BACKGROUND
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. 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.
Years of war in Syria have pushed millions from their homes and into poverty, and millions more have become refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and further afield. Equally complex is the emergency in Iraq, where waves of fighting and displacement have overwhelmed infrastructure and services and pushed communities to the brink. The economic, social, and health effects of these dual crises have changed the entire region. In the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq) IRC responds to displaced people’s acute and longer-term needs with integrated programs that improve health and safety, prioritize children’s education, foster economic wellbeing, and empower communities to regain control over their lives.
In December 2017, Sesame Workshop and the IRC were awarded the MacArthur Foundation’s inaugural 100&Change grant to make real progress toward solving a critical problem of our time. With the extraordinary investment of $100 million, our partnership will transform the language, early reading, math, and social-emotional skills of a generation of children ages 0-8 affected by the Syrian war. Focusing on children in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria over the next five years, the plan combines the depth of in-person services, reaching 1.5 million children, with the breadth of mass media, reaching 9.4 million children. For more information, please visit: http://refugee.sesameinternational.org/.
Reporting to the Regional Project Director of Sesame Seeds, the Deputy Project Director will provide oversight and support for all Country-led Sesame Seeds programming. The DPD will work closely with the ECD Technical Lead and the Research Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (RMEL) Technical Lead to ensure that content creation as well as RMEL goes hand-in-hand with program delivery to ensure sound implementation of high-quality ECD programming and content within the region. The DPD will work in close collaboration with the Deputy Director for Programs in each Country Program to ensure adequate support and oversight of all project sites.
The Deputy Project Director is responsible for two key objectives:
1.Provide guidance and oversight for ECD program design and field implementation in the region, ensuring that programs are responsive and of high quality, inclusive, evidence-based, cost-effective and scalable
2.Develop, oversee and maintain a coherent vision for implementation for the Program Coordinators and their teams
RESPONSIBILITIES
1.Strategic Leadership and Program Oversight
•Provide cohesive leadership to IRC’s ECD program teams in all countries, ensuring that priorities and opportunities identified are in line with and contribute to achievement of IRC’s objectives for the Sesame Seeds project.
•Provide guidance to the program teams regarding tools and strategies to ensure that programming is based on input from communities, a thorough understanding of the context, and technical best practices.
•Work with colleagues in country programs, region and HQ to identify funding opportunities and develop competitive, responsive proposals that meet internal standards, apply IRC’s global strategy and are donor compliant; meet with donors to discuss current and potential funding opportunities.
•Remain abreast of ongoing humanitarian response and funding trends in the region, and provide regular updates on these trends and analysis of how they may affect IRC programming.
2.Program Quality and Support
•Work in close collaboration with the ECD Technical Lead and IRC’s ECD Project Coordinators to support in content adaptation, testing, development and deployment
•Work in close collaboration with the ECD Technical Lead and country teams to ensure content and program models are aligned with local or national standards for early childhood development and pre-primary education
•Work in close collaboration with the ECD Technical Lead and internal and external technical experts to finalize guidance for gender equity standards and disability inclusion across ECD program models
•Analyze data from country implementation in collaboration with the RMEL Technical Lead to inform decisions and report, at a strategic level, different metrics of success in ECD
•Work in close collaboration with the ECD and RMEL Technical Leads to ensure research planning and implementation are aligned with IRC program parameters and operational dynamics, and that monitoring tools and processes optimize data collection and analysis efficiencies, where appropriate
3.Partnerships and Growth
•In coordination with the Regional Project Director and the ECD Technical Lead foster and maintain purposeful regional partnerships to improve the quality and reach of our programs and to reform ECD national policies
•Assist in the writing and development of proposals, including liaising with country teams on program design and delivery approaches
•Support the Regional Project Director to engage national and global stakeholders in strategic partnerships that support project advocacy and scaling goals
•Maintain strong relationships with internal units focused on business development
4.Staff Management and Human Resources
•Supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, establishing a supportive environment while emphasizing accountability, providing regular and timely constructive performance feedback, and leading documented semi-annual performance reviews.
•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.
•Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
•Work with regional HR staff to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies.
•Model and encourage active practice of the principles of the “IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct”.
•Maintain a healthy and empowering office environment that encourages open, honest and productive communication among IRC staff and with partner organizations.
•Maintain open communications with regional management staff, regional technical advisors, and HQ departmental staff.
Key Working Relationships:
•Position Reports to: Regional Project Director, Sesame Seeds
Position directly supervises : Integrated Early Childhood Development Coordinators – Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria
•Indirect Reporting: N/A
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
•Internal: IRC ECD and RMEL Technical Leads, IRC country program staff; other technical units within IRC (Research Learning and Evaluation, Health, Violence Prevention and Response, Economic Recovery and Development, Governance, Gender Equality)
•External: Senior Director, Education, Sesame Workshop; Managing Director, Sesame Workshop
Position Requirements:
•Master’s degree in Early Childhood Development, Education or related field
•At least 5 years of experience overseeing program design for large-scale programs focused on early childhood development or a related field
•Proven ability to provide high-quality technical assistance, guidance and coaching to staff and partners
•Knowledge of the early childhood development field including current and past research
•Experience using or managing staff who use user-centered design principles in content creation.
•Experience working in conflict and crisis settings, and knowledge of humanitarian programming
•Self-directed, able to independently set priorities and solve problems with minimal guidance
•Excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills
•Demonstrated ability to successfully work in a fast-paced environment, within and across departments/functions and develop positive relationships with locally and remote based staff.
•Strong knowledge of the Middle East regional context, with experience working in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon or Iraq strongly preferred
•Fluent in written and oral English; bilingual strongly preferred (English and Arabic)
Working Environment:
•Standard office work environment
•Travel required (40%)
•Position is based in Amman, Jordan
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 et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.
