Vacancies at International Rescue Committee

Functional Leadership, Coordination and Implementation Support:

• Provide technical leadership across the region, including by contextualizing the Economic Wellbeing at the regional level in partnership with Technical Advisors, DRD, + Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) and in line with Country Program Strategic Action Plans
• Promote programming coherence and strategic direction of the ERD programming portfolio including identifying opportunities for intra and cross-sectoral integration
• Closely coordinate with Global Practice Leads and HQ functions to facilitate translation of global standards to the region and of country-generated innovation and learning to global practice 
• Support regional Technical Advisors to address implementation bottlenecks and critical quality concerns in the region’s programming portfolio, in partnership with the Deputy Regional Director (DRD)
• Increase quality of technical collaboration across the region by fostering cross-regional dialogue with other regional technical teams
• Provide technical oversight of regional strategic projects in collaboration with the Global Practice Leads as appropriate and/or budgeted, escalating quality assurance challenges as needed
• Foster relationships with a wide range of both internal and external stakeholders to make strategic connections and identify opportunities
• Provide stop-gap direct implementation support as/if appropriate and budgeted on CP-grants

Staff management, learning, and development

• Lead and line manage a high performing team of ERD Technical Advisors to design and support ERD programming across the region, and generate evidence and learning for local and global strategies
• Accountable for ensuring TAs maintain core knowledge and expertise and apply global best practices to their work across health sub-sectors
• Work closely with Regional and CRRD HQ People & Culture colleagues to devise strategies of attracting, onboarding, developing, and nurturing diverse regional technical staff at the Advisor and Coordinator levels, and ensuring an inclusive work environment.  In collaboration with the DRD, Regional and CRRD HQ P&C, and Global Practice Leads, plan and implement professional development for staff ensuring targeted learning. 

Program Design and Business Development

• Provide technical leadership and oversight to region-led (multi-country) business development, as well as particularly large single-country opportunities, together with the Technical Advisors, Global Practice Leads and others as relevant.
• Support and promote technical and programmatic innovation in the region, based on technically-sound and contextually-grounded creativity and/or insights
• Collaborate with other technical area Regional Leads and Technical Advisors to promote regional uptake of solutions that are proven to increase scale and deepen impact, with close attention to where integrated programming would multiply efficacy and efficiency
• Work with DRD, Director of Awards Management and DDPs for country programs to understand the region’s donors for the ERD sectors, the donors’ priorities in the region, and the regional funding priorities of Country Programs for the Economic Wellbeing Outcomes
• Support regional donor engagement to deepen donor understanding of IRC’s work the region, strategically foster and develop new donor relationships in close coordination with the regional team, and support the development of regional business development opportunities
• Support the development and growth of strategic partnerships with mission-aligned organizations at the regional level who share commitments towards scale and impact and have complementary areas of expertise for collaboration towards delivering better outcomes for clients
• Accountable for coordinating across expert staff to better integrate cross-cutting issues into ERD programs (e.g., gender equality, diversity and inclusion, climate adaptation, etc.).
• Knowledge Management, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning
• Lift up program learning for sharing across the region and to inform global strategic direction of (relevant) Global Practice Areas
• Facilitate interpretation and use of sector data in regional learning routines and put in place routines and accountability mechanisms to encourage uptake of data-driven recommendations made by TAs
• Collaborate with Regional Measurement Advisors to ensure that Regional Technical Advisors support good MEAL practice for ERD programming in Central Africa, including the use of high-quality indicators, the use of IRC standard data tools, and the inclusion of MEAL activities in project plans
• External Influence and Representation
• Engage in regional sector coordination groups and bilateral relationships as appropriate, to represent IRC, showcase learning from our client-centered program implementation, and support priority policy and practice shifts
• Support regions in addressing policy & practice shifts needed to enable program impact and scale
• In close collaboration and partnership with the DRD, regional Awards Management and Advocacy focal points, ensure effective networking and representation in relation to Cash & Markets; Resilient Food Systems; and Economic Inclusion through mobilizing input from global practice leads. 

Key External Relationships: 

• Regional Cash, Food Security, and Economic Inclusion coordination clusters, INGOs, donors and policy makers, counterparts in relevant UN agencies.

Desired Experience and Skills 

• Highly seasoned professional with at least 8+ years of progressive technical and management experience leading and managing technical teams 
• Established technical expertise in at least one of the ERD Global Practice Areas relevant to Central Africa. Professional and/or lived experience in Central Africa context and sound understanding of the region is a huge advantage.
• Excellent management and leadership skills including coaching, mentoring, and performance management 
• Strong track record of leading multi-location technical programs
• Strong track record of driving uptake of evidence-based practice
• Experience managing multiple projects with multi-disciplinary collaborators
• Demonstrated ability to influence across a wide range of diverse stakeholders internally and externally
• Strong track record of identifying and converting business development opportunities (when leading and managing the leader) 
• Knowledge and understanding of the respective regional context
• Ability to work, manage, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment; outstanding business acumen, critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills required
• Superb inter-personal, written and verbal communication skills with ability to collaborate across countries, cultures, and departments 
• Fluency in English and French is required. Additional regionally spoken language is a huge advantage.
• Ability to travel regionally and globally up to 35% of the time, occasionally on short notice
• Education: Masters’ degree in economics, business management, international development, agriculture or any other relevant fields or an equivalent professional experience of background is required. Sound training on the use of data and research evidence for programmatic decision making and rigorous analytic skills are an advantage. 

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Staff management, learning, and development

• Line manage a high performing team of at least 2 ERD regional Technical Advisors, to design and support ERD programming across the region, and generate evidence and learning for local and global strategies
• Responsible for ensuring TAs maintain core knowledge and expertise and apply global best practices to their work across health sub-sectors
• Work closely with Regional and CRRD HQ People & Culture colleagues to devise strategies of attracting, onboarding, developing, and nurturing diverse regional technical staff at the Advisor and Coordinator levels, and ensuring an inclusive work environment.  In collaboration with the DRD, Regional and CRRD HQ P&C, and Global Practice Leads, plan and implement professional development for staff ensuring targeted learning.
• Program Design & Business Development:You will support and oversee regional business development in our technical domains, and ensure the design of winning submissions, to deepen donor understanding of IRC’s work in the region, and particularly single-country opportunities together with Technical Advisors and others as relevant 
• Substantially contribute to the development of proposal theories of change and log frames
• Support the Asia regional and in-country technical lead in analyzing relevant information including available M&E and client responsiveness data, to prepare for design meetings/conversations 
• Advise on program modalities and strategic partnership development based on evidence, scale considerations, and how we can best support, complement, and reinforce local systems
• Advise on and/or provide hands-on support on assessments, including application and contextualization of technical standards
• Participate in project design meetings for all relevant proposals (remotely or in person)
• Review and validate design meeting decisions around technical design quality, including alignment of narratives, log-frames, and budgets, to IRC standards and outcomes
• Promote and support design collaboration with partners and clients
• Promote and support gender equality and diversity inclusion throughout project design
• Implementation Support:In conjunction with existing Technical Advisors, you will facilitate and support country program staff and other key stakeholders in implementing technical interventions:
• Support country programs and other stakeholders with the recruitment and training of technical coordinators
• Assess program quality and inform improvements, providing follow up support to country programs as needed
• Collaborate with country program colleagues to monitor and analyze key indicators to inform periodic review, program adaptation, and course-correction as needed
• Provide technical capacity strengthening through ongoing mentoring, coaching, and trainings with country program focal points
• Knowledge & Learning:You will facilitate continuous sectoral learning and IRC technical leadership:
• Increase quality of technical collaboration across the region by fostering cross-regional dialogue with other regional technical teams
• Lift up program learning for sharing across the region and to inform global strategic direction of ERD Global Practice Areas 
• Share cross-contextual learnings with country program staff across the region
• Collaborate with the Quality in Emergencies team and Emergencies and Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) counterparts during emergency classifications to support country programs to assess, design and implement high quality programming in acute emergency situations
• Collaborate with other technical advisors within the region to promote integrated programming leadership
• Refresh the sectoral evidence-base in collaboration with global and regional staff to influence approaches
• Contribute to the delivery of the Economic Wellbeing strategic priorities
• Maintain currency with sectoral best practices through continual learning and development
• Key Working Relationships:This position is dual reporting line to Deputy Director, ERD TU and to the Deputy Regional Director, Asia. This position may potentially supervise occasional consultants and/or interns. Regular communication with other ERD TU staff, regional and country program teams, awards management and grants management staff, and other internal stakeholders.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

• Success in this position requires an individual with expertise in designing and delivering technical assistance to ERD programs, and with a deep understanding of the cultural, societal, and political contexts in at least one of the regions where IRC operates. 

