Democratic Republic of the Congo: In-Country Bid Officer

IRC is soliciting applications from qualified candidates for support in preparation of a bid for a potential governance program to be funded by DFID.

The In-Country Bid Officer will assist in all bid management activities by working closely with IRC DRC-based staff and identified partners to develop the program approach. S/he will be primarily reporting to the CASS Bid Team Leader and secondarily report to the DRC Governance Director. This position will also work in close collaboration with the Deputy Director of Grants and Program Support.

Interested and qualified candidates who fulfill the following qualification criteria can send their CV and cover letter (max 1 page) tothomas.legois@rescue.org

Closing Date: 25 April 2016

BACKGROUND

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work today in more than 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, the IRC helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. In order to achieve this mission, the IRC is working to improve the safety, health, education, economic well-being and power of people in crisis-affected places, but particularly the most vulnerable and marginalized, so that we can narrow the stark inequalities that exist, including between men and women, and boys and girls.

The IRC’s governance programming is comprised of key interventions contributing to the Power of the people we serve, as well as to the governance aspects of service delivery that contribute to people’s safety, health, education and economic wellbeing outcomes. With a focus on collective action and systems strengthening, our work helps those we support have a greater degree of influence over the decisions that affect them collectively, as well as have access to effective and responsive services. These interventions are typically implemented by working with people and their leaders, whether community groups, civil society organizations, service providers or governments. Governance programs will typically focus on:

• Empowering people affected by conflict to solve their own problems;
• Ensuring that the needs of all groups, regardless of gender, age or ethnicity, are taken into account within local decision-making processes, and that people understand and trust the processes by which decisions are made;
• Working to ensure that people in positions of power at community and government levels recognise that all members of society have equal rights that must be respected and realised;
• Supporting the capacity and systems of state and non-state actors to provide basic services to the people we serve.

IRC is also one of the largest providers of relief and development assistance in the Democratic Republic of Congo with an annual budget of approximately US$ 70 million and over 900 staff. In seven of DRC’s provinces, IRC implements programs directly or through partners in the sectors of health, governance & community development, women’s protection & empowerment, education, and emergency response through a network of nine field office and a range of institutional and community partnerships.

PROGRAMME SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

IRC is planning to apply for funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to deliver component 1 of DFID’**Collective Action & Systems Strengthening (CASS).**

Collective Action & Systems Strengthening (CASS) is a seven year governance programme inclusive of three components:

• Component 1: Collective Action (CA): ‘the demand side’;
• Component 2: Systems Strengthening (SS): ‘the supply side’;
• Evaluation.

The intended Impact is “ The Congolese state is increasingly capable, accountable and responsive to the expressed demands of Congolese citizens .”

The expected Outputs are:

• Poor men and women are increasingly empowered to hold a legitimate Congolese state to account (Component 1);
• The policy development, planning and execution capability of the Congolese public administration is strengthened (Component 2);
• DFID DRC’s development portfolio is fully integrated, nationally, provincially and locally.

DFID defines CASS as a form of successor to six DFID governance programmes active in DRC between 2007 and today, among which the Tuungane Community Driven Development, which the IRC, in partnership with CARE, has been implementing to date.

JOB FUNCTIONS

The Partnership Liaison Officer will be responsible for:

• Support the CASS Bid Team Leader in-country on all bid management activities, for example: monitoring and updating the bid work plan; organizing regular team updates; coordinating timely inputs and contributions from DRC-based team members as per bid work plan; identifying and flagging critical paths; log and follow up agreed action points;
• Coordinate with DRC based partners, particularly local organizations, to complete partnership agreements and manage their contributions to the proposal process as necessary;
• Plan and organize in country proposal workshops and meetings;
• Carry out all DRC logistical and administrative tasks to ensure an effective proposal development process.

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

Essential

• A proven and successful track record that features at least two years of previous work with Congolese civil society organizations;
• A thorough understanding of the geographical and operational context in DRC, and of operational issues;
• Knowledge of business development and proposal development processes in particular;
• Excellent project management and coordination skills;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, cross-cultural communication and ease in managing a multi -ethnic team;
• Experience and ability to anticipate operational issues and to coordinate large and varied workload, under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Fluency in English and French (spoken and written); and
• Excellent IT skills (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint).

Desirable

• Knowledge of the context of decentralization in DRC as well as key governance problems affecting local governments and basic service delivery in health, education or water, among others is a plus; and
• Congolese nationals or long-term residents are particularly encouraged to apply.

http://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm03/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=13577