Requisition ID: req58972 Job Title: Integrated Protection Coordinator Sector: Protection and rule of law Employment Category: Regular Employment Type: Full-Time Open to Expatriates: No Location: Damascus, Syria Work Arrangement:In-person Job Description Background/Context: The IRC has operated in Syria since 2012, providing protection, health, economic recovery, and early childhood development programs in Idleb, Aleppo, Ar-Raqqa, Hassakeh, and Deir ez-Zor, with new programs expanding into Hama, rural Damascus, and Homs. With a team of over 350 members, the IRC has established trust and strong community relationships, ensuring access and effective service delivery. Our longstanding experience in the country to date provides a strong foundation for the IRC to further adapt and expand its programming across Syria, in order to respond to the new realities, with a greater focus on resilience and recovery initiatives. Alongside this, the IRC also It plays a significant role in Syria’s NGO, donor, and coordination forums, holding key positions and actively engaging in advocacy efforts. Intergrated Protection The IRC has been delivering protection programs in the northwest since 2013 and in the northeast of Syria since 2014, focusing on Protection/Rule of Law (PRoL), Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE), and Child Protection (CP). These efforts include specialized case management, PSS, Community-based Protection and Prevention activities, protection monitoring, information an services and advocacy. Collaborating with partners, IRC improves access to protection services, raises community awareness, and strengthens referral pathways. Protection capacity building, community outreach, and rapid response through mobile protection teams have also been provided since 2017. Job overview: The Integrated Protection Coordinator (IPC) is a highly experienced, dynamic individual with a strong technical background and team and program management experience. The IPC leads the design, development, and management of a robust violence prevention and response program able to meet the safety and protection needs of conflict-affected people, reducing risk and responding to cases of violence, coercion, and deprivation, as well as mainstreaming protection throughout the IRC’s and partners’ response in Syria. Strong capacities and adaptive, evidence-based approaches in protection are integral to the delivery of the IRC Syria country strategy through both dedicated and integrated programming toward improving outcomes for target populations. The IPC plays a critical role in building staff technical and program management capacities, driving forward implementation and coordination with other actors, ensuring qualitative data is produced and analyzed effectively, and participating in IRC and multi-agency advocacy efforts Responsibilities: Program Management, Technical Quality, and Strategy • Serve as a technical lead in quality program design, concept note and proposal development to further fund and develop IRC Syria protection programming, both targeted and integrated. • Lead development of the IRC protection sector strategy for Syria in collaboration with the Protection Managers, DDP, other protection sector staff, and the VPRU Technical Advisors. • Ensure sound and effective management of the portfolio and donor compliance, including appropriate and timely spending of grants to achieve program goals, grant reporting contributions, use and distribution of supplies and resources. • Liaise with IRC Violence Prevention and Response (VPR) Unit Technical Advisors to ensure relevant support, tools, guidance and other resources are being provided and integrated into programming. • Ensure close alignment and coherence with IRC country, regional, and global strategy as well as with local Health and MHPSS programs. • Proactively identify, assess, monitor and implement measures to reduce or control risks that may impact program delivery, quality, or compliance. • Promote joint work across all protection teams (CP, WPE, PRoL) to enhance the quality of programming and a holistic approach to addressing safety risks. • Develop/ensure adherence to the internal Standard Operating Procedures for integrated protection. • Effectively manage IRC program resources and facilitate the strengthening of program management capacities across the team. • Work with program managers/senior managers and MEAL/information management teams to analyze program performance, impact and course correction actions needed • Work with other sectors: Economic Recovery and Development, Health, and Early Childhood Development to improve integration and coordination within programs. Program Development • Identify opportunities for, design and develop evidence-based concept notes and proposals for further prevention and response programing including protection monitoring, information dissemination and community-based protection programming, in addition to integration with other sectors. • Develop protection assessments and analysis for the purpose of program development • Provide input on proposals from other sectors to ensure protection is mainstreamed Research, Learning, and Analysis • Identify research and learning agendas aimed at improving evidence generation feeding into programming • Use the Protection Analytical Framework to regularly analyze risks, trends, and protection threats, and adapt programming accordingly to ensure interventions remain relevant and responsive • Lead Protection assessments and context-appropriate research aimed at generating a strong evidence base for IRC protection programming and informing IRC advocacy • Support the greater sharing and use of research and learning within IRC’s program sectors, including by contributing to program development and design, to ensure interventions are responsive to needs and informed by a sound understanding of the environment(s) in Syria • Identify, monitor, and report unmet needs. Explore the IRC's potential to address those needs within the parameters of the Strategic Action Plan and sector priorities. Coordination & Representation • Establish and maintain solid and trusted relationships