Iraq Protection Coordinator

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) 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, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. 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. The IRC leads the way from harm to home. BACKGROUND: In Iraq, UNHCR is mandated to provide protection and assistance to refugees, IDPs, refugees, and returnees. In 2006, UNHCR established an extensive network of Protection and Assistance Centers (PACs) in Iraq through partner agencies. The PACs are staffed by Iraqi lawyers, social workers and public information officers to provide protection monitoring and protection advice to persons of concern to UNHCR. In 2011, the IRC-run PACs outside of Baghdad merged with Returnee and Reintegration Community Center (RICC) to become Protection, Assistance, and Reintegration Centers (PARCs). The PARCs not only provide protection monitoring and legal advice to UNHCR’s POCs, but function as a service center to facilitate integration of returnees and IDPs. The PARCs work through dedicated offices and mobile teams, often in close cooperation with trusted community leaders. In additional to providing information and services, the PAC/PARCs are designed to collect and pass along protection-related information from local communities to inform advocacy, future policy setting, and humanitarian programming. Since 2009 the IRC has also been providing protection monitoring and assistance in the Makhmour refugee camp located in northern Iraq. The Makhmour camp has been in existence since 1998 and is housing approximately 10,000 Turkish Kurd refugees. Through funding from UNHCR, the IRC has been implementing programs focusing on increasing rights awareness among the population, providing psycho-social support to women, children and persons with disabilities, and distributing tailored NFI assistance to the most vulnerable refugee families. SCOPE OF WORK: Based in the IRC Baghdad office with travel to Erbil, the IRC Protection Coordinator will be responsible for providing strategic direction and vision to the IRC’s Protection programming in Iraq. The Protection Coordinator will be responsible for the quality implementation of all aspects of the PAC/PARCs project located in Baghdad, Babylon, Anbar and Salah al din Governorates. The Protection Coordinator will directly supervise the Protection Manager, the PAC/PARC Manager, and the Protection Data Team.. The Protection Coordinator will also oversee the collection and analysis of protection-related information by each PARC and will ensure that a succinct and accurate protection report for each governorate is submitted to UNHCR-Iraq on a monthly basis. The Protection Coordinator will oversee IRC activities in the Makhmour Refugee Camp. The Protection Coordinator will directly supervise the Protection Manager working in Makhmour camp, as well as provide strategic and technical guidance on project design and implementation. Reporting to the Deputy Director of Programs, the Protection Coordinator will work extensively with other sectors to ensure that protection principles are being incorporated into the Iraq sector programs, and in particular with the Women’s Protection and Empowerment Coordinator and the Child Youth and Protection Development Coordinator to strengthen the holistic nature of IRC’s protection programs in Iraq.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Program Management and Implementation • Lead the overall implementation of the PAC/PARCs and the Makhmour projects and provide guidance to the field staff to ensure that stated goals and objectives are met, that the projects are appropriately monitored and evaluated, and that project reports are written and submitted in a timely manner; • Travel to project sites to provide technical support to protection staff in the field and monitor the project’s implementation; • Prepare program work plans that fit within the project objectives and prepare appropriate operational guidelines for project staff; • Ensure that project activities are implemented within the assigned budget parameters, manage all financial aspects of the protection programs, approve relevant expenses and review expenditures, in consultation with the Finance Team; • Analyze protection concerns in Iraq, propose new areas of work to IRC, and participate in proposal development;

Capacity Building and Development • Provide supervision, training and mentoring to the Protection staff or volunteers as required; • Lead the protection sustainability plan. Develop and implement plans to ensure sustainability of existing protection programming, including through local NGO partnerships and/or civil society development. • Lead the professional development program for national staff. In particular, implement a professional development program for PAC/PARC Manager, strengthening his capacity in program management and leadership.

Coordination and Representation • Coordinate with UNHCR and their other partners, and attend meetings held in Baghdad, Erbil, or elsewhere in the region; • Represent the IRC in Protection coordination forums, and develop a productive working relationship with UNHCR teams in Baghdad, Amman, and Erbil. • Ensure that protection staff coordinate with IRC-Iraq’s relevant Technical Units, as necessary and in accordance with the overall program implementation or design as required; • Develop clear links with other IRC sectors to mainstream Protection through other IRC programs. Ensure an integrative programming approach with other sectoral work and staff;

REQUIREMENTS: • Master's degree in International Relations, Human Rights, Law, International Development and/or other relevant field strongly preferred; • At least 4 years of international experience including in protection-related programming, preferably in countries affected by conflict and displacement, with experience working on protection in Iraq an asset; • At least 2 years of project management and coordination experience, including monitoring and evaluation; • Significant knowledge and experience in managing and mentoring highly skilled program teams and proven ability to organize and supervise teams in a cross-cultural setting; • Some experience in civil society development and/or local NGO partnerships preferred; • Excellent administrative, communications, negotiation and decision-making skills; • Ability to work under pressure and to handle sensitive situations diplomatically while maintaining a sense of humor; • Willingness and ability to travel to insecure locations; • Fluency in English. Knowledge of Arabic would be an asset.

WORK ENVIRNOMENT: The protection coordinator works from the Baghdad office and lives in adjacent group housing with 24/7 internet. R & R is provided on a regular basis. This position is unaccompanied.

Please apply at http://tbe.taleo.net/NA2/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=7434