Côte d’Ivoire’s civil conflict between 2003 and 2011 was characterized by periods of intense violence followed by relative calm. Initially brought about by the collapse of prices in the vital cocoa industry, the conflict was fueled by issues of national identity, ethnic allegiance, and land ownership. This resulted in the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of people (IDPs), profound social disintegration, and the decay of basic community infrastructure such as health centers, water points, and schools.
IRC had a brief presence in south-west Côte d'Ivoire in the late 1990s to respond to the needs of Liberian refugees. It then re-opened its office in Abidjan in 2003 to respond to the humanitarian needs of IDPs brought about by the civil conflict, as well as to address a new wave of Liberian refugees. Currently, IRC conducts programming in the field sites of Man, Korhogo and Yamoussoukro, as well as in its Abidjan HQ office in the following Sectors: Gender Based Violence, Health, Child & Youth Protection & Development (CYPD), Economic Recovery and Development, reaching approximately 2 million beneficiaries.
The goal of IRC Côte d’Ivoire is to consolidate its post conflict development program through increased partnerships and advocacy aiming to achieve quality, impact and sustainability.
SCOPE OF WORK
IRC is implementing a Women's Protection and Empowerment Program (WPE), which includes response to and prevention of violence against women and girls as well as capacity building of partners and community structures on gender-based violence concepts.
The IRC has made a long term commitment to supporting gender equality across its programs and operations and to promote equitable opportunities and outcomes for all staff and clients.
This position is responsible to provide strategic leadership to dedicated WPE program and WPE components, to implement the OEF strategy, as well as support Gender Equality initiatives.
As a senior member of the program country team, the WPE Coordinator will have overall responsibility of implementing IRC’s WPE strategy for Côte d’Ivoire. This strategy outlines main areas of current program focus including 1) GBV response through case management and psychosocial support, also for adolescent girls 2) prevention, including engaging men and boys 3) training and capacity building of partners, 4) economic and social empowerment (EA$E).
He / She will also be responsible for (e) ensuring the presence and potential leadership role of IRC in the protection sector by attending relevant working group meetings, networking with state actors and NGOs in the GBV sector.
He/she will work closely with other sectors (CYPD / Child Protection, Economic Wellbeing and Health) to ensure that gender and GBV principles (GBV mainstreaming) are integrated into other sectors and that linkages between WPE and other program sectors are working.
The WPE Coordinator is also responsible for coordinating the office's efforts to achieve the IRC gender equality goals as well as initiatives related to the safeguarding of IRC staff and clients. She/he will work with had of departments, program manager and, gender champions to ensure gender mainstreaming in the IRC Cote d’Ivoire operations and programs.
This position is based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and reports to the Deputy Director, Programs and will require frequent travel to field offices.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:
•Design, Development and Management of the WPE Program.
•Develop country strategies in line with SAP.
•Direct Supervision and management of WPE team in close collaboration with DDP and field coordinators.
•Maintain strong relations and collaboration with other sectors namely CYPD / child protection, Health and economic recovery and development.
•Follow up on the implementation of IRC's gender action plan at the country office.
•Coordinate gender champion initiatives and overseeing safeguarding lead.
•Provide technical support to program teams for gender mainstreaming and implementation of Good and Great Standards gender practices.
1) Program quality / implementation
•The WPE Coordinator is responsible for the overarching coordination of WPE programs/components in Cote d’Ivoire in line with the IRC Country Strategic Action Plan within IRC international priorities, frameworks and policies.
•Lead and oversee planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of WPE programs and activities.
•Provide technical guidance from the outset of business development to implementation phases of project life cycles.
•Provide clear technical support, supervisory guidance, training and mentoring to all WPE programs, activities and teams in Côte d’Ivoire and in close coordination with Health, Child and Youth Protection and Development (CYPD), Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) Coordinators, the Deputy Director Programs as well as the Country Director (CD) to ensure consistent, harmonized and quality program design and implementation across project sites and improved integration between WPE and other IRC programs.
•Develop key technical program tools. Review and adapt existing IRC technical training materials. Develop training materials as needed to support the introduction of new programming approaches.
•Liaise regularly with the Field Coordinators, and the HQ WPE Technical Unit to provide updates on the program, discuss emerging challenges, and collaborate on the design of new programs or changes to existing programs.
•Ensure regular communication with WPE and Gender Technical Unit to integrate the appropriate priorities of the Technical Unit into program design.
•Act as a key technical facilitator and resource person for internal and external IRC trainings and workshops. Provide training to program staff and partner as needed.
2) Budget and Grant Management
•Participate in internal budget vs. actuals (BvA) meetings and also with partners to ensure that grant(s) is on track, and all under/over spent are handled with proper planning.
•Work closely with finance and grants teams to develop budget notes for all partners, and for IRC’s direct implementation.
•Collaborate with Grants department to ensure that programs are implemented according to donor guidelines and reporting requirements are met.
