Background/IRC Summary:

The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Today, 13.4 million people in Syria - more than half of the country's population - are in need of humanitarian assistance with needs increasingly being exacerbated by economic decline. Of these, 6.8 million are refugees and asylum-seekers who have fled the country. This is no short-term humanitarian episode. The devastating human consequences to huge numbers of people will endure for decades. The destruction of relationships, communities, livelihoods, homes and infrastructure will take years to repair.

IRC is offering a robust humanitarian response to the Syria crisis a rapidly expanding portfolio, supported by more than 1000+ staff in Syria Country Program. IRC is undertaking programs in Syria and the neighboring countries of Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan in the fields of health, child protection, early childhood development, education, women’s protection and empowerment, non-food items and food distribution, cash assistance, water and sanitation, protection and rule of law, and livelihood programming. Our work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding and coordination.

Job Overview/Summary:

Under the direct management of the Integrated Protection Coordinator and with technical support from WPE Technical Advisor, the Sr. Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic vision, coordination and technical support to maintain and expand IRC’s WPE programming in Northeast Syria (NES). The Senior WPE Manager will lead the design, implementation, and oversight of WPE programming aimed at addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG) through full cycle of GBV response, risk mitigation, and prevention initiatives. This includes managing interventions in Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces (WGSS), mobile teams, community-based activities, and capacity building for local partners. The role also supports program integration and collaboration with other sectors and ensures alignment with IRC’s Northeast Syria Strategic Action Plan (SAP) and global best practices.

Responsibilities:

Program Quality and Implementation

Lead WPE strategy development and implementation aligned with the NES Strategic Action Plan.Technical oversight and support field-level implementation of IRC’s and partners WPE direct implementation programming in NES. Namely the establishment and running of Mobile WPE teams; Women and Girls Safe Spaces; capacity building of local Syrian organizations on specialized GBV service provision.Ensure that WPE staff and services adhere to GBV best practice, WPE technical guidelines, professional standards and principles.Strengthen community engagement and outreach for GBV risk mitigation.Support the development and maintenance of a coherent WPE strategy across IRC’s interventions in NES in collaboration with the other IRC programs. Provide technical advice including supportive supervision to IRC’s staff working on all WPE projects. In collaboration with the MEAL team, ensure robust monitoring systems are in place and that reviews are undertaken periodically. Coordinate the development of proposals and budgets for new projects and extensions of projects in conjunction with IP coordinator and other technical Sr. managers and coordinators. Overall responsibility for effective and efficient management of project implementation consistent with the project management cycle, program objectives, activities, and indicators. Ensure that WPE interventions adhere to donor agreements and IRC’s core policy documents, the IRC Strategy, and IRC’s Safety ToCs Ensure progress reports are completed by deadlines/compliance requirements and lessons learned are documented for internal use by IRC technical and program staff. Promote integration with other IRC programs such as Child Protection (CP) and Protection and Rule of Law (PRoL).Promote integration with other IRC programs such as Child Protection (CP) and Protection and Rule of Law (PRoL).Ensure that the WPE team is fully oriented on the project design, activities, budget, and other pertinent details.Design innovative approaches to build the capacity of partners including operational and technical support on ongoing GBV case management services.Lead GBV emergency response in areas where new displacement occurs in NES including the contingency planning and preparednessWork closely with IRC’s health programs to strengthen the health sector response to GBV including clinical care for sexual assault survivors

Representation, Coordination and Partnership

Represent IRC in internal and external forums as needed, including the GBV sub-Cluster and actively contribute to advocacy efforts on identified priorities.Ensure key field concerns are brought to relevant stakeholders to advocate for standards that systematize how GBV is implemented and promote the delivery of inclusive and high quality GBV services.Coordinate and support the organization of advocacy activities and campaign events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge products.Develop strategic partnerships with local and national organizations in line with sector partnership strategic priorities.Ensure, in close collaboration with the IRC Partnership Unit, regular performance monitoring of partners to achieve the set project’s objectives and provide technical support and guidance.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting system as well as evaluation of the Programme/ project in coordination with M&E teams.Conduct frequent field visits to supervise, coordinate, and monitor field-level activities of the ProgrammeWork with IRC MEAL team, IPC, technical advisor, and partner organizations to ensure a safe and confidential mechanism for collecting information on project activities is implemented. Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and IRC reports and support in the development of reports, proposals, case studies, and other relevant documentation.

Human resources Management

Coach, train, and mentor staff with the aim of strengthening their technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team, and providing professional development guidance.Develop and implement staff capacity strengthening plans to ensure quality WPE programming across programming teams and other IRC programming. Conduct timely and quality performance evaluations and give regular and constructive feedback to staff through the year to ensure a culture of accountability.Maintain open and professional relations with team members, championing a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion, and cohesion in IRC [team/office]Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue, and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies.