EMAP Facilitator

Job Description

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, 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, the IRC aims to restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

Following a first assessment conducted in January 2017 in Italy and another one in July 2017, several critical protection gaps were identified within assistance provided to refugees and migrants in Italy: mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), assistance to unaccompanied children, information provision and legal support. To respond to the identified gaps IRC established a small presence in Italy. Programs in Italy include Refugee.Info web-based information platform, child protection programming targeting unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking, mentoring programs for the socio-economic inclusion of refugee youth, WPE and education (social emotional learning and healing classrooms). With the onset of the Ukrainian refugee crisis Ukraine, IRC Italy is ramping up its capacities to respond to protection and MHPSS needs of newly arrived Ukrainian refugees in several locations in Italy.

BACKGROUND ON THE EMAP APPROACH

In February 2023, the IRC commenced GBV prevention programming under EU-funded CARE: Community-Based Primary Prevention of GBV in Greece and Italy. CARE aims at contributing towards the prevention of GBV against women and girls, with a focus on intimate partner violence, by addressing its root causes. The IRC will implement community-based interventions that engage women to build peer support networks, empowerment, and capacity to lead change in their communities and support other women. It will do so by implementing an IRC’s approach named Women Rise, aiming at strengthening and expanding sources of support, building stronger coping mechanisms to address chronic stress, and expanding on women’s inherent resilience and empowerment through stronger connections with other women. Men will be engaged in a transformative process to cultivate accountability, encourage a change of GBV-related gender norms, shift in attitudes, and increase the likelihood of bystander intervention, through the implementation of the Engaging Men in Accountable Practices (EMAP) framework.

Created by the IRC, EMAP is a one-year primary prevention intervention. It provides staff in humanitarian settings with an evidence-based curriculum and field-tested approach for engaging men in transformative individual behavior change, guided by the voices of women. EMAP provides a method and structure for honoring women’s leadership and developing male engagement in a way that improves, rather than endangers, the lives of women and girls. In Italy (Palermo), it will be adapted and piloted for the first time to target Italian people, migrant, and refugee.

We are looking for an EMAP facilitator to lead single-sex gender discussions with groups of men.

Are you enthusiastic to work with men towards ending violence against women and girls? We encourage you to apply!

Scope of Work

The EMAP Facilitator, as a team member of the IRC team based in Palermo, will work closely with the Senior Program Officer in Palermo and other members of the WPE team to engage men in the community to prevent violence against women and girls.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The main responsibilities of the EMAP Facilitator will be:

Contextualization and implementation of EMAP group sessions:

• Review existing IRC material for Engagement of Men in Accountable Practices (EMAP);

• Participate in the adaptation and contextualization of EMAP approach to the Italian context, working closely with migrant-led organizations and women-led organizations, organizing focus group discussions, reviewing materials, incorporating feedback from FGDs with community members, discussions within the IRC team, and inputs from other relevant actors;

• Participate in the training and supervision of the cultural mediators;

• Facilitate the men’s discussion groups: weekly meetings of at least three groups over a period of at least four months;

• Engage in self-introspection and learning about accountable practices by participating in weekly facilitator-supervisor accountability meetings;

• Propose and facilitate community sensitization strategies based on the recommendations of the EMAP focus group sessions.

Community mobilization, participation and engagement:

• Reach out to the community to inform about the upcoming prevention interventions, identify, mobilize, and recruit male participants for the community-based discussion groups;

• Organize one-off information and sensitization sessions with men in the community to disseminate information about available services and protection topics;

• Work closely with the team to devise strategies to engage men and boys in community mobilization efforts aimed at creating a protective environment for women and girls

Capacity building and follow-up of focal points:

• Support the preparation of a Training of Trainers toolkit for Community Focal Points and facilitate their training;

• Maintain regular contact with community focal points to ensure a constant flow of information and feedback as well as capacity strengthening through training, coaching, mentoring.

Reporting, Monitoring & Evaluation:

• Ensure consistent monitoring and evaluation based on relevant M&E tools with the support of the Senior program officer and M&E officer;

• Participate in the writing of the end-of-intervention report by evaluating feedback and program data;

• Ensure weekly reporting on activities, highlighting any implementation challenges and propose solutions and adaptative measures to the Senior Program Officer when necessary.

Other tasks:

• Participate in a knowledge-exchange field trip to Italy together with Community GBV focal points;

• Closely coordinate and liaise with MHPSS team members on the evolution of the interventions and referrals;

• Carry out any other ad hoc task considered by the supervisor or by the IRC;

• Ensure that all activities are implemented in accordance with the IRC's operational policies;

• Collaborate closely and effectively with the other components of IRC programs.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Skills and knowledge gained through a combination of job-related training, practical field experiences, and some form of formal education, including:

• Education

• A bachelor's degree is needed.

• Work experience:

• Must have experience counseling and coaching men.

• At least one year proven experience, including implementing GBV prevention and/or PSS activities at the community level;

• Experience in facilitating training and/or focus group discussions at the community level;

• Experience with implementing PSS activities with displaced communities would be an asset;

• Experience in working on the development and/or contextualization of training materials and toolkits would be an asset.

• Skills and Abilities

• Interest in individual attitudinal and behavior change, including for oneself;

• Basic understanding of the root causes of violence against women and girls;

• Good knowledge and understanding of protection and GBV (minimum standards, guidelines);

• Good listening and communication skills;

• An open mind on gender social norms will be encouraged;

• Strong facilitation skills;

• Experience working in the community, preferably providing prevention and/or responses services;

• Experience in facilitating group discussions with the outcome of behavioral changes, especially on gender norms;

• Knowledge of referral networks within the intended community;

• Language skills : Italian (mandatory, excellent written and spoken), English (highly preferred) and French (optional but would be an asset).

• Ability to report and use computer tools.

• Strong organizational and time management skills.

• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills.

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: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer 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.

Working Environment

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

Qualifications