Education programs preferred
• Personnel management experience, including capacity development and team building
• Experience in an emergency or post-conflict context preferred
• Prior experience working in emergency settings or insecure environments ; for INGOs and in East Africa/Great Lakes region a plus
• Experience in planning, monitoring and evaluation of programming

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies

• Technical skills in appropriate child protection, education programming adapted to different contexts (emergency, recovery, development)
• Understanding of how to support the transition from direct service delivery to working in partnership with local actors (government ministries, civil society organizations, etc.)
• Ability to work well both within a team and independently in a challenging, fast-paced multicultural environment
• Capability of applying skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct implementation, advisory functions, training and the transfer of technical knowledge and management skills to others
• Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external parties
• Strong communication and inter-personal skills
• Proven strong report and proposal writing skills
• Excellent computer skills in programs such as: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Good spirit working within a team
• Willingness and ability to spend 50% time in field sites

Language Skills

• Ability to speak, read and write French and English to a fluent level (native English- or French-speaker preferred)
• Ability to speak Kirundi/Kinyarwanda and/or Swahili a plus

Working Environment and Security Situation

• The Child Protection and Education Coordinator will be based in Burundi's capital Bujumbura.
• Shared housing and a vehicle (after office hours) are provided by IRC.
• The position requires significant travel to field sites. (Guest)Housing is provided by IRC in the field.
• The security situation is currently volatile with sporadic violence related to the political crisis and petty crime.
• Should the situation deteriorate IRC might impose a curfew for certain hours.

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.

HOW TO APPLY:

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