Pakistan Assessment 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.

Scope: The Assessment Coordinator will be primarily responsible for a large and fast paced assessment of unprecedented scope and importance (Internally Displaced Persons Assessment and Profiling, IVAP). Pakistan’s conflict displacement crisis is the largest in the world, with 1 million currently displaced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The humanitarian community has struggled to find a way to target not only legitimate IDPS, but particularly those among them who are vulnerable. It has also struggled to support durable solutions – through a lack of understanding of needs. The objectives of the assessment include:

1. To identify the caseload, current location, place of origin, and return/local integration/resettlement intension of IDPs in the Peshawar valley, and potentially beyond.
2. To identify vulnerable IDP households from among the caseload of registered and unregistered IDPs
3. To identify needs of those IDPs who want to return but have thus far been unable or unwilling;
4. To identify needs of IDPs who wish to integrate locally or resettle in a third location, and their host communities;
5. To make program recommendations to the Durable Solutions working group and broader humanitarian community regarding the above. The assessment began in November 2010 as a multi-agency effort managed by OCHA. While the bulk of data collection will be completed in June 2011, ongoing assessment of newly displaced families, as well as work through partners to complete the assessment in less accessible areas will continue. In addition, the IVAP mechanism will be handed over to a UN agency in October, a process that will require significant capacity building with the chosen UN partner.

In addition, the Assessment Coordinator will be responsible for capacity-building with the IRC program team in the area of assessments and data collection.

Responsibilities: IVAP • Provide strategic and technical direction to the assessment. • Ensure timely progress of assessment. • Ensure the appropriate distribution of human resources, including selecting and overseeing partners as needed • Liaise with the IRC protection unit on a regular basis. • Liaise with other agencies in the assessment and Durable Solutions Working Group as needed. • Oversee the progress sub-grantees and contractors. • With support from the PDME unit, monitor and report on the progress and results of the assessment to donors. • Represent the progress, planning, and results of the assessment to the humanitarian community. • Chair the Operational and Technical Committees. • Supervise the senior assessment manager. • Identify a UN agency and ensure appropriate handover of the IVAP activities by December 2011.

General • Support the capacity building of program teams in needs assessments. • Coordinate with the team to build a productive working environment.

This position reports to the Director of Programs.

Requirements • Tertiary degree in social sciences; master’s degree preferred • Thorough knowledge of research methods in the social sciences • Minimum 3 years experience in humanitarian work • Experience in protection programming preferred; basic understanding of the IDP Guiding Principles essential • Experience in advocacy and communications perferred • Extensive experience in humanitarian assessment • Knowledge of SPSS and statistical principles • Strong personnel and logistics management skills; trouble shooting • Strong written and oral communication skills • Capacity to work in a fast paced environment and produce results under challenging conditions • Willingness to work in a challenging security environment

Specific Security Situation/Housing : The security situation in Pakistan remains fluid and unpredictable. Candidates may expect periods of insecurity, periodic suspensions of, or restrictions in, program operation and/or field travel, and high levels of volatility in the operating environment. The position is based out of Islamabad, which currently faces tension but lower levels of insecurity. Portions of the city and its environs remain restricted in terms of access for international staff.

This is an unaccompanied post. Candidates can expect to live in shared housing, which is generally of high standard, according to the IRC Pakistan housing policy

Please apply at http://tbe.taleo.net/NA2/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=7129