Protection and Rule of Law (PRoL) Coordinator – Burundi

Background/IRC Summary:  Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a world leader in relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict development services for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. The IRC is currently working in over 25 countries around the world, addressing both the immediate and lifesaving needs of conflict affected people in emergencies and the reconstruction needs of post-conflict societies.

The IRC in Burundi supports vulnerable Burundians with an extensive range of child and youth protection, prevention of gender based violence, access to justice and environmental health programs. The IRC in Burundi is the main protection partner of UNHCR, working directly with over 60,000 Congolese refugees, and providing logistical support for refugees and repatriates. The IRC provides protection services for women, children and persons with specific needs, while also strengthening the capacity of the Government, local administration, and local partners to improve protection services and to create economic and social opportunities for the most vulnerable. With almost 10.6 million people, Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, consistently falling at the bottom of the Global Hunger and Human Development Indexes. The cycle of political violence and unrest that Burundi has been experiencing since 2015 has become protracted resulting in more than half a million people displaced. Millions more are suffering from the rapidly declining economy. The fallout from the political and economic crises has further exacerbated an already fragile food and livelihood situation. One of the most underreported crises in the world, there are insufficient funds allocated to Burundi to respond to the wide range of needs. The IRC aims to maintain access to services and to increase state and civil society capacities for stability and resilience.

Job Overview/Summary: The Protection and Rule of Law (PRoL) Coordinator will be leading the PRoL team and ensuring that the PRoL activities and approach are in line with the IRC Burundi Strategy Action Plan.  This Coordinator will provide technical support as well as coaching and managerial skills building.  During the TTA assignment, the PRoL Coordinator will also be responsible to conduct an overall assessment of the national PRoL team in order to elaborate specific recommendations on team structure vis-à-vis the contextual and technical requirements such as upcoming programming opportunities and type, prevalent themes with donors and working groups, and collaboration across sectors.

Major Responsibilities: Major responsibilities of the PRoL Coordinator include:

Technical Capacity & Program Quality

• 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
• Ensure quality IRC and donor reports as per schedules on grant activities, indicators and achievements are produced.
• Analyze and strengthen technical capacity and skills on general protection programming and, in particular, on community-based protection and social cohesion and conflict resolution models (linked to access to justice) (context of peacebuilding and reintegration);
• Build assessment and analysis skills (protection (needs) assessments, evaluation);
• Strengthen monitoring systems (review data collection methodologies; develop strategies for improving data collection) and assist with the analysis of program data (identification of protection trends; identification of anomalies in data to be further investigated; identification of areas for program improvement or modifications);
• Assist with the development of training materials in line with IRC technical best practice and standards, as needed;
• Support with the review of internal and external reports (in discussion with the PRoL Technical Adviser).

Staff Management & Development

• Provide guidance to the national PRoL Coordination on project and staff management (workplans, weekly meetings, and on-the-job mentoring);
• Strengthen staff capacity building (create a training plan for the team; cerate professional skills development plans for the team; introducing regular performance reviews; review of the annual performance appraisals);
• Review the staffing structure (delegation of responsibilities; improved communication and team work).
• Assess team and coordinator level of capacity for context analysis and the degree of potential protection network engagement for technical issues, wider national context and new programming opportunities.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:  Deputy Director for Programs

Position directly supervises:  PRoL team focal point for Legal Aid; PRoL team focal point for People with Specific Needs

Indirect Reporting:  PRoL Technical Adviser

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal:  N/A

External: N/A

Job Requirements:

Education:

• Advanced University Degree in International Relations, Human Rights, Law, Social Sciences, or related field

Work Experience:

• At least five years of prior professional international experience in protection programming with and NGO and/or international organization managing program activities
• Three years of experience working in emergency/conflict settings and knowledge of refugee and IDP context as well as peacebuilding and reintegration programming
• Strong protection background and ability to set up community-based protection programming, case management systems for vulnerable cases, and social cohesion and conflict resolution programming
• Demonstrated practical experience in staff management and capacity building (coaching)
• Familiarity with program design, including log frames, budgeting and grants/report writing preferred
• Knowledge of ECHO, UNHCR, PRM and other donor regulations and procedures is an asset

 Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent communication skills and drafting skills
• Good critical thinking and ability to interpret data and ability to analyze and synthesize a variety of material in a fast-paced environment
• Strong experience managing a diverse team
• Excellent organizational skills, timeliness, ability to determine priorities and great attention to detail
• Proactive, flexible, team spirited and willing to learn.
• Good computer skills including MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Language Skills:

• Excellent writing and oral communication skills in French
• Good writing and reading skills in English

Attention Returning National Candidates: 

IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs. We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a national of the country in which this position is based and are currently located outside of your home country and possess over two years of international work experience, the Middle East Region has introduced an attractive remuneration package. The package includes competitive compensation, return flight to post, shipping allowance, temporary housing and a relocation allowance. Certain restrictions may apply.