The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
The IRC began planning to reopen an oPt country program in mid-2022 and launched an emergency response in Gaza in October 2023. The organization is currently supporting a network of local partners in both Gaza and the West Bank to sustain critical health, protection, food security, cash, education, and early childhood development interventions. The IRC is also deploying emergency medical teams to provide surge clinical capacity in hospitals and other health facilities.
The IRC is working to scale its emergency response while building a longer-term oPt country program in parallel. This effort is being jointly managed by the Emergencies and Humanitarian Action Unit (EHAU) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a view to eventually transition the country program fully under the MENA region.
In Gaza, the IRC is currently scaling up its direct program implementation in protection, with a particular focus on child protection and women’s protection and empowerment / gender-based violence (GBV) programming. IRC’s child protection program in Gaza aims to ensure that girls and boys are protected from and treated for the consequences of violence, abuse, and exploitation, family separation is prevented, and appropriate care is provided in emergencies.
Position overview
Under the supervision of the Child Protection (CP) Manager, the CP Case Management Officer will be responsible for IRC’s CP Case Management program in Gaza and the effective implementation of CP case management services for children who have been harmed or at risk of being harmed. The CP Case Management Officer will be in charge of providing direct case management services at the beginning, however, these responsibilities may change in the course of his/her position towards a more supervisory role as the CP Case Management Team will expand. The CP Case Management Officer will work in close collaboration with IRC’s CP mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS) team, other IRC’s sectors as well as with other key stakeholders to regularly report trends and advocate for vulnerable children. The CP Case Management Officer will have good technical and organisational capabilities to ensure that CP Case Management activities are implemented in line with IRC’s program guidelines and according to CP minimum standards and principles. The CP Case Management Officer will be based in Deir-Al-Balah, with travel to program locations across Gaza.
Responsibilities
Program Implementation:
•Participate in and support the identification of children harmed or at-risk of harm
•Provide individual protection support and, later comprehensive case management services, for eligible children in accordance with agreed case management steps, protocols, and related tools and procedures
•Provide ongoing support to children’s families, including care, support and skills building for children’s caregivers.
•Work in close collaboration with the CP MHPSS team and other IRC sectors to ensure children and their families have discrete and confidential access to services via the internal referral procedures, and that the case management support is responsive to the evolving needs of children and their families
•Support adherence to CP referral protocols and CP guiding principles; if concerns are identified in this matter, report them to the CP CM Officer and CP Sn Officer
•Facilitate and support the implementation of IRC’s focused MHPSS program for children and adolescents
Technical Quality:
•Ensure that CP case management services are effectively provided according to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
•Appropriately assign and review caseloads to ensure they are manageable
•Monitor timescales for response, services follow-up and review of cases
•Regularly review the safe and appropriate documentation of CP cases through case audits, review of files and databases
•Ensure confidentiality and that data protection and information-sharing protocols are respected.
•Schedule and lead case management meetings
•Organize and lead case conferences for complex and high-risk cases
•Conduct post-service interviews of the child and family to evaluate the quality and impact of the case management services provided; document feedback and analyze trends regularly
•Monitor and analyze CP data collected and provide regular reports to the CP Manager
•Ensure regular communication with the CP Manager for updates on achievements and challenges
•Support monitoring and activities (M&E) activities to support quality programming
Staff Supervision & Development:
•Directly supervise the CP Case Management Team
•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
•Provide ongoing technical support and capacity building to the CP Case Management Team through trainings and on-the-job training, including shadowing, observations, coaching sessions etc.
Administration & Reporting:
•Be the lead for all planning and reporting activities related to CP Case Management
•Monitor and consolidate information on case management
•Ensure the proper and timely management of the Emergency Case Management Fund
•Prepare and submit weekly activity work plans and reports in a timely manner to agreed-upon deadlines
•Contribute to monthly reports
•Complete all relevant tools for activities conducted (e.g. indicator trackers for CP Case Management activities)
•File and archive all important documents and correspondence relating to CP Case Management activities
•Support the implementation of and compliance with work plans, spending plans and M&E plans
•As requested, contribute to the collection of M&E data to support the development of project proposals in Child Protection
Coordination & Representation:
•Actively coordinate with staff from other IRC sectors in the field and IRC’s partners, including Women’s Protection and Empowerment, Nutrition, WASH, Safety & Security, Supply, Finance etc.
•Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with relevant local actors in the field, including community, non-governmental and governmental actors
•Actively develop, coordinate, maintain and strengthen effective working relationships with IRC’s partners.
•Participate in relevant coordination meetings at the community level.
•Closely collaborate with organizations and partners working in implementation area.
Other:
•Attend trainings organized by the IRC.
•Stay informed about the child protection situation and developments within the communities and surrounding areas.
•Consistently and proactively monitor the safety and security of field teams, promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment.
•Promote and adhere to the principles, objectives and code of conduct of the IRC.
•Act both professionally and personally in a manner that brings credit to the IRC and does not compromise its humanitarian mission.
•If necessary, provide translation and interpretation at meetings, training sessions and/or documents for a better understanding of all staff.
•Assist identifying new implementing partners and arrange meetings with partners to discuss their program implementation when necessary.
•Conduct any other task requested by his/her supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.
Qualifications
•Degree desired in Social Work, Psychology, Human Rights, Social Science or other related field.
•At least 2-3 years’ experience in implementing child protection programs, preferably in the field of CP Case Management in humanitarian or development settings.
•Demonstrated understanding of working with children who have been affected by conflict, disasters or other humanitarian crises, and/or children who have experienced or were at-risk of violence, exploitation, abuse or neglect.
•Demonstrated experience of providing direct support (basic counselling, case management, PSS, etc. ) to children and their families
•Previous experience supervising and coordinating a team preferred.
•Previous experience in capacity building and mentoring preferred.
•Previous experience in emergency response preferred.
•Demonstrated ability to liaise with partner organizations.
•Positive and professional attitude, including ability to lead and work well in a team setting.
•Good organizational and planning skills.
•High degree of flexibility and strong ability to organize work, meet deadlines, maintain composure, prioritize work under pressure, coordinate multiple tasks and maintain attention to detail.
•Highly motivated, interested and eager to learn.
•Fluency in Arabic; good English skills.
•Available to travel within Gaza, as required
Standard of Professional Conduct:The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.
Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.