•Responsible for the overall implementation of the current WPE grants in accordance with donor agreements and IRC policies and procedures.
•Ensure that all internal and external reporting requirements are met and that reports are of high quality and submitted on time.
•Identify, in coordination with the grant Coordinator, potential partners for future GBV prevention and response opportunities.
3) Sector Strategy and Program Development
•Expand the WPE program portfolio.
•In line with the Country Strategic Action Plan (SAP), actively seek and develop solicited/unsolicited proposals that are either sector standalone or multi sectorial.
•Ensure coherence in program strategy and implementation across sites and programs.
•Ensure the implementation of the WPE related SAP action plan.
•Work with program teams to develop new and update existing program components of the WPE sector strategy, to inform on-going opportunities for programming and to strengthen the linkages between WPE and other IRC program sectors (Health, Children & Youth Protection & Development, Economic Recovery and Development).
•Participate in proposal writing and other business development opportunities as needed and inform program costing exercises.
•Provide technical guidance to other Gender Equality Initiatives (Gender audits, gender analysis training, etc.).
•Participate in cross-sectoral assessments and planning, as appropriate, and provide advice to the project strategy of other sectors to maximize the safety of women and girls as well as meeting their specific needs.
4) Representation & Advocacy
•Maintain strong relationships with relevant government partners involved in WPE activities.
•Develop and maintain strong relationships with donors and potential donors in Côte d’Ivoire.
•Ensure WPE visibility and represent IRC WPE in GBV meetings, protection cluster meetings and other relevant meetings and task forces at provincial and national levels.
•Maintain effective relationship with active WPE/GBV actors in the country for effective and improved coordination and programming.
•Regularly attend GBV sub-cluster meetings at appropriate levels to feed into IRC priorities in the field.
•Identify advocacy opportunities in collaboration with DDP and based on information from the field.
5) Staff Supervision & Development
•Directly supervise WPE team and technically supervise other programs GBV staff
•Provide on-the-job training and coaching to the WPE team to promote holistic program approaches and strategies.
•Oversee the development of staff technical capacity building plans and ensure staffs receive training accordingly.
•Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
•Assist the staff in identifying professional development needs and opportunities.
•Work with the staff to ensure performance objectives are regularly reviewed and met.
•Provide continuous performance feedback to staff; identify performance issues and work with staff and Human Resources to document and address issues in a timely manner.
•Adhere to and act in accordance with IRC global HR policies and procedures - Promote IRC Way.
6) Monitoring, Evaluation, Quality assurance and Reporting
•Maintain an effective monitoring, evaluation and planning system.
•Responsible for all internal and external programmatic reporting, including donors reports.
•Ensure IRC and international quality standards for humanitarian action are fulfilled throughout the project management cycle.
•Provide technical support in WPE to the team under direct responsibility and the overall mission.
•Carry out regular field monitoring visits to assess progress and identify technical quality and/or other implementation problems, provide solutions and implement necessary modifications.
•Ensure that GBVIMS is up and running and ensure the quality of data collection and analysis and that succinct and accurate reports are produced and used to inform programming and contribute to its improvement.
•Ensure that gender, protection and environmental impact are mainstreamed in all programming under direct responsibility.
7) Professional Standards
•Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor to develop WPE programs.
•All IRC staff are required to adhere to the IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct and the IRC country employment policies.
IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles set out in IRC Way - Standards of Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service and Accountability. Consistent with these values, IRC applies policies on protecting beneficiaries from exploitation and abuse, protecting children, combating workplace harassment, fiscal integrity and anti-retaliation.
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Qualifications
Education: Advanced degree in International Development, Social Work, Women’s Studies, or other related field
Work Experience:
•Minimum 5 years professional experience developing, managing, and evaluating GBV prevention and response/ WPE programs in post-conflict and development contexts.
Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:
•Strong and demonstrated commitment to women’s empowerment and Gender equality;
•Thorough understanding of best practices and evidence-based strategies in GBV response (case management and psychosocial support), socio-economic empowerment, adolescent girls’ empowerment, gender transformative approaches, and GBV primary prevention and risk reduction;
•Experience implementing GBV response and prevention programs in collaboration with local partners and providing direct technical support to local organizations and public partners;
•Experience in gender mainstreaming in operations and programs;Strong project planning and organizational skills;
•Previous experience managing programs financed through one or more of the following donors, EuropeAid, USAID, World Bank, or private foundations, with strong program/technical and budget management skills;
•Strong planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation skills;
•Successful experience in developing new programs in line with strategic goals;
•Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and advocacy with external parties;
•Experience managing, supervising, coaching and mentoring staff;
•Proven ability to work well in and promote teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure with professional grace;
•Proven experience of close collaboration or programme co-piloted with the Government counterpart.
IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability. IRC is an equal opportunity employer.
Reducing gender gaps: INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE is committed to closing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide women with an environment conducive to participation in our workforce, including flexible hours (where possible), maternity leave, transportation support and gender safety protocols.
This vacancy is archived.