with Protection stakeholders, networks and government agencies, donors, UN agencies, international and local civil society organizations (including women-led and women rights organizations) that support IRC’s scaling and sustainability objectives; work closely and coordinate with relative stakeholders in Syria to influence national Protection strategies and initiatives, to ensure greater investments in Protection and greater access to Protection services. • Attend relevant coordination forums inside Syria and represent the IRC protection program in coordination with local communities, government departments, international agencies, local partners and donors as required. • Collaborate closely with other program departments in order to ensure that linkages between programs are made and programs gain from training best practices. • Participate (directly or via an appropriate delegate) in all technical meetings for consortium projects. • Identify, monitor, and report unmet needs; explore the potential of the IRC to address those needs within the parameters of the country program’s Strategic Action Plan while preventing duplication with other actors and taking advantage of synergies. • Work closely with senior health staff in the promotion of enhanced internal coordination and integration. Partner Management • Lead responsibility for strategically developing and maintaining partner relationships with local organizations working in partnerships • Work closely with the IRC's Partnerships team to ensure the IRC's Partnership Strategic objectives are achieved • Ensure regular performance monitoring of partners to achieve the project’s set objectives; provide technical support and guidance as needed. • Work closely with the IRC's Partnerships team and the relevant protection Managers, drafts and/or reviews of the Partnerships priorities in Health and Stakeholders Analysis, identifying, when needed, strategic partners to jointly achieve Health outcomes for vulnerable populations • Take part in periodic Partnerships meetings, such as the Partnerships Working Group and/or Partnerships Review meetings Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development • Plan, organize, recruit, supervise, and develop the team and individuals needed to achieve program goals and maximize national ownership and leadership • Coach, train, supervise, and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews. • Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promote a strong team spirit, and provide oversight and guidance to enable staff to perform successfully in their positions. • Approve and manage all the time, attendance, and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission • As required, identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies. • Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions for national and international staff care needs. • Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth where appropriate. • Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC Global HR Policies and Procedures, and communicate through word and example a high standard of compliance with all applicable policies and regulations • Conduct regular reflection or program review meetings with field-based staff to assess the level of achievement and draw on learning and data trends (including client feedback) to further inform program design and management decisions. Lead the use of data from protection analyses and monitoring reports to integrate protection across other sectors. Job Requirements Education: • Degree in Law, Human Rights, Social Science, international relations, psychology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination education and relevant work experience. Work Experience: • 8 years of professional experience in humanitarian response, preferably with experience in protection programming. With at least 3 years in a managerial position, including staff management. Demonstrated experience in managing large teams, preferably across multiple project sites. Experience in at least two or more areas of protection (CP, GBV, Protection) is highly desirable. • Prior experience working in emergency settings or insecure environments is preferred • Previous experience working on integrated and multi-sectoral programs is preferred • Experience working in Syria and /or MENA Demonstrated Skills and Competencies: • Demonstrated experience using international human rights standards in protection programming. • Strong strategic thinking, critical analysis and proposal writing skills. • Evident skills to preempt risks and challenges; and ability to devise and implement mitigation strategies through efficient decision-making is desired. • Strong leadership, staff and budget management and capacity building skills. • Excellent communication skills, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, ability to improvise, team player. • Experience in implementing programming that utilizes ICT, including in the collection and management of qualitative and quantitative data is desired. • Strong planning, reporting, monitoring, and evaluation skills • Excellent skills in effective in representation and liaison with external parties • INGO experience is required, and private sector experience is desirable • Strong risk management skills and agility are desirable • Capable of applying their skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct implementation, advisory functions, training, and the transfer of technical knowledge and management skills to others • Works well in and promotes teamwork • Comfortable in a multi-cultural environment Language/Travel: • Travels: minimum 30% percent travel • Language: Fluent English and Arabic Key Working Relationships: • Position Reports to: Deputy Director for Programs with close working relationships with Technical Advisors • Position directly supervises: Senior Technical Managers and Program Managers • Internal contacts: Grants Department, MEAL, VPRU Technical Unit, Partnership, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, Research Evaluation and Learning Technical Unit and other Sectors • External: Clusters and working groups