ECD Senior Technical Officer / Erbil

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC Iraq program was established in 2003 and is currently operating programs in 14 governorates in the Kurdistan Region and south central Iraq with an annual budget of over $30 million. Working in coordination with the humanitarian community, the IRC's assistance programs for Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq, includes both camp-based and urban-based refugee and IDP assistance. The IRC Iraq supports IDPs, returnees, host communities and Syrian refugees across 14 governorates in Iraq with activities focused on education, protection and rule of law, women’s protection and empowerment, child protection and livelihoods activities. The IRC Iraq’s country office is based in Erbil, with field offices in Mosul, Kirkuk, Ramadi, Duhok and Baghdad.

In Iraq, high-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs have the potential to provide the foundation for children 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/.

Job Overview/Summary:

Reporting to the Early Childhood Development capacity building, Quality, and training manager the senior technical officer ensures that the design, implementation and monitoring of the overall IRC Ahlan Simsim direct and indirect program in Iraq is in line with appropriate technical guidelines and meet high quality standards. The position provides technical oversight and support to Ahlan Simsim program staff, facilitators, and partners in Kirkuk, Salahadin, Ninawa and other locations as needed. The position plays a key role in ensuring harmonization of best practices across geographical areas and synergies across different sectors of intervention. The position monitors project implementation, develops and delivers training and capacity building to different stakeholders; this includes:

1. Technical and quality support in the implementation and monitoring of program activities and strategies.
2. Participate in conducting the assessment of quality assurance and Gender and inclusion assessments.
3. Facilitate trainings, workshops and capacity building plans for staff and partners.
4. Support internal/external representation and communication activities, liaising with technical, education partners and local authorities.
5. support the implementation of Gender and Inclusion plan.
6. Monitor, co-manage and support partner project staff on technical aspects as well as effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation of programs.

Major Responsibilities:

Training, and capacity building

·Participate in design, planning and implementation of Training of Trainers (ToT) and workshops to partner and Ahlan Sismim country staff.

·Oversee logistical and financial arrangements for inclusive ECD trainings and workshops for Ahlan Simsim and Partner staff.

·Supports in the design and implementation of inclusive ECD capacity building plans at the field level, including coaching and on-the-job training, in collaboration with Quality assurance and Capacity building Manager;

·Support the development or selection of strategies, technical materials and tools for pilots and initiatives related to inclusive ECD activities.

·Build the capacity of technical staff in charge of supervising inclusive ECD-related initiatives in pilots within other IRC sector programs, through training and regular coaching; and

·Provide training and capacity building for Ahlan Simsim local partners and government partners in different locations.

• Build the capacity of technical staff in charge of supervising education related initiatives in pilots within other IRC sector programs and partners, through training and regular coaching.
• Monitor partner performance and quality of programming and ensure accurate data collection and monitoring activities are in place, accurate and efficient.

Monitoring and Quality assurance

·Conduct observations of activities implemented and share recommendations to improve the quality of technical approaches.

·Conduct quality assurance assessments across the locations.

·Conduct regular session observations for partners and IRC direct services.

·Identifying areas of potential issues and improvements that can be made.

·Participate in developing ECD standard operation procedure.

·Prepare weekly and monthly reports to communicate outcomes of activities.

·Ensure a healthy flow of task and responsibilities by creating monthly work plans with specific time for delivery.

Internal/external representation and communication

·Support development of internal communication tools (ex: program newsletters);

·Support donor reporting activities (drafting sections, gathering inputs, editing success stories);

·Represent the IRC in meetings with INGO, NNGO, government education cluster, and other stakeholders in coordination meetings and events.

Human Resources Management

·Build capacity of the teams, providing ongoing coaching and support to enable partner and Ahlan Simsim staff to successfully perform in their positions within the scope of work.

·Take responsibility for discussing job expectations of partner project staff, performance, and objectives on monthly and quarterly basis as a part of the annual Performance Review and Planning Process.

·Identify individual training needs and ensure access to training and professional development resources appropriate to their skill gaps/needs;

·Maintain open and professional relations with partners, team members, promoting a strong team spirit, oversight and advise;

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

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: ECD capacity building and Quality Assurance manager
Position directly supervises: N/A
Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: ECD Coordinator, ECD; ECD Manager, ECD Deputy Manager, ECD Facilitators, Scaling and learning Sr Officers, Partner staff, Ahlan Simsim country teams, Finance Department, Supply Chain Department, Human Resources, ECD Technical Unit, and ECD RMEAL unit.

External: Relevant Ministries, and Communities.