The IRC’s Emergencies & Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) oversees IRC’s global acute emergency preparedness and response activities. The mission of the EHAU is to expand and improve IRC’s ability to help affected communities survive in acute emergencies and hard to reach contexts by investing in people, systems, and solutions to complex humanitarian challenges. The EHAU team achieves this mission through ongoing rigorous risk analysis, investing in capacity strengthening of frontline humanitarians, partnership with local actors, offering collaborative support and technical assistance to teams working in emergencies and hard to reach places, and deploying and supporting world class emergency response staff as they help people affected by acute crisis situations.
At-work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. IRC reaches over a million children annually with education and child protection programs in 25 countries around the world. We ensure that even the hardest to reach children in the most challenging places are able to go to school and thrive. In the midst of conflict and disaster, education is one of the first things parents and children say they need. Education is a human right. It also helps keep children safe and gives them the skills needed to be resilient, do well now, and later in life. Education offers a glimmer of hope. The IRC’s educational interventions strive to help children and youth gain valuable skills and knowledge that will increase their opportunities and life chances and contribute to their well-being and livelihood. The IRC supports formal and non-formal learning activities that lead to tangible learning outcomes in literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional learning, and marketable skills and promotes the protection and psychosocial well-being of conflict-affected children and youth.
Job Overview/Summary:
The IRC’s Global Surge Team (GST) is a roster of esteemed and highly qualified humanitarian professionals who deploy on short notice to non-emergency and emergency contexts to support the IRC’s mission. Members of the GST provide specialist support where talent is most needed for short-term deployments of up to three months. The GST is a flexible employment opportunity for staff, requiring members to be available for deployments only 50% of the year (with opportunities for additional deployments if the incumbent is interested). Members of the GST that focus on emergency responses must be prepared to be deployed within 72 hours, as needs arise.
Major Responsibilities:
Emergency Response
•Ensure high quality and timely assessments of Education in Emergency needs in large scale/complex emergences and provide prioritized recommendations for Education interventions to the Emergency Unit ERT Country Director.
•Design creative, context and client -responsive Education program responses and strategy in line with the Education unit’s EiE approach and in collaboration with local partners/actors where relevant.
•Inter-agency representation including education cluster and other spaces.
•Understanding and knowledge of how to apply global EIE guidelines, global resources and materials
•Lead the rapid start-up (or scale up where needed) and management of Education in Emergencies interventions focused on either school aged or preschool aged children in acute crises, including recruitment and onboarding, technical supervision and coaching, procurement, financial monitoring, and proactive transition and handover planning.
•Design and implement appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems ensuring consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality.
•Work closely with the IRC’s Emergency Protection, health and economic recovery and development units to promote cross sector collaboration in line with client needs and priorities.
•Oversee the delivery of high-quality technical proposals and reports, in line with donor requirements. This includes:
oWork in close collaboration with IRC grants and finance staff to finalize proposals and respond to any requests for additional information;
oManage grant/program implementation including staff recruitment and training, work plan development, procurement and inventory planning, and budget management; and
oEnsure consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality.
•Ensure – through program design and practice, team capacity and behavior – that children, teachers and other education stakeholders and their caregivers participate in the design and implementation of IRC programs, and that their access to services and programs is meaningful and safe.
•Comply with and ensure that new Education staff understand the IRC Code of Conduct and policies related to Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Child Safeguarding. This includes ensuring that staff and communities have knowledge of and safe, confidential access to reporting mechanisms and support services.
•Coordinate and liaise with local/regional education authorities, NGOs, private sector actors, coordination mechanisms, and other international partners including UN agencies on all education program activities.
•Coordinate with internal and external actors, particularly linking as relevant to health and nutrition services and cash programming targeting children, teachers and caregivers.
•Support media and communications activities as requested by the ERT Country Director/CD/in-county emergency lead.
•Provide a comprehensive handover to successor, including ensuring transfer of all related documentation, program monitoring data and staff performance information.
Key Working Relationships:
Position reports to: Varies by deployment and supported by the Senior Technical Advisor for Education in Emergencies
Position directly supervises: Varies by deployment
Job Requirements:
• Ability to commit to deployment within 72 hours of notification of assignment for up to 12 weeks.
•At least five years of experience developing and managing Education programming in humanitarian contexts, including demonstrated experience with rapid program start up in acute emergencies.
•Demonstrated ability to work effectively with agencies, local governments and community leaders and develop multi-stakeholder support for humanitarian priorities and advocacy initiatives.
•Demonstrated ability to identify creative and appropriate solutions for the populations affected by crisis, considering factors including the context and an individual client's developmental stage, gender and status.
•Strong program planning, fiscal management, organizational and communication skills.
•Supervision and training experience, specific experience training for local teams and local partners an asset.
•Experience implementing programs for large public and private donors.
•Strong report and proposal writing experience.
•Prior experience in representation and coordination.
•French, Spanish and/or Arabic language skills are an advantage.
