Women's Protection and Empowerment (WPE / GBV) Manager, Bujumbura, Burundi

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.

Background

The IRC opened its offices in Burundi in 1996 and initially focused on life saving interventions and provision of immediate assistance to refugees and IDPs. IRC Burundi now focuses on development-oriented interventions in order to support the country's transition to lasting peace and stability.

The IRC has implemented a women's protection and empowerment (WPE) program in Burundi since 2005, with current activities in the refugee settings of Muyinga, Ruyigi and Bujumbura Mairie. The WPE program consists of 1) ensuring quality psychosocial, health and legal support services are available to survivors of gender-based violence through direct service provision, technical and financial support to partners, and building the capacity of key actors; 2) economic and social empowerment of women and girls to reduce their vulnerability to violence, 3) community mobilization to encourage changes in attitudes and behaviours that are harmful to women and girls, and; 4) coordination and advocacy on women's protection and empowerment.

Scope of Work

The Women's Protection and Empowerment Program Manager provides overall strategic direction and vision for the WPE program. In addition to overseeing the implementation of the activities listed above, the position plays an active role in the general strategic leadership of the country program. The position also serves as a representative of the WPE program at various levels including the national and local government, international and local NGO partners, UN organizations and other strategic partnerships. The position reports to the Deputy Director for Programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Representation & Partnership
• Form strong relationships with relevant Ministry officials, maintaining IRC as a key actor in women's protection and empowerment issues and advocacy at the national level;
• Develop, maintain and/or initiate partnerships with community based organizations, NGOs, UN Agencies and Government Ministries to support WPE programming;
• Represent IRC at WPE related coordination meetings, ensuring proper dissemination of information among relevant stakeholders;
• Support key staff to establish and/or maintain coordination mechanisms at provincial level.
• Program Management and Development
• Coordinate and support all WPE projects within IRC Burundi;
• Ensure the continued implementation of the IRC Burundi WPE Country Sector Strategy, and lead the revision of this document;
• Identify new funding opportunities and develop proposals in line with the Country Sector Strategy;
• Develop and maintain a monitoring & evaluation plan, including the systematic collection and analysis of data (in line with the GBV information management system), in collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator;
• Develop synergies with other programming areas (Child protection and Governance);
• Oversee program activities to ensure their compliance with the ‘do no harm' principal;
• Maintain regular communication with WPE, ERD and Health Technical Units to ensure quality programming.
• HR Management
• Participate in recruiting and training WPE staff;
• Supervise national coordinators. Provide ongoing support and mentoring;
• Ensure that all WPE staff have regular performance evaluations and receive ongoing feedback;
• Develop a capacity-building plan for WPE staff, and actively seek out formal and informal training opportunities for WPE staff.
• Budget, Administrative and Grants Management
• Ensure all grants are implemented according to donor regulations and guidelines;
• Review budget vs. actual reports, providing feedback as necessary;
• Ensure WPE staff and partners understand and respect the IRC Way;
• Ensure the timely submission of donor reports.

Requirements

• Advanced degree in humanitarian affairs, public health, social work, economics or a related field;
• Excellent understanding of gender dynamics and more particularly gender-based violence;
• At least two to four years' experience at a management level;
• Experience in refugee related work as well as around women's economic empowerment preferred
• Experience in a post-conflict context preferred;
• Demonstrated experience in supervising, mentoring and building capacity of expatriate and national staff;
• Demonstrated experience in project design and fundraising;
• Understanding of participatory tools for community mobilization and development an asset;
• Understanding of microfinance and community-based savings methodologies an advantage;
• Strong communication and inter-personal skills;
• Good working knowledge of standard computing software;
• Ability to speak, read and write French and English to a high level (native English or French-speaker preferred);
• Ability to live/work in a dynamic security environment and comply with security protocols.

http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH02/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=9745