Economic Recovery & Development Coordinator
Job Description
Purpose of the Role
The ERD Coordinator will provide strategic vision and technical leadership to all aspects of ongoing and future ERD programs (with greater focus on Women’s Economic Empowerment) in Bangladesh under the direct supervision of DDP, technical support from HQ/Region based Technical Advisor. The main responsibility of the position is to start up the IRC’s ERD programming in Southern Bangladesh and to scale up the IRC’s women’s economic empowerment work to include host communities and self-reliance for Rohingya Refugees by providing technical oversight in the design and ensure program quality. The IRC's economic programming will integrate with programming delivered by the IRC's WPE and CP units to allow women, girls and caregivers to achieve sustainable income-generating opportunities and become active and productive members within their communities while ensuring that income does not cause them harm. The position will scope for existing ERD programming to avoid duplication of efforts, build strategic partnerships with local and international organizations to broaden livelihoods services available to vulnerable women and girls. Within this scope, the IRC's ERD programming will look into cash-based programming, such as cash for health outcomes, skills and market-access programming linked to income-generation and other livelihoods services as determined by the local context and by the needs of women, girls and caregivers. The position will also provide support to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programming to integrate cash and livelihoods services to populations in displacement. This role will be responsible for writing proposals, defining the ERD strategy to guide the IRC’s work, collaborate with IRC units to ensure integrated programming, engage with partners and donors.
Highlights of Key Responsibilities
· Develop the ERD unit’s strategy in line with the Country Program’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP) focusing on the economic needs of vulnerable refugees and host communities’ women, girls and caregivers within Cox Bazar, Southern Bangladesh (particularly Khulna and Barisal divisions) while ensuring that cash and economic opportunities build off services delivered by the IRC’s Child Protection and Women Protection and Empowerment units
· With IRC’s Protection programs and in collaboration with government collaborators and local partners, develop cash and ERD programming which allow vulnerable women and girls to continue to safely meet their basic needs and respond to economic shocks within contexts of climate-induced disasters both at the places of origin and displacement
· In line with the Skills Development Framework within Rohingya refugee camps initiated by the Government of Bangladesh, develop skills building programming, in collaboration with the WPE & CP programs to allow Rohingya women and girls to acquire skills of relevance to their needs
· Periodically analyze the context and carry out assessments that feed into the country office’s SAP; support in technically reviewing on-going assessments’ recommendations and narratives
· Prepare concept notes and proposals that are aligned with the country office’s SAP covering both camps and host community. ERD programming builds off the needs of women, girls and caregivers and could include cash programming, skills-building, development of small businesses and financial inclusion, such as access to business capital and savings programs. Provide support in developing DRR proposals
· In close coordination with Protection, Health, Education and Emergency Preparedness and Response sector coordinators, ensure the integration of ERD and DRR programming where relevant
· Along with program staff and the Technical Unit/Advisors, support the development of Cash Relief Operations Protocols (CROPS), Standard Operating Procedures and Guidance Notes for program activities
Start-up of IRC ERD program
· Launch IRC’s ERD programing in Southern Bangladesh ensuring programming is rooted in the market and is responsive to vulnerable populations’ needs, particularly in response to natural disasters
· Depending on project needs, support to recruit relevant candidates ensuring inclusion and equality principles are respected
· Work closely with Protection colleagues (WPE, CP), Education and Health to develop integrated programming with economic outcomes and/or to support in development of assessments with economic outcomes
· Focusing on the economic self-reliance needs of women and girls, developing cash and ERD programming that identify economically vulnerable women, working with IRC’s WPE unity, allow women to build market-relevant skills and safely access local markets and small capital for their business
· Scope the context for gaps in climate-smart programming, cash and ERD programming within disaster-risk reduction opportunities and accordingly develop cash and livelihoods programming that prioritizes the safety and needs of women and girls
· Under Country Leadership guidance, develop advocacy documents focusing on the needs of economically vulnerable women and girls, gaps in women empowerment service delivery and contribute to generating evidence and the best techniques that improve women’s economic self-reliance
· Working with IRC’s ERD Technical Advisors, develop ERD concept notes, proposals, log frames, budgets and capability statements in response to donors’ solicited and unsolicited calls for funding
