Early Childhood Development and Quality Control Officer

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.

The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Inside Syria, 7.6 million people are internally displaced and 12.2 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 4.8 million in hard-to-reach areas. There are four million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries. This is no short-term humanitarian episode. The devastating human consequences to huge numbers of people will endure for decades. The destruction of relationships, communities, livelihoods, homes and infrastructure will take years to repair.

IRC is offering a robust humanitarian response to the Syria crisis. IRC is undertaking programs in Syria in the fields of health, protection, and economic recovery and development.Our work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding and coordination.

High-quality Early Childhood Development (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.

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/.

IRC’s Early Childhood Development & Quality control Officer (ECD&QC Officer) will be based in DRK-NW Syria.Under the direct supervision of ECD Manager, the ECD&QC Officer for Northwest Syria will work closely with ECD Manager, Partnership Manager and MEAL staff, he/she will be responsible for quality implementation, target controlling, and Action planning and management of IRC’s Ahlan Simsim (ECD) inside NW Syria. The ECD&QC Officer will ensure timely, effective and high-quality support on range of program activities.

The ECD & QC Officer is responsible for the below key objectives related to the ECD Program Technical support and Implementation Quality Control:

Support the effective execution of integrated ECD activities in close collaboration with Health sector and relevant team members (IRC Protection and partners) as needed.

provide technical support to ECD facilitators in relation to the integration, adaptation and development of ECD materials and resources that are center, and home based. Assess the capacity gaps, establish and execute innovative plans to strengthening the capacity of IRC staff in relevant sectors and implementing partners’ organizations.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead and support ECD team inside Syria to implement Ahlan Simsim Activities at the Health Center and in the Community.
• Collaborate with other Sectors to ensure integration of ECD Programing into their activities and messages.
• Support the preparation of integrated ECD work plans on weekly bases with clear objectives and achievement benchmarks, long-term and short-term priorities, in line with programmatic vision and strategies.
• Close mentoring of implementation of ECD activities, progress on achieving program’s indicators; and taking corrective actions whenever needed in collaboration with relevant team members.
• Ensure feedback from the field are reflected in ECD activities in order to respond to changing realities and needs of the field.
• Other duties as assigned by direct manager to enable and develop IRC programs.
• Identify opportunities of improvement, gaps, and challenges in the field in order to enhance the fieldwork level.
• Ensure the availability and effectiveness of all communication channels in close coordination with the ECD Manager, Human Resource, and Safety/Security Personnel for risk management.
• Working in close collaboration with internal counterparts to strengthen the quality and consistency of data collected and addressing any technical issues in the database.
• In close cooperation with MEAL staff provide a capacity building of proper data collection practices, increase awareness on the importance collecting quality data and encourage accountability for demonstrating results.
• Supporting in planning and implementation of program activities based on criteria and beneficiary needs and status.
• Collecting, preparing, compiling and sorting documents for data entry from different source, and checking source documents for accuracy and verifying data and correct data where necessary.
• Drafting weekly and monthly reports including progress reports against actual.
• Build the capacity of ECD team inside Syria on the integrated ECD services and ensure the roll out of ECD training for relevant staff including Health and Protection.
• Work closely with the ECD Manager to provide clear technical support, supervision, training and mentoring to the ECD team, including training needed to build specialized skills.
• Ensure that ECD staff and services adhere to best practice, professional standards and principles.
• Actively review relevant ECD materials, provide technical input and create plan for adaptation and integration that is consistent with relevant programs.

Human Resources and Staff Management and Development

• Supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being; approve and manage all leave requests to ensure adequate coverage.
• Adhere by staff to IRC’s Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
• In collaboration with the HR, support recruitment of program staff as needed;
• 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;

Others

• Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC Global HR Policies and Procedures.

• Other duties as assigned by direct manager to enable and develop IRC programs

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:Early Childhood Development Manager

Position directly supervises:4-5 ECD Facilitators

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal:Health Officer, Community Health Officer, Parenting CP Officer, PSS CP Officer, WPE PSS Officers.

External:Local implementing Partners in NW

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Demonstrated experience with program design, planning, and management.
• Experience in supervising staff and working with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively analyze, interpret and present data.
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Experienced user of MS Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) and database management software; familiarity with mobile data collection preferred (such as ODK/Ona).
• Strong self-initiative and ability to be flexible under pressure and lead team in fast-paced environment.

Language Skills:English and Arabic

Note: List of responsibilities, professional and personal skills are considered indicative and not exhaustive; actual duties may differ or change depending on office and agency priorities at the time.

Working Environment: The position is based in Darkoush with standard office work environment.

The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the 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.