Work Experience: 

• A minimum of 6-8 years of relevant experience in implementing and/or managing economic recovery and development programs, with on the ground programmatic experience in a service delivery organization, NGO or comparable international agency required.
• Progressive experience of managing multi-location technical programs and teams with strong management and leadership skills including coaching, mentoring, and performance management
• Experience and familiarity with related donors, peer agencies and national contexts required, preferably in humanitarian, post-crisis, or climate impacted contexts. 
• Demonstrated expertise in technical program design, monitoring and evaluation, with the ability to turn concepts and strategy into measurable action.
• Demonstrated experience in managing high performing technical advisory staff, fostering an inclusive working culture, and with strong people management skills 

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Partnership agreements and subcontracts drafting

• Develop compliant sub-agreement templates based on the donors' rules and requirements (private and institutional donors), and leading the review process with Donor Compliance Specialists and IRC departments, as needed
• Regularly maintain and update partnership agreement templates. Ensure precise PEERS references, standardized notes, and unified formatting for country office use. Generate accurate and multi-lingual templates.
• In collaboration with OGC and other collaborators, develop subcontract templates for newly awarded contracts, ensuring templates have clear guidance notes and follow the prime contract terms and conditions.
• Sub-agreements and subcontracts review and approval – private and statutory donors 
• Working through the OTIS system (i.e. grants management application system) and as per PEERS approval thresholds, review and approve:
• Escalated partnership packages, including due diligence documentation and the sub-award/partnership agreements, for compliance with IRC’s internal procedures;
• subcontracts and supporting documents for completeness and, if incomplete, work with teams to revise the submission accordingly.

Advice, mentorship and capacity-building 

• Ensure overall compliance to IRC systems and policies by providing direct day-to-day support and assistance on the development, review, and execution of subcontracts and sub-grant agreements. Act as a compliance focal point for partnerships under private funding, and other statutory donors, by providing guidance and advice on the processing/implementing of PEERS, IRC internal policies and sophisticated donor rules and regulations.
• Build IRC staff knowledge and provide mentorship on the subcontracting and partnership agreement due diligence and PEERS processes with a focus on developing complete contract/agreement packages to ensure IRC staff efficiently identify and mitigate risks associated with specific partnerships. Strengthen IRC staff capacity on agreement review processes by providing ad hoc mentorship and facilitating PEERS specific info sessions and induction training to improve their skills. Developing an internal library of resources and regularly update training material resources and partnership processes.

Systems strengthening

• Collaborate across departments (e.g. C&P Donor Specialists, Finance, Ethics and Compliance, and Office of the General Counsel) to find broader solutions as they relate to subcontracts and partnership agreements
• Provide response to partners’ questions and concerns. Coordinating and engaging other departments (e.g. OGC) for input as needed. In close collaboration with other AMU departments, assist in the ongoing refinement and updating of PEERS and develop partnership tools and training, keeping in mind practicality of implementation and major donor guidelines to ensure a consistent application of PEERS.
• Explore opportunities for more data analysis and data-informed decision-making with other teams (finance, RPAS, donor specialists, etc.).Facilitate community of practice on compliance, partnerships, and partner support across country offices
• Participate and engage in contract readiness activities and lead or support in the development of Subcontracting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and update/revise Subcontracting manuals.
• When needed and upon request, assist with other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Demonstratable professional experience working on contracts and subcontracts in the context of USAID or FCDO funded projects
• Solid understanding of USAID and/or FCDO policies and procedures, specifically in contacts and subcontracts
• Demonstrated experience developing subcontracts and partnership agreements
• Excellent attention to details 
• Demonstrated ability to communicate sophisticated topics, related to donor or legal compliance, finance, contracts management, and procedures to a wider audience (e.g. across cultures and staffing levels)
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to optimally and efficiently converse with donors, partners, and other internal departments
• Ability to learn and roll-out new systems and operating procedures. Previous experience in developing compliance tools, templates, and/or trainings for multicultural settings a plus.
• Ability to problem-solve in a fast-paced team environment and prioritize accordingly;
• Ability to travel up to approximately 20% of time;
• Excellent digital literacy: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and email/internet software.
• Excellent written and verbal command of English, French

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MEAL Technical Oversight

Lead the MEAL system and processes for the IRC Re:Build project in harmony with the MEAL Country and Global Strategy throughout the project cycle which include:

