Consortium Coordinator

The IRC has been active in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2006 and has been implementing emergency response programs since early 2013. The IRC has three field offices in Bocaranga (North-West), Kaga-Bandoro (Central-North), and Zemio (far South-East) – in addition to a central office in Bangui. Since 2007, IRC in CAR has built close relationships with local communities, community leaders, local authorities, and other local and international actors. Today, the IRC is one of the leading humanitarian actors working in the prefectures Ouham-Pendé, Nana-Gribizi, and Haut-Mbomou, implementing programs in Health, Women and Child Protection, and Early Recovery & Development. The Organization has demonstrated its ability to efficiently implement health and protection programming, improving beneficiaries’ access to healthcare and providing survivors of violence with safe, confidential services to help them recover and reintegrate into their communities. The gained technical expertise, logistical abilities, and local knowledge and understanding has laid the foundation to expand and deepen these services to reach more people and respond to emergency needs at a greater scale, as additional funding is secured.

Overview of the role

The position is responsible for leading and supervising the effective implementation of the “**Programme d’appui à la lutte contre les violences basées sur le genre en République centrafricaine (Genre III)**” funded by EuropeAid (EUTF Fonds Bekou) program activities in CAR in collaboration between the IRC teams and the Consortium partners. As such, he/she creates an enabling environment for quality programming, providing clear direction and vision, encouraging exchange, analysis and learning, and establishing constructive, productive and effective working relationships with all Consortium members and external partners.

He/she represents the consortium and/or participates in strategic and high-level discussions with key partners, including representatives of the European Delegation and national, provincial and local representatives in CAR. Similarly, and as appropriate, he/she actively engages with other consortia partners, national NGOs, international NGOs, the United Nations and other multilateral actors to ensure the vital understanding, exchange and learning, as well as coherence in terms of communication and programming approaches.

The position ensures effective collaboration with the consortium members during all phases of the project, providing the vital guidance and monitoring to guarantee that the implementation of the program is carried out in alignment with the agreed action plan and IRC and donor regulations. The position will ensure the implementation of capacity building activities planned by members of the Consortium for local partners are effectively implemented, supervised and evaluated.

Directly supervised by the Deputy Director for Programs in CAR, he/she works hand in hand with the Technical Coordinators, and is responsible for the activities' implementation. Works in strong collaboration with other mutualized resources dedicated to the Consortium as the M&E Coordinator, the Grants and compliance Coordinator, etc. The Consortium Coordinator will collaborate with the Women Protection and Empowerment, Early Recovery and Development and Child Protection Coordinators in country and advisors at HQ in order to ensure the quality in the implementation and to respect the IRC technical quality standard.

Responsibilities

1. Consortium management and external relations

• Provides strategic and operational leadership in all phases and aspects of the program management cycle.

• Leads the effective implementation of the Consortium's governance and communication framework, allowing clear communication and reporting relationships between IRC and external partners, including the donor.

• Supervises IRC and Consortium partners’ delivery against planned program commitments in a timely manner with qualitative expectations and donor requirements, and ensures that quality reports are prepared and submitted to the donor.

• Leads Consortium monthly meetings to review the progress of activities, analyze result, prompt reflection and learning, and respond to the strategic and operational needs of the program, as well as any other needs.

• Represent the Consortium and local, provincial, and national governments, as well as UN, NGOs, civil society, ensuring positive and constructive working relationships.

• Organizes and chairs the high level quarterly Consortium coordination meetings that bring together Ministry Representative and the CDs/Representatives of the consortium’s member organizations to assess program progress and to respond to management issues.

• Liaises with the organizations’ Consortium members to query the challenges affecting local NGOs engaged in the project implementation, recommend the solutions to those challenges and follow up with concerned partners to implement recommended solutions.

• Ensures harmony, learning and complementarity among the consortium's members for high quality, harmonized and holistic prevention and response to GBV

• As the Consortium's focal point, mobilizes and ensures transparent and constructive communication with Consortium partners and IRC management in responding to donor requests, as well as revisions on deliverables following feedback from the donor following submission.

• Timely involve IRC leadership in addressing issues of concern, to achieve the most constructive outcome possible.

• Ensure that communication and visibility plans are approved by the donor is timely implemented and reported by the Consortium's partners.

• Support the implementation of IRC’s Partnership (PEER) system across all areas of sub-award management of consortium partners.

