Child Protection Coordinator

Job Description

The Ukraine crisis 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: IRC Poland is currently looking for a strategic and versatile leader to oversee and manage a Child Protection (CP) portfolio, comprised of case management, psychosocial support, and risk reduction activities delivered by IRC and partners. They have practical experience in humanitarian contexts; strong diplomacy, coordination and networking skills; and are pragmatic and solutions-oriented. They have 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 systems.

Key working relationships:

- Position Reports to: Deputy Director of Programs (DDP), Poland - Position directly supervises: Child Protection Manager; Senior Integrated Protection Manager (Gdynia and Katowice protection Centers).

- Internal collaborations within IRC: Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) Coordinator, WPE Manager; Protection and Rule of Law (ProL) Coordinator. Education Coordinator. Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) Coordinator; Senior Partnership and Grants Coordinator; MEAL Coordinator. - External collaborations to IRC: Child Protection actors, organizations and agencies; UN, EU representatives.

The Child Protection Coordinator will roll-out IRC’s child protection program in Poland, that is responsive to emerging child protection risks and needs related to the Ukraine crisis. S/he will engage actively with key strategic stakeholders in order to promote the CP program outcomes, standardize processes, support local capacities, and advocate on behalf of refugee children and caregivers.

Major responsibilities

Providing overall strategic vision for the child protection program, specifically: - Ensuring the technical quality of all IRC child protection programming, and that children and adolescents at risk or experiencing abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence can access safe, quality, gender-sensitive and age-appropriate protection services in line with their needs and best interests. - Providing technical and management leadership to the child protection program in accordance with best practice and IRC policy. - Guiding the development of a strategic vision and direction for the child protection program, ensuring a process that incorporates input from CP field teams, other IRC sectors, senior IRC management, and key external stakeholders. - Fostering a collaborative and positive work environment – one that encourages learning and professional growth for CP teams. - Ensuring that ethical and sound data collection and information management systems are in place for appropriate child protection analysis, planning, evaluation, and advocacy. - Actively developing and maintaining effective working relationships with key stakeholders, including donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors.

Primary responsibilities

Staff supervision and Development

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. - Provide technical guidance, on-the-job mentoring and coaching for direct reports, including managers, and officers. - Ensure ongoing training and targeted capacity building of child protection staff. This includes staff training in program management areas such as reporting, budgeting, monitoring, evaluation, and supervision. - Directly supervise the CP Manager and ensure regular performance reviews and feedback.

Directly supervise the Senior Integrated Protection Manager (Gdynia and Katowice Protection Centers). Ensure technical quality of service provision and operational delivery. - Assist with the recruitment of CP staff, in coordination with HR, senior management. - Ensure training and ongoing capacity-building opportunities for staff in technical and project management skills.

Grant Planning & Implementation - Responsible for the overall achievement of grants, according to IRC grants implementation cycles and procedures. - Support implementation and ensure adherence to grant work plans, spending plans and monitoring and evaluation plans. - Work closely and coordinate with IRC Operations, Finance and Grant departments to ensure compliance with grant requirements.

Grant Monitoring & Reporting - Support development and maintenance of effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control and reporting systems and processes. - Ensure high-quality IRC and donor reports on activities, indicators, and achievements.

Partner Management - Oversee IRC’s relationship with implementing partners. - Ensure regular monitoring of partner activities to achieve the set CP program objectives.

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 coordination and task force meetings, at appropriate levels to feed IRC priorities from the field. - Respond to approved media requests involving CP programming, when relevant and necessary. - Ensure field concerns and challenges are brought to relevant stakeholders to push for standards and procedures that systematize how CP programming is implemented and coordinated at the field level.

Program Development - Lead the development of the strategy for the CP program, including broader, strategic advocacy. - Contribute to the development of the overall country program strategic direction. - Lead proposal development activities (narrative and budget) through planning and program design with relevant field-based staff, to ensure technical standards are taken into consideration before submission. - Coordinate with other IRC sectors (i.e., WPE, PRoL, Education, and ERD programs) to provide relevant input and support enhancing the safety, development, and wellbeing of children, adolescents and their families. - Identify opportunities for partnership and strategic collaboration.

Monitoring responsibilities - Oversee all internal, CP related reporting. - Follow-up on quality collection of data towards donor and internal indicators.

- Produce / contribute to all donor reporting, as required (monthly / quarterly / annually) - including internal reporting under the Ukraine Appeal.

- Supervise quality case management data collection and storage.

- Actively collaborate with IRC in country and Regional MEAL Coordinator, MEAL staff, AAP staff.

Other duties:

- Other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.

Qualifications

Requirements:

- Language: English required; if possible, Polish and/or Ukrainian.

- Bachelor of Arts or Science in Social Work, Human Rights, Social Science, Public Health, Humanities or other related field, desirable. Postgraduate degree a distinct advantage.

- At least five years of experience in Child Protection programs. Previous experience in Poland/Europe context preferred (min. 1 year).

- Experience facilitating group activities, trainings and workshops and mentoring others.

- Counseling or case management experience desirable.

- Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.

- Experience in partnership brokering, leadership and overall partner delivery.

- Experience with Microsoft Dynamics environment strongly preferred.

- People management skills. Ideally, a Compass training alumni/a.

- Demonstrated understanding of and ability to maintain confidentiality and respect for clients/beneficiaries.

- Positive and professional attitude, including ability to lead and work well in a team setting.

- 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.

- Strong commitment to humanitarian and protection principles and IRC values.

- Computer literate, including Microsoft Word and Excel.

This position will be based in Warsaw, with frequent travel to Katowice, Gdynia and other locations as necessary. As this is a fluid and rapidly changing context, the location of this position and length of assignment may change based on the needs of the program.

Must have the right to work in Poland

Diversity and Inclusion: At the IRC, our diverse clients, partners, and staff have the power, voice, and agency to shape programs and operations. We actively work to end all forms of systemic discrimination and foster an inclusive working environment where everyone feels respected, heard, valued, and supported. The IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability. The IRC encourages women to apply and work with us to reach the people most in need of humanitarian assistance, such as women, widows, and children. The IRC is committed to providing a decent and safe work environment that considers needs of women in the workplace, including through maternity leave and safety protocols.