Caring for Child Survivors (CCS) Specialist

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the first humanitarian organizations to bring together specific disciplines involved in violence prevention and response (VPR) in conflict affected settings to ensure collaborative and specialized support to survivors and those at risk of violence. Over the past 16 years, IRC has pioneered and implemented programs that prevent and respond to violence against women and children, as well as other vulnerable groups in refugee settings and in other conflict-affected contexts, making the IRC a global leader in this field. IRC presently implements VPR programs to support social and political environments that foster freedom from violence, discrimination, and exclusion for vulnerable populations in contexts of conflict and displacement. Today, IRC manages VPR programs in 26 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East with funding from governments, the UN, foundations, and private donors.

Job Overview

Child sexual abuse is a violation of human rights and a major global public health problem; in emergencies, this is exacerbated. In 2012, UNICEF and the IRC launched Caring for Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse: Guidelines for Health and Psychosocial Providers in Humanitarian Settings (CCS). The CCS Training Package was subsequently developed and launched in 2015. The CCS Guidelines and Training Package responded to a gap in global guidance for providing care and support to child survivors in humanitarian settings. Based on global research and evidenced-based field practice, the Guidelines and Training Package brought a much-needed practical approach to helping child survivors and their families recover and heal from the devastating impacts of sexual abuse.

Since the launch of the CCS Guidelines and Training Package, a number of additional resources have been developed and disseminated by the inter-agency Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Child Protection (CP), and Health communities. In addition, the implementation of CCS Guidelines and Training Package across various humanitarian settings has revealed several gaps in practical guidance for responders to safely and adequately care for child survivors. The IRC together with UNICEF are working to build upon updated literature, existing inter-agency resources, and learning from implementation to update the existing CCS Guidelines and Training Package. The CCS Specialist will be the focal point for this project, designing and developing the updated CCS Guidelines and Training Package.

Major Responsibilities

Technical (estimated 85%)

•Conduct remote field consultations to inform areas for revision and development in the existing CCS Guidelines and Training Package;

•Design and facilitate a series of inception meetings to ensure a unified vision and plan for the development of the updated CCS Guidelines and Training Package

•Develop and engage an inter-agency, interdisciplinary Advisory Committee to inform the development of the updated CCS Guidelines and Training Package;

•Co-create with UNICEF updated sections of the CCS Guidelines and Training Package;

•Design and facilitate workshops with field-based actors to review and inform updated sections of the updated CCS Guidelines and Training Package;

•With oversight from IRC and UNICEF technical teams, develop the updated version of the CCS Guidelines and Training Package for pilot-testing; and

•Organize a virtual event to share with the humanitarian community of the updated version of the CCS Guidelines and Training Package.

Project Management (estimated 15%)

•Develop and manage a work and spending plan for successful development of the updated CCS Guidelines and Training Package;

•Produce high-quality donor reports, provide communications, and participate in meetings as needed to keep the donor and other stakeholders apprised of program progress.

•Support proposal development activities for CCS-related projects with relevant staff.

Job Requirements

Work Experience

•At least 4-6 years of field experience working in and managing GBV and CP programs in emergencies;

•Experience implementing the CCS Guidelines and facilitating the Training Package across multiple contexts;

•Direct experience working with child survivors of differing gender, ages/developmental stages, and their families – experience with adolescent girl survivors and child survivors with disabilities highly desirable;

•Direct experience working in case management, inclusive of supervision and coaching;

•Previous experience in developing inter-agency GBV and CP guidelines and trainings; and

•Demonstrated experience in engaging and coordinating inter-agency, multi-sectoral stakeholders.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

•Competency working in Child Protection and GBV in emergencies programs, and in ensuring intersectionality and inclusion;

•Demonstrated skill and creativity in designing and developing technical content and training materials that are user-friendly and engaging;

•Excellent facilitation skills to engage a variety of in-person and remote audiences in meetings, workshops, trainings, and other forums;

•Excellent analytical, writing, time management, and organizational skills;

•Effective interpersonal skills to successfully interact with a variety of people; and

•Flexible work attitude with the ability to work effectively independently and with teams.

Education

•Graduate level-degree in social work or other relevant field (e.g., psychology, gender, etc.) preferred.

Language

•Excellent command (written and verbal) of English.

•Knowledge of Arabic and French (written and verbal) is highly desirable.

Working Environment

•Some international travel as needed up to 20%; when deployed, will stay in IRC approved accommodation which may include shared guesthouses.

•If New York based: This is a standard office working environment; however, this role may require working remotely full or part time and part time remote employees may be required to share workspace.

•If home based: This role requires working remotely full or part time. Applicants must have a home or alternate workspace they can effectively complete their work during regularly scheduled work hours. Home work location must be in state and/or country where IRC is a registered employer.

•This position is required to have a flexible work-day hours to accommodate varying time zones to complete required tasks and coordination functions.

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.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.