• Upholds IRC’s partnership principles of Equality, Openness, Results Oriented Approach, Responsibility and Complementarity

2. Project Cycle Management and Quality Assurance

• In collaboration with the DDP, Grants and Compliance Coordinator, the Country Program’s technical team, the Regional Program Support Team (RPST), Technical Advisors at IRC headquarters and the Consortium members, ensures that the implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and learning emanating from all Bekou Genre III program activities are carried out in accordance with IRC standards and meet the goals and objectives of the target communities as well as the compliance requirements of the donor;

• Responsible for project management, supervises the implementation, follow up and effective monitoring of IRC and partners’ Program work, expenditure, M&E and procurement plans, organizing, among others, joint and regular monitoring and review meetings, assessing progress and proactively identifying challenges and solutions to attain program outcomes.

• Supervises the budget utilization and ensures sound financial management and the use of funds;

• Actively contributes to the development and review of program approaches, making concrete recommendations for changes in partners' activities, approaches and areas of action as appropriate.

• Creates an environment of continued learning, encouraging innovation and auto-critical analysis, capitalizing on lessons learned to inform programmatic and strategic decisions and contributes to the knowledge base of the sectors covered by the program.

• Ensures that the results of ongoing conflict and security assessments are continuously integrated into project design and implementation, in collaboration with technical coordinators.

• Supervise the country context, evolution of needs, insecurity and other challenges that affect the project implementation and work with the DDP or Grants and Compliance Coordinator to advise timely the donor of any anticipated impact to the project and mitigate related risks, including through timely communications with the Regional Program Support Teams (RPST) and the donor.

• Ensure effective implementation of client feedback mechanism and participatory programming.

• Leads and facilitates Project Cycle management routines and meetings (PCM), internally and with partners, in a timely manner, coordinating inputs and following up on action points with relevant colleagues

3. Manage operational and security requirements

• Ensure that project assets are properly recorded and used for the intended purpose; aligned with donor asset rules.

• Develop and implement the project closure plan through internal consultations (grant, HR, supply chain, finance), and other INGOs partners

• Report to the donor as part of formal and informal updates. Ensure accurate and high quality reporting according to contractual schedule;

• Coordinate with program and operational staff to ensure that operational systems are in place to support project activities, including logistics, procurement, security and human resources;

4. Human Resources Management

• Supported by the Deputy Director of Programs, who supervises the technical coordinators, he/she recruits and supervises the program staff including but not limited to Women Protection and Empowerment program Senior Manager, Psychosocial officer and Community mobilization Officer supporting the project.

• Creates a work environment that champions teamwork, trust, mutual respect and empowerment of staff to assume responsibilities.

• Manages and evaluates project performance by ensuring staff have SMART performance objectives

• Holds, at minimum biweekly one to one meetings with each direct report

• Ensures that all staff rigorously respect and adhere to IRCs Code of Conduct (IRC Way), that these obligations are regularly updated so that staff understand its principles and are committed to them.

Qualifications

• Excellent professional track record with 3-5 years of overseas experience in a conflict/post-conflict environment with program field leadership and coordination responsibilities.

• Excellent organizational and leadership skills, including experience managing staff, developing, and implementing work plans and budgets.

• Excellent leadership, communication, and facilitation skills: Your leadership, interpersonal and negotiation skills should be excellent, and reflect your ability to coordinate activities of the Project.

• Master's degree in development or equivalent experience in managing Gender program

• At least 2 years of working experience in partnership or consortium management.

• Demonstrated success as a consortium team leader in the previous experience.

• Broad knowledge and experience in budget management.

• Good knowledge of project management and an understanding of the humanitarian context programming is a plus.

• Strong collaborator and influencer with effective interpersonal and analytical skills who can work seamlessly across cultures, and organizational units.

• Able to work effectively in a highly matrixed structure, multi-task, prioritize and make decisions.

• Strong experience with Europe Aid/Familiarity with European donor is an added-value.

• Strong financial management, budgeting, and communication skills.

• Strong diplomacy and sense of negotiations

• Ability and willing to accept new assignments which are not in the job description.

• Fluency in French. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Solid understanding of English strongly preferred.

• Female application is encouraged

The work environment:

The position is based in Bangui, CAR, and will travel throughout the country to field program locations (30%). The security situation in CAR is still unstable, although the signing of the Khartoum peace and reconciliation agreement in February 2019 is still seen as a source of hope for the country to return to peace. The security level remains at 3 (orange phase). The candidate must be prepared to work in insecure environments. This is an unaccompanied position.

Housing: Lodging in CAR and field offices is in shared IRC guesthouses. All IRC sites have electricity and internet although some interruptions can be experienced. Food is the individual’s responsibility.

Standards of Professional Conduct:

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and implements policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equality

IRC acknowledges and honors the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status or disability. IRC is also 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 parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits.

PSEA

IRC CAR is an active member of the PSEA Task force and has signed the CAR agreement in 2018. It is actively supporting a humanitarian assistance free from all forms of violence, harassment and sexual abuse and exploitation.

This position is equally open to national and international qualified candidates.

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