Career Opportunity with IRC, Bangladesh

Child Protection Manager (Safe Healing and Learning Space)

Program Brief

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the world’s leading agencies working in post-conflict and development contexts, supporting communities in over 40 fragile, failed and developing states. In this capacity, we work to restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted, struggling to endure and wishing to advance on a path of development.

Purpose

The Child Protection Manager will oversee IRC’s Safe Healing and Learning Space (SHLS) programming, including overseeing the quality, safety, and consistency of SHLS activities and ensuring technical support and supervision for SHLS staff.  The Child Protection Manager will also support the field testing and piloting of IRC’s adolescent life skills programming (“SAFE”) in Bangladesh, to be delivered alongside SHLS activities. She/he will ensure that Social Emotional Learning and psychosocial support activities for children and adolescents are delivered in close coordination with other streams of the IRC’s Child Protection program and overall humanitarian response in Bangladesh.

Position objectives:

• To ensure SHLS are safe and that staff are supported to meet the psychosocial, emotional, social and learning needs of enrolled children and their caregivers
• To provide training and technical support to the full SHLS team
• To coordinate with other IRC programming, external agencies, and local officials around SHLS

Major Responsibilities

Technical Quality :

• Provide technical and management leadership to SHLS programs in Cox’s Bazar in accordance with best practice, approved project documents, and IRC policy
• Ensure ongoing consultation with and acceptance of the SHLS with the community
• Ensure technically sound SHLS activities are underway and each SHLS and all Facilitators receive support and supervision visits
• Ensure excellent coordination with other IRC sectors or service providers in planning SHLS activities
• Support actor mapping to define SHLS referral pathways and regularly assess pathway for responsiveness and quality of care to address suspect child protection cases
• Ensure regular communication with the CP Coordinator and CP Technical Unit to integrate appropriate technical unit priorities in program design
• Ensure regular monitoring of program implementation, and work closely with the Child Protection MEAL Officer to ensure quality data collection and reporting of child protection program activities

Staff Supervision & Development :

• Directly supervise up to 3 CP Senior Officers and 1 CP MEAL Officer, as well as indirectly up to 16 CP Officers (SHLS, SAFE)
• Indirectly supervise and support the SHLS Facilitators and Community Outreach Workers in all SHLSs
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Ensure timely completion and submission of monthly timesheets, probations reviews and annual performance reviews.
• Assist with the recruitment of SHLS Officers and Facilitators in coordination with the CP Coordinator, CP Senior Manager, HR, senior management
• Ensure training, support and ongoing capacity building opportunities for staff on technical and project management skills.

Grant Planning & Implementation :

• Responsible for the overall achievement of the SHLS program
• Supports implementation and ensure adherence to grant work plans, spending plans and monitoring and evaluation plans
• Work closely and coordinates with IRC logistics, finance and grant staff to ensure timely and complaint program activities and expenditures; including active participation in grant opening/closing and review meetings
• Develop and maintain effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control and internal and external reporting systems and processes, including regular field monitoring and modifications to programming as required
• Ensure high-quality IRC and donor reports on activities, indicators and achievements

Coordination & Representation :

• Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders, including donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors
• Regularly attend CP sub-cluster meetings at appropriate levels to contribute to coordination of case management responses

Program Development :

• Contributes to development of the CP program strategic direction for responding to children harmed and at risk of being harmed
• Leads proposal development activities (narrative and budget) through planning and program design with relevant field-based staff and ensure technical standards are taken into consideration
• Coordinate with other IRC sectors (e.g., Women’s Protection, Health, etc.) to receive and provide input and support regarding responses for children harmed and at risk of being harmed

Monitoring Responsibilities :

• Develop and maintain effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control and reporting systems and processes.
• Manage staff that report into monitoring and evaluation systems in order to ensure data quality and timeliness in reporting.
• Monitor and consolidate information collected from weekly and staff activity reports
• Ensure high-quality programming according to international minimum standards and best practices
• Support data analysis and information dissemination to the appropriate coordinating mechanisms, field teams, beneficiaries and IRC implementing team accordingly

Other :

• Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of field teams, promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with community leaders and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience of implementing child protection programs, preferable social work or education in humanitarian or development settings.
• Previous experience supervising and managing a team in a cross-cultural setting
• Demonstrated understanding of working with children and particularly vulnerable children
• Previous experience in emergency preparedness and response
• Demonstrated experience in capacity building and mentoring of staff
• Demonstrated experience in grant management and proposal writing
• Good computer skills such as: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Capable of applying skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct implementation, advisory functions, coordination function, training and the transfer of technical knowledge
• Personal qualities: Team player, flexible, network-builder, able to handle pressure well.
• Fluency in English required. Fluency in Chittagong and Bangla desirable.