The International Rescue Committee 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, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.
Background
The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Inside Syria, 7.6 million people are internally displaced and 12.2 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 4.8 million in hard-to-reach areas. There are 3.8 million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries. This is no short-term humanitarian episode. The devastating human consequences to huge numbers of people will endure for decades. The destruction of relationships, communities, livelihoods, homes and infrastructure will take years to repair.
IRC is offering a robust humanitarian response to the Syria crisis with an annual budget in excess of $140 million and a rapidly expanding portfolio, supported by more than 1,250 staff in the region. IRC is undertaking programs in Syria and the neighboring countries of Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan in the fields of health, child protection, education, women’s protection and empowerment, NFI and food distribution, cash assistance, water and sanitation, and livelihood programming. Our work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding and coordination.
Job Overview/Summary:
The Protection Specialist, based in the IRC Antakya office, will be responsible for supporting the protection cluster and IRC as co leads of the Protection Monitoring Task Force (PMTF). An initiative of the Syria Protection Cluster (Turkey) in order to enable collation of accurate information about protection risks and concerns, to generate actionable recommendations for humanitarian stakeholders, and to strengthen identification and referrals of persons in need of protection interventions. PMTF aims to increase, through the capacity-building process, the number of assessments conducted and shared by national humanitarian actors, as well as the number of analysis/information products developed.
Major Responsibilities:
Technical Support
* Develop and continuously update and refine quality systems and tools for protection monitoring to ensure the effective collection and analysis of qualitative data relating to the protection environment, including physical safety and security, freedom of movement, documentation, safe and equitable access to services, etc.
* Liaises with all relevant coordination bodies to ensure appropriate buy in from cluster specific partners
* Strengthen the capacity of national and community-based actors to assess, analyze and respond to protection needs.
* Design and Coordinate the delivery of training on protection monitoring for Protection Monitoring Task Force members. Provide ongoing mentorship and coaching to local organizations undertaking protection monitoring.
* Support the development of key guidance documents on protection monitoring including the finalization of manual and SOPs, for endorsement by the Protection Cluster
* Using a protection lens, support design of new programs according to the specific context in the target areas, including support to developing assessment tools.
* Support the leadership of the Protection Task Force protection monitoring reports, including thematic and rapid reports
Reporting and advocacy
* Support the protection monitoring task force to develop reporting templates
* Draft protection analysis products and reports as required by the protection cluster and Protection Minotirng task force
* Ensures quality response to donor requests including beneficiary count and tracking in coordination with the Senior protection manager and the information management team
* Support the Protection Monitoring Task Force to develop regular updates and briefing notes on the protection concerns in the affected population, response activities, challenges and recommendations
* Contribute to improving the quality and relevance of reporting and advocacy messaging coming from the protection cluster as required.
* Facilitate reporting and information sharing within the cluster and at the inter-cluster level
* Any other duties requested by supervisor
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: IRC Protection Cluster Co Lead
Position directly supervises: N/A
Indirect Reporting: Protection Coordinator
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Internal: Admin and supply chain staff, M&E, Field Coordinators, Security / Liaison, Protection Manager, Legal Specialist
External: Service providers and other NGOs as needed to coordinate referrals
Job Requirements:
* Bachelor degree in Law, Human Rights, Political Science, or another relevant field.
* Excellent drafting and oral communication skills in English is required, communication skills in Arabic is desired.
* At least 4 years NGO experience preferably in protection monitoring or protection related work
* Strong understanding of humanitarian protection principles and standards
* Experienced in reporting, especially on protection issues and concerns (, protection risks, rights violations and different types of protection response)
* Understanding of information management in the context of protection programming and reporting
* Understanding of international human rights and Syrian context and legal framework
* Good interpersonal, organizational, and time management skills
* Strong skills in Word, Excel and Power Point and familiarity with internet research and common software applications
* Experience working with people from different backgrounds.
Working Environment: The position will be based in Antakya, Turkey with regular travel to Gazientep
