Protection and Rule of Law Coordinator

BACKGROUND:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The Ukraine crisis could become the worst humanitarian crisis Europe has seen in decades. More than 5.3 million people have fled across borders to seek safety in the 1st month since the escalation of conflict in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and over 6.5 million people are reported to be displaced. Reports indicate almost all arrivals in Poland are women and children, including those that are unaccompanied and separated, as well as older persons.

Between February 7-23, 2022, an IRC team undertook a scoping mission covering Poland and Ukraine to better understand the context, humanitarian and civil society landscape, and anticipated service gaps in the event of an escalation of conflict in Ukraine and consequent displacement into neighboring Poland. As of February 24th, the IRC has pivoted to emergency response, and has identified partner agencies in Ukraine and Poland to facilitate immediate assistance that can be used where it is most needed. Simultaneously, the IRC has established operations across Ukraine and Poland offering a robust humanitarian response to complement partner response services either in breadth or scale.

IRC Poland’s goal is to ensure the survival of the affected population in a way that enables their safety, dignity, and empowerment. Working in the program areas of education, economic recovery and development and Protection/safety, the IRC in Poland works to see that 1) People affected by the war in Ukraine are able to meet their immediate and basic needs with safety and dignity and avoid harmful coping mechanisms and 2) People affected by the war in Ukraine are protected and supported to recover from the consequences of violence and displacement through equitable access to services and information. A signature part of IRC’s strategy, Protection includes WPE (Women’s Protection and Empowerment), ProL (Protection and Rule of Law) and CP (Child Protection) programming which benefit to varying degrees from both partner-led and direct implementation.

Job Overview/Summary: IRC Poland is looking for a strategic and versatile leader to oversee and manage a complex multi-donor, multi-year Protection and Rule of Law (PRoL) portfolio composed of humanitarian protection, child protection, women protection and empowerment, economic recovery and development, access to justice in Warsaw, Katowice, Krakow and other locations across Poland.

The ideal candidate has excellent technical capacity in systems strengthening at national and sub-national levels, with versatile humanitarian and development experience vis-a-vis protection, recovery and integration of displaced populations, access to justice and human rights. S/he has practical experience working in a protracted displacement context; strong diplomacy, coordination and networking skills; solutions oriented and pragmatic with the capacity to solve problems efficiently; and previous change management experience preferred. S/he has strong leadership abilities to create an environment that cultivates innovative thinking and new approaches firmly anchored in the realities of the local context and aligned to national and EU regional systems.

The Protection and Rule of Law Coordinator will work to oversee the quality and timely implementation of all aspects of the Protection and Rule of Law portfolio, providing cohesion and strategic direction to PRoL field teams operating in different geographic locations. S/he will work closely with IRC staff and key partners ensuring the interventions are context appropriate, coherent along the humanitarian and development nexus, leverage cross-programmer synergies and complementarities and align to national systems and international standards. Focus is on data-driven program quality, with progress being monitored and evaluated against quantifiable benchmarks and systems strengthening milestones, providing technical oversight across all sites of implementation as well as supporting and mentoring PRoL staff. S/he will forge strategic partnerships with the government, UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs, CSOs, the private sector, donors and civil society to successfully implement PRoL programs. The incumbent will also establish close linkages between PRoL and IRC Poland’s child protection, women protection and empowerment and economic recovery and development programs, as well as coordinate closely with the PRoL colleagues in Ukraine and across the region to support a regional approach to displacement response.

The PRoL Coordinator reports to the Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) and is based in Warsaw, with regular travel to the field sites. This position supervises and mentors the PRoL Manager and the Protection Analysis Manager and their respective teams, who are based in Warsaw. The PRoL team may be adjusted to better meet the needs of the assisted population and program strategies.

Major Responsibilities:

Summary of Key Functions

• Overall leadership and strategic direction of the PRoL portfolio
• Supervision of the PRoL Team and oversee PRoL field programs
• Lead strategic partnerships, overall grants management, new business development
• Lead in technical advisory services to the government and focal point for external representation with key partners and stakeholders

