Government Engagement Specialist - Baghdad

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND:

The IRC Iraq program was established in 2003 and is currently operating programs in the Kurdistan Region and South Central Iraq with an annual budget of $31 million. The IRC is currently providing humanitarian assistance in the sectors of child protection, women’s protection and empowerment, general protection (protection monitoring and legal assistance), education, cash and livelihoods across seven governorates in Iraq. The IRC Iraq’s main office is based in Erbil, with field offices in Baghdad, Mosul, Ramadi, Tikrit, Kirkuk and program offices in western Anbar and Sinjar.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Government Engagement Specialist (GES) plays a key role in the IRC Iraq’s efforts to facilitate principled engagement and strengthen partnership with government. The GES’s efforts will promote more responsive, effective and sustainable programs that deliver better outcomes for the people the IRC serves in Iraq. The GES is responsible for strengthening IRC’s understanding of the strategies and priorities of the Government of Iraq; relevant government ministries and agencies; and governorate and district administrations. The GES will support engagement and relationship building between the IRC and these stakeholders, and facilitate and guide efforts to build collaborative partnerships. The GES will also contribute to efforts to build collaborative partnerships with Iraqi civil society organizations that complement and integrate with IRC’s government partnerships.

Major Responsibilities:

Responsibilities Specific to Role

• Work with the Country Director, Advocacy Advisor, Deputy Director for Programs, Grants and Partnerships Coordinator, and technical coordinators to identify government agencies and local government departments relevant to the IRC’s priority outcome areas and programs.
• Identify and analyze the strategies and priorities of those relevant government agencies and local government, and work with technical coordinators to identify shared objectives and priorities.
• Develop engagement strategies for each of the relevant government agencies and local government.
• Facilitate engagement and relationship building between the IRC and the relevant government agencies and local government based on the engagement strategies.
• Support the Advocacy Advisor, technical coordinators and the Grants and Partnerships Coordinator to engage with relevant government agencies and local government to explore opportunities to collaborate to achieve shared objectives.
• Guide technical coordinators in the effective delivery of programs in partnership with relevant government agencies and local government.
• Provide ongoing liaison with relevant government agencies and municipalities during program delivery, soliciting partner feedback and perspectives.
• Identify opportunities for the IRC to support relevant government agencies and local government to achieve their capacity strengthening priorities, and guide efforts to deliver responsive capacity strengthening support.
• Identify opportunities for the IRC to positively influence the strategies and priorities of relevant government agencies and local government, both through the development and implementation of successful program models, as well as through other forms of advocacy, in collaboration with the relevant technical coordinator and the Advocacy Advisor.
• Foster open, two-way communication and feedback between the IRC and relevant government agencies and local government throughout the partnership relationship.
• Identify opportunities and contribute to efforts to build collaborative partnerships with Iraqi civil society organizations that complement and integrate with IRC’s government partnerships.

Responsibilities to Participate and Contribute to Relevant IRC Processes

• As a member of Partnership Working Group (PWG), support stakeholder analysis, partner identification, collaborative program design, partnership management and performance review as it relates to the IRC’s government partnerships.
• As a component of SAP, support the technical coordinators and Grants and Partnership Coordinator to develop partnership strategies as they relate to government partnerships for each outcome area based on a robust stakeholder analysis.
• Support efforts to explore with relevant government partners potential capacity strengthening support, including system strengthening, trainings and overall organizational development - and identify requisite resources (in collaboration with the Grants and Partnerships Coordinator).
• Participate in Partnership Opening, Review and Closing Meetings, where projects involve partnerships with government.
• Contribute to efforts to ensure that supported government partner projects abide by humanitarian principles and sector principles and standards.

National and Regional Media

• Monitor national and regional media to identify and analyse events and trends that may impact on IRC’s country operations.
• To build and maintain relationships with national media outlets and develop a database of media contacts to promote the successful partnerships between IRC and the government.
• Map the national media landscape, identifying the major traditional and digital media outlets and their readerships.
• Draft and publish press releases pertaining to IRC’s country activities.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Dual reporting to the Advocacy Advisor and Grants and Partnerships Coordinator

Position directly supervises: N/A

Other Internal and/or external contacts: the position regularly corresponds and attends meetings with external and internal audiences, thus a strong ability to communicate and maintain positive working relationships is highly desirable for this position.

Internal: Technical Coordinators, Grants and Partnerships Department Staff, Finance team, Supply Chain team, Regional Communications

External: Relevant government ministries and agencies; and governorate and district administrations; and other relevant stakeholders, national media

“ Given the nature of the contract , only Iraqi National will be considered as applicant “

• BA degree or equivalent in International Development or Affairs, Communications, Business or related field; Advanced degree a plus.
• Minimum of 3 years work experience with INGOs or NGOs in the Middle East Region.
• Proven experience in working with and developing constructive working relationships with government in Iraq.
• Strong knowledge of Iraqi government structure; processes; and relevant rules and regulations.
• Excellent communication and coordination skills.
• Proven ability to work well in and promote teamwork, thrive in a multi-cultural environment, be flexible and handle pressure with professional grace.
• Excellent written and spoken English and Arabic is required.

Standards of Professional Conduct: 

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.

Gender Equality

IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including maternity leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Attention Returning National Candidates:

IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs. We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a national of the country in which this position is based and are currently located outside of your home country and possess over two years of international work experience, IRC has introduced an attractive remuneration package. The package includes competitive compensation, return flight to post, shipping allowance, temporary housing and a relocation allowance. Certain restrictions may apply.

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.