Women's Protection & Empowerment Coordinator

Deadline: 15 March 2016

Location: Sierra Leone

Organization: International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC has worked in Sierra Leone since 1999.  The IRC contributed to the country’s recovery from the war and to its development gains.  The IRC was at the forefront of Sierra Leone’s fight against Ebola and is now committed to the re-strengthening of the country as the outbreak recedes.    The IRC currently programs across three core sectors 1) Health 2) Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE), and 3) Education, and is the lead agency in three consortiums – the Ebola Response Consortium, Protection and Education.

Program Summary

The IRC’s Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) program in Sierra Leone began in 2001 working to promote and protection the rights of women and girls. Over the last 8 years, the IRC has implemented its Women and Girls Rebuilding Nations (WGRN) program operating in Kenema, Kono, Kailahun and Freetown from 2007 – 2015, with the aim of enabling women and girls to equally contribute to and access the benefits of reconstruction and peace in Sierra Leone, free from sexual and physical violence. The IRC’s current impact evaluation of this program has shown the huge transformations and changes that have occurred in the lives of women, girls and their communities.  Similarly, the WPE program played a critical advocacy and organizing role in getting the country’s Gender and Sexual Offenses Acts passed.

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 – 2019. Women and girls’ safety, significance and solidarity have emerged as the benchmarks for both their protection and empowerment.  The new program focuses on achieving these benchmarks through five cross-cutting themes: 

1. adolescent girls protection & empowerment; 
2. women and girls leadership, voice, advocacy and movement building; 
3. education and economic empowerment; 
4. health, well-being and psychosocial support (PSS); and 
5. access to justice. 

The WPE Coordinator will lead the coordination and strategic and technical development of this plan This WPE Coordinator will be responsible to lead high quality program implementation and provide technical support, capacity building and guidance to the IRC’s WPE staff and partners including: Government Ministries and departments; women and girl-focused national Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other NGOs; grassroots, community-based women’s groups; and international organisations. The WPE Coordinator will also be the technicalviolence against women and girls (VAWG) /GBV lead in the Protection Consortium with six other international NGOs covering 8 districts of Sierra Leone.

Areas of Responsibility

Technical Oversight and Support

Provide technical support and guidance on all programming to a range of partners, stakeholders and the WPE team working in the communities, on the following broad areas:

• Safe spaces - spaces for women and girls to find support, learn, self-organise and develop their activism.
• Strengthening women and girls’ solidarity, network and movement building , enabling them to use their individual and collective power to confront violence, demand social justice, and transform their lives.
• Enhancing women and girls leadership, voice and participation , especially rural women and girls; opening up opportunities and supporting them to take part in, and lead on, joint advocacy addressing issues that affect their lives.
• Opening up and nurturing in/formal education, learning, and social and economic empowerment initiatives opportunities for women and girls that are tied to activities that aim to reduce and prevent violence, specifically IPV.
• Support communities to strengthen their engagement on protection and violence prevention and to enhance respect and value for women and girls human rights and gender equality.
• Provide technical and management support to key national organisation partner, the Rainbo Initiative and its three Rainbo Centres (national rape crisis and sexual assault centres providing CCSAS, counselling and referrals).
• Provide technical support and guidance on VAWG/GBV and WPE to other IRC led Health and Education initiatives.
• Program Management and Business Development
• Coordinate and support all WPE programs and components within IRC Sierra Leone to ensure timely, effective and quality activity set-up, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation and learning.
• Provide leadership on program development and strategic planning; and actively pursue new program funding opportunities in-line with the program framework and the country program’s strategic outcomes.
• Identify gaps in the WPE programs and work with the team to develop innovative approaches and mechanisms to address them.
• Conduct regular field visits to assess program quality and progress toward objectives and facilitate collective problem solving with staff and other stakeholders to address challenges identified.
• Develop and maintain a monitoring & evaluation plan and framework for current and new WPE programming, ensuring ethical and systematic processes of data collection, analysis and information sharing.
• Ensure programs and activities are locally led and owned by the individuals and communities who the IRC serve.
• Actively identify, build and promote partnerships with INGOs, UN agencies, local and national women’s groups, organisations and networks working on VAWG and WPE issues, with the objective of facilitating strong coordination and collaboration.
• Proactively work with other IRC programs in Health and Education to identify areas and opportunities for collaboration, design integrated proposals, and collectively implement projects that multiply positive outcomes for the people we serve.

Finance, Budget and Grant Management

• Overall responsible for WPE program budgets. Monitor budget spending in line with the spending plans, budget vs actual analyses, and develop remedial plans where necessary to ensure budgets are optimally utilized.
• Work with the field teams in the development of WPE program budgets, cash projections and spending plans and any other grants as may be required, and to ensure diligence in grants utilization.
• Work with the Grants Manager to ensure all WPE grants are in compliance with donor guidelines and contracts/ agreements including budget flexibility and reporting requirements.
• Ensure high-quality and timeliness of IRC and donor reports on activities, indicators and achievements.

HR Management and National Staff Capacity Building

Supervise and provide ongoing support, capacity development and mentoring to the national Senior WPE Managers, supporting them to do the same with the national WPE Managers they supervise, including (but not limited to):

• Budgeting and grants management.
• Project and HR management.
• Leadership, delegation, decision-making, problem solving, strategic planning, and conflict management.
• Technical performance management support (setting of objectives, appraisals and professional development action plans and follow up).
• Develop and facilitate practical, participatory “learning by doing” workshops and capacity development initiatives for the WPE team, designed around areas collectively identified by the team, such as:  team and solidarity building; project management; technical VAWG/WPE practice; developing ideas and programs; PSS and staff care and well-being.
• When required, lead on the recruitment of new WPE program staff, consultants or other external support, in coordination with HR.
• Ensure effective team communication and support between team members based in Freetown and the three field sites, including opportunities for debriefing and staff well-being and care.

Coordination, Representation and Advocacy

• Proactively build strong working alliances with other international and national actors/organisations working on VAWG-related advocacy and women’s empowerment in Sierra Leone.
• Proactively develop and maintain effective working relationships with other key stakeholders, including donors, government actors, UN agencies (including UNFPA, UN Women), international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors; maintaining IRC as a key contributor to addressing VAWG and WPE issues in Sierra Leone.
• Actively participate in national level coordination meetings and working groups.

Requirements

• Advanced degree in social sciences, humanities, human rights, gender, or other relevant field or the equivalent in professional work.
• Five years’ experience in gender or GBV/VAWG programming, with a specific focus on women and girls.
• Demonstrated coordination, networking and relationship building skills with key partners including government, donors, INGOs, national and local organisations, UN agencies.
• Demonstrated experience in successfully leading, building and strengthening a program team of 20 + staff in a dynamic, challenging and changing context.
• Demonstrated experience in supervising, mentoring and building capacity of national staff.
• Strong experience, knowledge and skills in participatory methods, community development and partnership.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating practical workshops and educating others on issues including - violence against women and girls, GBV, adolescent girls protection and empowerment, GBV response and service provision, women’s networking and movement building, leadership, advocacy, psychosocial support.
• Strong ability to respect differences of culture, opinion and lived experiences while upholding rights-based principles and women’s protection and empowerment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, positive and professional attitude, ability to lead and work well in a team setting and with multiple partners.
• Strengths in listening, empathy, flexibility, and creativity.
• Fluency in English Language - essential. Knowledge of Krio or other Sierra Leone languages will be 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, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC leading the way from harm to home. IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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.

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