Oficial de Programas

The IRC and Edge Effect:   

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global leader in providing emergency relief, rehabilitation, post conflict development, human rights protection, resettlement services and advocacy for refugees and others uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. Over the past 17 years, the 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. IRC is one of the first humanitarian organisations to bring together specific expertise involved in violence prevention and response (VPR) in conflict affected settings to ensure collaborative and still specialized support to survivors and those at risk of violence. IRC presently implements VPR programs in over 26 countries, to support social and political environments that foster freedom from violence, discrimination, and exclusion for marginalized populations in contexts of crisis.

Edge Effect is a specialist diverse SOGIESC (aka LGBTIQ+) humanitarian and development organization, dedicated to ensuring that the rights, needs and strengths of people with diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expression and Sex Characteristics are addressed through humanitarian and development policy and programs. Founded in 2016, Edge Effect provides a range of consulting services in areas including participatory research, training, policy, program design and implementation, and organizational audits. Edge Effect also work with LGBTIQ+ CSOs and other aid sector organizations to directly implement projects.

Background: 

Building a growing body of evidence including IRC’s reports Cycles of Displacement and several Edge Effect reports including The Only Way Is Up – in 2022, the IRC and Edge Effect launched a flagship technical innovation project ‘TRANSFORM’ to develop mechanisms for humanitarian organizations to systematically embed diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) considerations in conflict and displacement response. Through this BHA-funded project, the IRC and Edge Effect seek to address the systemic reluctance/capacity issues holding back the humanitarian sector in a way that models a deep involvement of diverse SOGIESC CSOs and extends diverse SOGEISC inclusion across the humanitarian architecture. The TRANSFORM project will develop and socialize new approaches to gap analysis, solution generation, partnering and interfacing with community-based response, organizational development, coordination, and standardization in the humanitarian sector and architecture.

The IRC and Edge Effect will work in three different types of humanitarian contexts. One of these contexts is El Salvador, where IRC and Edge Effect will implement a series of activities that focus on pushing the boundaries of inclusion and forwarding the localization agenda as a new way of driving LGBTIQ+ inclusion in humanitarian response is piloted. Between May 2023 and April 2024, IRC El Salvador will partner with some Salvadoran LGBTIQ+ organizations to implement all the activities to highlight the needs of the LGBTIQ+ population in El Salvador and establish mechanisms of partnering which reverse traditional humanitarian power dynamics and recognize the capacities of the LGBTIQ+ population.

Job Overview / Summary: 

The TRANSFORM Project Officer will support the coordination of the TRANSFORM initiative in El Salvador.   

The TRANSFORM Project Officer will be based within the Programs Team and report to the Senior Program Coordinator. The position will work directly with the TRANSFORM Manager and closely with the Global Lead for TRANSFORM, based within IRC’s Violence Prevention and Response Unit (VPRU). The TRANSFORM Project Officer will support the TRANSFORM Manager in implementing the project’s activities and maintain strong working relationships with the project’s partners.

Major Responsibilities:

In collaboration with the Global Lead and TRANSFORM Manager, the TRANSFORM Project Officer will be expected to support the coordination and implementation of all aspects of the TRANSFORM initiative in El Salvador from May 2023 – April 2024, including programmatic and administrative responsibilities. Responsibilities include:

• Support with the implementation of TRANSFORM project activities;
• Support with the coordination of TRANSFORM in El Salvador;
• Actively work with relevant IRC El Salvador and headquarters staff and Edge Effect in the delivery of project activities, ensuring effective implementation;
• Support the grant management focal point to produce programmatic donor reports, communications, and participate in meetings/calls as needed to keep the IRC HQ apprised of program progress;
• Coordinate the logistics and preparation for TRANSFORM workshops, such as booking venues, organizing interpretation, liaising with participants, etc.;
• Support with the revision of Spanish translations of technical documents and project materials;
• Support with the drafting of written outputs, including newsletter articles, social media posts, project reports, presentations, case studies, training materials, etc.;
• Support with the management of relationships with local partners and project stakeholders;
• The Project Officer may also be requested to support with other TRANSFORM programmatic and administrative tasks as required.

Key Working Relationships

• Position reports to: Senior Program Coordinator, IRC El Salvador
• Position directly supervises: TRANSFORM Project Officer
• Regular internal (IRC) contact with: TRANSFORM Global Lead, VPRU Inclusion Technical Advisor, NCA Grants Manager, IRC country program staff in El Salvador and other selected pilot countries; PRoL, WPE, CP Technical Advisors for El Salvador and, Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) LatAm Coordinator.
• Regular external contact with: Edge Effect Project Director, and representatives from the LGBTIQ+ partner organizations.