Democratic Republic of the Congo: Senior Women's Protection and Empowerment Program Coordinator

BACKGROUND

Since 2002, the IRC DRC has been responding to violence against women and girls (VAWG) in North and South Kivu provinces, with bases in Goma and Bukavu. IRC's Women's Protection and Empowerment (WPE) program in the DRC seeks to increase the social, political and economic empowerment of women and girls, and prevent and respond to VAWG. The program aims to: 1) Improve survivors' access to and quality of essential health, psychosocial, and legal services; 2) Improve community support to women and girls affected by violence; 3) Improve women and girls' access to social and economic opportunities; 4) Promote the protection of women and girls through the application of and adherence to best practices and international standards.

The Senior WPE Program Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring that the WPE DRC program is implemented in accordance with work plans, logical frameworks, cooperative agreements, donor regulations, and IRC policies. S/he will ensure that the program delivers high quality work and solid results and will likewise represent IRC WPE to all internal and external key stakeholders as well as government officials and donors. S/he will lead program advocacy and will work closely with donors and practitioners to provide project updates, discuss strategies, obstacles, performance plans, and overall progress. S/he will also provide regular on-site monitoring visits and continuous support to the WPE teams in DRC to ensure that all interventions are technically sound, follow international best practices, and are appropriate in meeting the needs of survivors of violence and affected communities. This position will report to the Deputy Director of Programs for the DRC.

Responsibilities

Program Quality and Technical Oversight

• In collaboration with WPE program staff and the HQ Technical Advisor, oversee the quality of design, monitoring and evaluation of WPE programming in DRC, including independent evaluations of WPE programming in DRC and programming conducted through local partners; regular technical visits to program sites will be required to ensure program quality and cohesion across provinces.
• With the support of the HQ Technical Advisor, develop key technical program tools and develop/adapt existing IRC technical training materials as needed to support the introduction of new programming approaches.
• Identify technical assistance needs for WPE program staff and provide regular, appropriate on-the-job support and training.
• Act as a key technical facilitator and resource person for internal and external IRC trainings and workshops.
• Closely work with the WPE Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator as well as the Regional Measurement Action Coordinator to improve program monitoring and to generate evidence for improving program quality and influencing policy.
• With support from the HQ Technical Advisor and the Research, Evaluation, and Learning Unit, l ead all formal research and learning initiatives in DRC, ensure coherence with WPE programming in DRC, and lead communication with academic partners and dissemination of research results in DRC.

Sector Strategy and Program Development

• Lead the development of strategic work plans with clear objectives and achievement benchmarks, long-term and short-term priorities, implementation plans, financial projections and tools for evaluation.
• Lead new proposal development and program design, work with the Grants team to help identify new funding and business development opportunities for the WPE DRC program, and participate in proposal writing as needed and inform program costing exercises.
• Work with WPE DRC program staff to implement the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the DRC, including program alignment with relevant theories of change, as well as to develop new and update existing program components that align with the SAP priorities and the overall WPE country program strategy.
• Collaborate with and strengthen t he linkages between WPE and other IRC program areas (including Health, Education, Child Protection, Governance & Rights, and Protection & Rule of Law).
• Participate in inter-sectoral assessments and planning as required and provide guidance to other sectors' project strategy to maximize the safety of women and girls.

Program and Budget Management

• Oversee overall implementation of WPE DRC program, including financial and grants compliance to ensure the best use of resources by maintaining sound budgets, monitoring project expenses, providing appropriate budget projections, and ensuring timely submission of quality financial and narrative reports to donors.
• Ensure program management systems, including reporting, monitoring, budget management are in place and functioning.
• Manage sub-agreements with partners where needed and support provincial WPE Program Coordinators to ensure that all sub-grant projects are adequately monitored and are completed in a timely manner in accordance with all IRC and donor programmatic and financial protocols and regulations.

Coordination and Advocacy

• Represent WPE DRC program and the organization to external audiences regularly, including the dissemination of information about program achievements and lessons learned and contributions to advocacy and communication strategies and materials as needed.
• Represent the IRC to donors and address donor inquiries in relation to active grants and contracts.
• Develop and maintain solid cooperation with partner organizations and government officials where appropriate.
• Define and lead program advocacy strategies and activities and participate in coordination mechanisms in Kinshasa.

Human Resources

• Supervise directly the Senior WPE Research Manager and the WPE Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator, ensuring that ethical and sound data collection and information management systems are in-place to collate and analyze data for problem analysis, planning and advocacy.
• Provide regular technical feedback to provincial WPE Program Coordinators and Managers and contribute to their performance reviews as required.
• Assist with the recruitment of WPE management level staff as needed.
• Contribute to and foster the healthy functioning of the WPE program, research, and M&E teams across sites and provinces, including supporting team-building activities and monitoring issues surrounding staff well-being.
• Maintain open and constructive communication and relations with Provincial Directors as well as key support staff in Finance, Administration, and Operations departments.

Other

• Ensure regular communication with the WPE Technical Advisor at HQ and represent IRC DRC WPE's interests and input in Violence Prevention and Response (VPRU) technical unit policy initiatives.
• Assist with representation in the field during donor or HQ visits as necessary.
• Contribute to the preparation of program reports and other information as required by donors, the regional office and the VPRU Technical Unit.

REQUIREMENTS

• Advanced degree in public health, social work, public policy or another related field.
• At least five years of GBV/VAWG programming experience , including th ree years of international management experience in GBV/VAWG programming.
• Exceptional sector-specific technical skills and knowledge and demonstrated ability to design/develop technical materials and deliver trainings/workshops, including understanding of core GBV survivor care principles and ethical concerns surrounding the collection, management, and sharing of sensitive survivor data.
• Demonstrated skills and experience in complex program design and monitoring; strong analytical and strategic planning skills; experience developing and monitoring budgets, workplans and other program management tools.
• Demonstrated team management skills with medium or large-size teams; experience with remote team management a plus.
• Ability and interest to work with a diverse and multicultural team in a respectful and culturally appropriate manner; strong inter-personal communication skills.
• Fluency in both French and English, spoken and written.
• Experience with the development and management of research initiatives as well as information management system s and data analysis a plus.

SECURITY SITUATION/HOUSING

The Senior WPE Program Coordinator will be based in Kinshasa with regular travel (approximately 40% of the time) to South and North Kivu and other provinces where WPE projects are or will be implemented. Kinshasa is the capital of DRC and has a population of approximately 10 million people. The city is usually quiet and relatively safe. As with any large city in a developing country, crime and theft are common. The position is limited accompanied; the Senior WPE Program Coordinator will be provided individual housing.

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.

Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=a2F0cmluYW1pbGxlci40MzE3MC4zODMwQGlyYy5hcGxpdHJhay5jb20