Portfolio Management

• Provide strategic direction and vision for the IRC’s PRoL programming in Poland, while observing high program quality and ensuring alignment with IRC’s best practices
• Oversee the technical aspects of the implementation and coordination of PRoL programs
• Support senior managers and field teams in the implementation and monitoring of work plans ensuring that activities reflect commitments IRC made to donors and communities
• Develop and/or adapt technical and managerial tools to support program implementation
• Work collaboratively with the MEAL coordinator to ensure that monitoring and evaluation systems are effectively designed and integrated into all stages of the project; that output and impact data are captured and that data is used to optimize program quality
• Participate in cross-departmental collaboration and coordination with economic recovery and development (ERD), child protection (CP), and women’s protection and empowerment (WPE) colleagues to ensure synergies are leveraged
• Promote strategic collaboration with key national partners to deliver greater impact
• Participate in grant opening, midterm review and grant closing meetings for all PRoL grants and ensure that the same process is implemented in the field
• In collaboration with program and grants staff, set up a budget tracking system and review budget vs. actual expenditure for PRoL programs on a monthly basis with staff
• Review all reports prepared by the field staff and provide appropriate feedback to the concerned staff and ensure that reports are written and submitted to concerned bodies in a timely manner
• Liaise regularly with the relevant HQ technical units

Staff Support

• Provide technical guidance, on-the-job mentoring and coaching for the deputy coordinator, senior manager and managers
• Ensure ongoing training and targeted capacity building of PRoL staff. This includes staff training in program management areas such as reporting, budgeting, monitoring, evaluation, and supervision
• Support field coordinators to ensure that the deputy coordinator and senior manager put capacity development plans in place for the national protection teams based on documented capacity needs assessments exercise
• Provide continuous support to and ensure targeted capacity building of staff
• Review performance of PRoL staff in the field and provide supportive approaches to address issues identified

New Business Development

• Ensure PRoL strategy is updated as required in close collaboration with the PRoL team, DDP and PRoL and other Technical Advisors
• Identify opportunities for, design and develop concept notes and proposals to grow the PRoL portfolio
• Ensure all designed protection projects use the IRC theories of change and that outcomes are evidence-driven and evidence-generated
• Coordinate and participate in the development of budgets for program proposals in conjunction with the grants and finance departments
• In coordination with the MEAL coordinator, develop proposal log frames and indicators that will optimize program quality
• Develop and/or input into protection assessments and protection reporting analysis for the purpose of program development
• Identify opportunities for partnership and strategic collaboration
• Develop innovative and strategic project proposals and program approaches linking humanitarian response, recovery and development programming

Representation, coordination and advocacy

• Coordinate with the CD, DDP and other technical coordinators to forge connections with key government counterparts with key justice and protection institutions at national level; UN agencies, I/NGOs, human rights actors and other sub-national government actors
• Represent the IRC in high level and strategic meetings involving protection actors such as protection working group meetings, protection monitoring and analysis meetings (co-chaired by IRC Poland alongside UNHCR), inter-agency coordination meetings, and bilateral meetings
• Regularly coordinate with internal program and operational stakeholders, including the Protection/Rule of Law Technical Advisors, Child Protection, Women’s Protection and Empowerment and other IRC colleagues

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Position reports to: Deputy Director of Programs

Direct reporting: Protection Analysis Manager, PRoL Officer, any other relevant raportee identified in FY’24

**Other internal contacts:**County Director, Finance Controller, Deputy Director of Operations, MEAL Coordinator, Grants Coordinator, other Technical Coordinators, PRoL Technical Advisor, Child Protection Technical Advisor, Women Protection and Empowerment Technical Advisor

Qualifications

Requirements:

The Protection and Rule of Law Coordinator will need to meet the requirements below:

• Post-graduate degree in international law, human rights law, international relations, social sciences, or other related field
• At least 8 years experience in senior management and leadership position managing large scale portfolio of multi-donor, multi-million dollar, multi-year programming
• Proven record of technical expertise in policy and programming in one or more of the following areas: governance, rule of law, systems strengthening, access to justice, social protection, humanitarian and social development program delivery
• Previous experience implementing humanitarian protection programs. International experience an asset.
• Experience with development donors within the EU as well as knowledge of the EU context – a distinct asset
• Demonstrable ability to lead strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and data-driven reporting
• Ability to lead effectively, mentoring and conflict resolution skills, including managing complexities
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in new business development, grants management and donor liaison
• Familiarity with key donor regulations, i.e. World Bank, EU, UNHCR, BPRM, GIZ, etc.
• Experience in working with and coordinating with the UN, donors, INGOs and other stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience in staff supervision, capacity building, project design and budget management
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with excellent analysis and writing skills
• Excellent analytical, writing skills and fluency in English. Polish, Ukrainian, or Russian – a distinct advantage.
• Strong team and people leadership, portfolio management, organizational and development skills
• Proven networking, team building, organizational and communication skills
• Additional qualities: ability to multi-task, ability to handle pressure well, ability to improvise, flexibility, adaptability to transitions

National Candidates: We strongly encourage national candidates to apply for this position. The IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Standards of Professional Conduct

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.