Early Childhood Development (ECD) partnership Manager

Since 2007, IRC has worked with refugees and other vulnerable populations in Jordan.IRC’s current programs in Jordan focus on urban interventions in the north that address gender-based violence specifically violence against women and girls for Syrian refugees and host community members as well as reproductive health care to Syrian refugees through two clinics based in Ramtha and Mafraq, and having mobile outreach health teams in both Mafraq & Irbid, and Economic Recovery & Development program. In 2013 IRC also started with Early Childhood Development programming addressing the needs of unaccompanied & separated children (UASC) and alternative care arrangements in Zatri and Azraq camps.

In Mafraq, Irbid, Ramtha and Azraq Refugee Camp, the IRC is implementing a program to support caregivers of young children through a play-based home visiting intervention. High-quality ECD programs provide the foundation for children’s future academic success, health, prosperity and wellbeing. A large body of scientific evidence emphasizes the need for increased investment in early childhood, particularly for children experiencing conflict, crisis and displacement; these children are extremely vulnerable to the long-lasting effects that prolonged stress has on the developing brain. This program will contribute vital research to the evidence-base for the implementation of ECD in emergency responses.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Partnership Manager will be responsible for supporting the Strategic partnership for both cultivating and maintaining relationships among the partners in IRC Jordan office, while also developing strategies of ECD program partnerships, including mapping the Jordan field of ECD, identifying ways of partnerships with relevant Ministries, UN agencies in Jordan, leading on partnerships workshops and conferences, supporting the designing of the implementation plans, assure that Jordan plans are aligned with the other regional partnership plans and strategies.

The ECD Partnership Manager reports directly to the ECD Coordinator, and work collaboratively with the Partnerships department manager and other ECD teams.

Major Responsibilities:

• Leading on the mapping process for the ECD key implementers in Jordan.
• Develop strategic partnership plans and networks for ECD program in IRC- Jordan office.
• Identify potential opportunities for ECD partnership in Jordan office, including relevant Ministries, UN agencies in Jordan, International and National NGOs, and other ECD implementers, and strengthening existing relationships and collaborations.
• Design MOUs and agreements in cooperation with the Partnerships department Manager in IRC Jordan.
• Define timelines and follow up steps for agreements, MOUs and partnership plans.
• Leading on partnerships workshops and conferences within the ECD program.
• Co-lead on the capacity building for the IRC partners in Jordan, including implementation plans, outreach, M&E, community involvement and any other needed aspects.
• Leading on the partnerships reporting, with cooperation with partnerships department in IRC – Jordan office, IRC regional office and Technical Unit in NY.
• Assure that Jordan partnerships plans are in line with the other regional partnership plans and strategies and incorporated to IRC Jordan SAP
• In cooperation with the ECD manager, ensure that the interventions within the partners are in line with international best practices, and are appropriately addressing the basic ECD needs of beneficiaries in targeted communities.
• Manage the relationships to build the visibility of IRC, program donors and the ECD program.
• Support in Representing IRC in relevant meetings if needed; including meetings with NGOs, UN and government in close coordination with ECD Coordinator.
• Liaise with partners to solve issues, communicate needs and create synergy.
• Report main challenges in collaboration with the partners to the partnerships unit and the MEAL team based on the specific situations
• In close coordination with the ECD development manager, provide technical support in consistence with donor requirements to the Early Childhood Development team within the IRC partners. , oversight and leadership to the Early Childhood Development team within IRC partners, which allows partnerships to thrive.
• Provide technical inputs to the design and implementation key Early Childhood Development interagency mechanisms.
• Maintain close coordination and collaboration with related Ministries, UN Agencies, and other key National and International organizations in Jordan.
• As an ECD program team member, contribute to strategic planning and design for broader Early Childhood Development efforts in IRC Jordan office.
• Works with internal teams such as ECD development manager, ECD research manager, M&E team, and other related teams to insure the best way of delivering ECD programs within IRC ECD partners.
• Develop and implement monitoring plan to monitor the partnership budgets and reporting.
• Participate in the Pre Arad assessment and the du diligence process after identifying the partner
• Contribute to the partner identification and capture the partner specific input at proposal development stage.
• Other duties as required.

Program Implementation

• Support the ECD research manager to ensure the respect of data security standards with the partners.
• Insure collaboration with the M&E team to support the data collection and monitoring process within the partner’s implementation of the ECD activities.
• Collaborate with the finance team and management and assuring appropriate and timely spending of grants to achieve program goals.  
• Ensure timely donor, internal and external reporting contributions 
• Contribute to proposal writing and budget /strategy development for the future opportunities for IRC and support partners in this terms.
• Contribute to lessons learned documentation and use it to develop the Partnerships department and future opportunities.

Human Resources Management

• Support the process of manage, supervise and build the capacity of partner’s Early Childhood Development team and volunteers.
• Take responsibility for discussing job expectations, performance, and objectives on an informal, quarterly basis with all staff and as a part of the annual Performance Review and Planning Process. 
• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.
  
  

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:ECD Coordinator
Position directly supervises:program admin assistant.

Indirect Reporting: N/A

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internally: ECD Development manager, ECD Research manager, MEAL coordinator, Partnerships manager and other ECD.

External: IRC regional office, and other ECD partnership managers in other IRC offices

Work Experience:

• At least two years of proven management level experience working in Education humanitarian program implementation environments,Early Childhood Development is a plus.
• Experience in refugee camp context and urban setting. . 

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Ability to handle multiple tasks; proven self-initiative, problem solving abilities, and strong organizational and communication skills
• Strong drafting and reporting skills
• Good interpersonal Skills
• Good negotiation, and problem solving skills
• Effective management and capacity building of teams. 

• Strong sense of personal integrity and understanding of confidentiality.
• Proficiency in MS Office [Outlook, Excel, and Word] or similar software is required. Relevant business management systems such as general ledger, HRIS, CRM, etc. is preferred. Salesforce is preferred.

Language Skills:

• Arabic speaker & English fluency required.

Working Environment:This Position is based in Amman, with frequent visits to Azraq camp and other program sites location within Jordan.

we may be reviewing the CVs and calling the candidates before the deadline and on
daily basis, so we encourage the early applying if you find your qualifications
meet the JD