• Use learning, evidence, and data from previous projects to inform project proposal design;
• Develop logical frameworks, MEAL plans, digital data collection tools, processes for online data management;
• Develop and manage information management systems for monitoring and evaluation and generate periodic reports to inform and guide programs;
• Oversee implementation of MEAL systems through regular field monitoring visits and tracking of Key Performance Indicators at the facility and camp level;
• Establish and ensure timely data flow, quality checks, and audits, and updating of data visualization;
• Supervise MEAL field activities;
• Undertake regular analysis of monitoring data and work closely with program coordinators and managers to facilitate decision-making for real-time program adaptation;
• Produce quality reports and updating dashboards with key findings that foster learning and decision-making and share in project cycle management meetings and team meetings;
• Identify, detail, and share lessons learned to improve services and results for our clients. 
• Participate actively in the enforcement of Quality Assurance (QA), Quality Control (QC) and Quality Improvement (QI) measures for all field program interventions
• Engage in the design, method, and conduct of surveys such as baseline and end line, and the commission of evaluations in coordination with colleagues and partners;
• Advocate for and support the expansion of standard mobile data technology and online dashboard to enhance timeliness and quality of data collection, analysis and visualization;
• Ensure a high level of communication and close working relationships with the project team, project implementers, and other key stakeholders; and
• Join and contribute to IRC’s effort in meeting its internal and external accountability commitments through the implementation of sound accountability, client feedback, and response mechanisms.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Support data gathering and collection activities, to include:
• Creation of electronic surveys using open-source tools like CommCare.
• Staff training on use of mobile data collection tablets and surveying.
• Assisting center staff in approaches to surveying clients at the center and also remotely, providing guidance and feedback on survey data collection.
• Support survey development to respond to program monitoring, reporting and learning needs, monitor the quality of data collection, and provide additional guidance to staff after reviewing collected data.
• Run system-based reports to provide program staff and management with updated program statistics on clients registered and by activity that are disaggregated by sex, age, nationality and location. 

Monitoring and Evaluation System management

• Manage the CommCare application used for program data storage and analysis, suggesting needed modifications and updates with the support of the ERD Technical Unit and management;
• Train program and center staff on CommCare and entering and using system data; and
• Troubleshoot any issues with data uploads and synching, and work with program staff to ensure high quality survey data and understanding of data collection procedures.

Leadership and partnership

• Provide leadership on all technical aspects and actions of MEAL regarding the livelihood project; respond to program needs; foster high standards and practices for quality data, analysis, and reports. Enable accountability to clients, partners, and donors;
• Improve MEAL systems and approaches and foster learning;
• Represent IRC at technical meetings, forums, and other events, and build partnership within IRC and other areas of expertise;
• Champion design, access and use of data by leaders and partners for shared learning and evidence-based decision-making; and
• Collaborate with MEAL teams within and outside IRC to support harmonization of MEAL systems and approaches, sharing capacity and experiences. 

Human Resources

• Administratively and technically supervise MEAL officers, Assistants and enumerators as appropriate;
• Coordinate, lead, mentor and support a dynamic small to medium team of MEAL staff; foster timely and high-quality achievement, and an inclusive and respectful team climate;
• Promote the growth and development of others in IRC teams and partners in MEAL: Lead and craft high-quality technical training and learning materials for partners, colleagues, and junior staff;
• Participate in the recruitment and onboarding of program MEAL officers, assistants, and (if relevant) external consultants.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Science, Monitoring and Evaluation, Computer Engineering, Research, Program Management, Economics or similar field
• At least 5 years of managing data collection and analysis, with experience or concrete knowledge and experience in statistical analysis and data management software and methodology along with key platforms (CommCare, ONA, Power BI, KOBO and or ODK).
• Computer literacy with possible advanced Ms word, Ms Excel, Ms PowerPoint and  Ms access
• Demonstrable experience and capacity in reporting, monitoring and evaluation, and using technology and mobile data collection to improve approaches. 
• Experience in humanitarian, non-profit or community engagement sectors preferred.
• Strong ability to work independently, organize work, meet deadlines, maintain composure, prioritize work under pressure, coordinate multiple tasks and maintain attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills, creativity and flexibility.
• Personal qualities: promote collaboration and coordination within and across teams, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, extremely flexible and adaptable, ability to contribute across multiple activities and departments.

Required Experience & Competencies

• Good knowledge of monitoring and evaluation technologies, techniques, approaches and methodologies in livelihood programs.
• Demonstrable experience and understanding of CommCare and PowerBi.
• Demonstrable ability to meet deadlines with quality products.
• Strong communication skills (oral and written).
• Impeccable presentation skills.
• Strong management skills (Managing, motivating and developing staff).
• Excellent planning and organizational skills with the ability to appropriately manage and delegate work.