· Working closely with IRC’s ERD Technical Advisors, develop appropriate methodologies and technical approaches for relevant economic program activities, ensuring context-appropriate livelihoods and economic resilience programming are relevant to the needs of populations in need and align with IRC’s global ERD strategy plan and relevant theories of change
· Working with the partnership team, identify local partners capable of implementing IRC programming in ERD, resilience-building and disaster-risk reduction programs
· Work with local partners on designing livelihoods programming in response to funding opportunities; during implementation, develop the capacities of local partners in relation to clients’ selection criteria, implementation criteria of livelihoods interventions (Cash Programming, Skills Building, Access to Capital and DRR)
· Ensure regular performance monitoring of partners to achieve the set project's objectives; provide technical support and guidance as needed to ensure program quality
· Together with the Grants and MEAL Coordinators, develop a full M&E framework for livelihoods activities as specified in narratives and logical frames as well as learning strategies, and adapt them to the different program methodologies. Oversee implementation of on-going programming per established M&E frameworks
· Where relevant, conduct learning events / workshops to draw lessons learnt and take forward relevant corrective actions
· Provide input to project and operational budget development and to provide technical guidance to ensure program quality
· Engage with donors on ERD programming through meetings and proposal development or fundraising discussions, drafting reports, communication emails, in close coordination with the Grants and project implementation team
· Closely engage with the humanitarian coordination bodies on ERD sector (i.e cash working group), resilience-building programming and disaster risk responses at Cox’s Bazar and National level
· Closely work with Communication and Advocacy team to promote evidence-based self-reliance of Rohingya Refugees
· In close association with the Sr. Coordinator - Gender Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, ensure inclusive ERD program developed and budgeted
Qualifications
Experience and Competencies: Knowledge, Skills & Abilities A minimum of 8 years’ experience of providing technical support or program management for livelihoods programming integrated within WPE and CP programs. Candidate should demonstrate experience in identifying livelihoods vulnerability criteria relevant to women, girls and caregivers, ensure that cash and livelihoods programming do not cause harm for women and girls within the household and the community and ensure that any market-relevant skills building and access to small capital programming meets the needs and skills of targeted women and girls. Demonstrated experience in Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), including multi-purpose cash assistance and cash for work, market-relevant skills building, support to small business owners, agriculture, working in complex humanitarian settings Demonstrated knowledge of cash and livelihoods services within DRR programming, inclusive of climate-smart agriculture, skills building for diversified livelihoods within climate-affected contexts, market-access and access to capital within displacement settings and general CVA as part of emergency responses is a plus Demonstrated knowledge and experience conducting market scoping, gap analyses and stakeholders mapping for cash and livelihoods programming supporting women’s economic self-resilience and cash and livelihoods programming within natural disaster settings Proven experience of high-quality proposal development in related sectors Proven experience of working with local partners Experience in implementing multi-year funding; multi-sectoral experience in humanitarian settings is preferable
Track record in developing and tracking project budgets Sound understanding of the local context and the livelihoods needs of vulnerable populations especially the host community and other sub-district of CXB, Southern part and urban areas Experience in undertaking assessments in livelihoods and economic resilience Experience working with major donors such as USAID, GFFO, ECHO, FCDO, SIDA, PRM,, GAC, UN donors Experience in organization representation, coordination with international bodies and government institutions
Demonstrated experience of working with multi-cultural team (national and international) Experience in managing staff and working with other team members collaboratively to achieve results Positive relationship building and coordination skills Knowledge of Rohingya refugee crisis as well as host community Strong communication skills in both written and spoken English
Specific Educational Qualification Bachelor’s/ Master’s degree in Business Management/ Development Studies/ Agriculture/ Project Management/ Social Science or any other relevant subject
Professional Degree/ Certification N/A
Standard of Professional Conduct IRC and IRC employees are required to abide by the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct which are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, 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 women professionals to apply.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Are you ready to join the most dynamic team?