Knowledge Management Manager

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 2017, Sesame Workshop and IRC won the inaugural MacArthur Foundation 100&Change competition, a $100 million grant to make measurable progress toward solving a significant problem. In 2018 the LEGO Foundation made an additional investment to Early Childhood Development Programming in the Middle East and Bangladesh, further contributing to this effort. The Ahlan Simsim program is five-year intervention to bring vital early learning and nurturing care to more than nine million children and families affected by the ongoing civil war in Syria. Among other activities, the program will create multimedia programming for children affected by the conflict. Together with the Sesame Workshop and with support from the Brookings Institution, we will develop a pliant platform to reach young children and their caregivers wherever they are and measure how we impact their lives. At the core of Ahlan Simsim’s project objectives is the ambition to work in partnership and collaboration with other organizations in areas such as design, service delivery and policy change.

Brookings/Real-time Scaling Lab Summary

As part of the second phase of the Millions Learning project, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution and the Ahlan Simsim program are collaborating to establish a Real-time Scaling Lab that will support the process of scaling the Ahlan Simsim program in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. The Real-time Scaling Lab is not a physical space but rather a process to learn from, document, and support the adaptation and implementation of a multi-component solution that uses proven techniques to measurably transform children’s learning and social-emotional skills. The Real-time Scaling Lab will utilize a reflective, adaptive learning approach to expand and deepen the impact of the Ahlan Simsim program as well as to share lessons learned regionally and globally. The process of establishing the Real-time Scaling Lab and observing how policymakers, practitioners, and funders identify, adapt, and implement this innovative solution will be rigorously documented so that the process itself can be replicated across the program’s geographic priority countries (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria). Lessons drawn from the Ahlan Simsim Real-time Scaling Lab (as well as similar Real-time Scaling Labs that Brookings and partners implement in other countries) will help inform future national, regional, and global policy regarding large-scale improvements in quality education, especially in humanitarian settings.

The Knowledge Management Manager will be the project focal point for Country level knowledge management related to the process of expanding and deepening the impact of – or “scaling” – the Ahlan Simsim solution. The position will be the focal point for documenting an adaptive learning, iterative change process with support from the Ahlan Simsim regional team and the Brookings Institution. This will include co-designing and co-facilitating in-country workshops over the course of three years with the goal of continuously adapting the Ahlan Simsim solution to expand and deepen its’ impact in each country, as well as feeding into a global publication drawing insights from across the Millions Learning Real-time Scaling Labs.

The Knowledge Management Manager will be responsible for the following key objectives:

• Serve as the person responsible for knowledge management for Jordan
• Support the ECD Coordinator to oversee and support Real-time Scaling Lab in Jordan
• “Tell the story” of how the Ahlan Simsim program scaled in Jordan country, including capturing key decisions, opportunities, and challenges faced by relevant actors
• Capture the details of how the Real-time Scaling Lab approach functioned and how it supported the Ahlan Simsim scaling process

Specific responsibilities will include:

• Support work in coordination with the governance unit on political economy analysis (PEA) for country context and other background research;
• Capture key decisions, opportunities, and challenges that actors in relevant partner and government organizations take related to ECD scaling goals;
• Attend and document key scaling-related events and meetings as decided in coordination with the ECD Coordinator
• Proactively share lessons learned within the Jordan country program as well as with regional stakeholders to assist decision-makers in identifying, adapting and scaling other evidence-based ECD solutions;
• Work closely with the Ahlan Simsim regional team to ensure country staff are up-to-date on ECD new research and knowledge generated from other country contexts;
• Work in close collaboration with the Brookings Institution to co-create and implement the Real-time Scaling Lab in Jordan country, as a core approach to delivering on Ahlan Simsim’s scaling and partnership strategy;
• Conduct background research on previous and ongoing efforts related to ECD service delivery in X country, including desk review of project documentation, conducting key stakeholder interviews, and attending related meetings and events;
• Contribute to planning, participate in, and document semi-annual in-person convenings in Jordan as well as smaller period in-person and virtual meetings;
• Support implementation of the Jordan scaling plan aligning relevant Knowledge Management and Information gathering priorities with the ambition and focus of the scaling goals;
• Complete and submit periodic “research and documentation tools” (created by Brookings) on the Microsoft Teams platform, including but not limited to: Core Ingredients Checklist, Scaling Lab Quarterly Report, and Scaling Plan Guidelines;
• Work closely with the regional team and Brookings to develop an overall lessons learned document on the Real-time Scaling Labs’ experience that could feed into IRC’s partnership management system and ensure scaling plans and needs are consistent with PEERs processes and procedures; and
• Contribute to planning, and actively participate in and document, global cross-lab workshops and virtual meetings to share lessons and insights with other Real-time Scaling Labs.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:  ECD Coordinator

Position indirectly reports to:Regional Partnership and Scaling Advisor

Position supervises: Consultants where needed and relevant

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Regional Partnership Director, regional, country, and HQ staff for the Ahlan Simsim project; technical unit staff (Education, Research Learning and Evaluation, Health, Violence Prevention and Response, Economic Recovery and Development, Governance, Gender Equality); Grants Management staff, ECD coordinators      

External: Brookings Institution staff, Sesame Workshop staff; Government officials; Implementing partner organizations; Community representatives

Working Environment:

Standard office work environment

Travel required 40%

Working Environment:

The position will be based in Jordan with frequent travel to field sites. Occasional travel to other governorates may also be 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.