Program Manager

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. IRC established a small presence in Italy to respond to the identified gaps. 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 in Ukraine, IRC Italy is ramping up its capacities to respond to the protection and MHPSS needs of newly arrived Ukrainian refugees in several locations in Italy.

Are you a dynamic and creative person who can also work independently, managing information and complex relationships, with experience in project management in the field and expertise on issues of mental health? Then join us!

Job Summary

We are looking for a dynamic Program Manager who will be in charge of the strategic-organizational coordination of the project “ Comprehensive, trauma-informed support for women and children fleeing Ukraine” in Rome and also be supporting overall IRC program implementation in Rome and other locations in Italy, with a main focus on the support provision (MHPSS and WPE) to people on the move fleeing Ukraine and other countries. To this end, the job holder will also network and facilitate relations with public institutions, peer organizations, and other partners. The Program Manager will support project teams to strengthen accountability, quality, and effectiveness of activities and ensure timely implementation in line with work plans and available budget. This is a full-time national staff position based in Rome, and reports to the Program Coordinator.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

Project Implementation and People Management

• Develop concrete work plans to ensure the timely implementation of project activities in collaboration with project team members.

• Based on protection monitoring, ongoing needs analysis, and feedback mechanisms, strengthen the quality, effectiveness, and responsiveness of project interventions and revise work plans accordingly.

• Ensure that action points are agreed upon and acted upon, including coordination and communication among/between IRC, partners, and other relevant collaborators;

• Coach, supervise, and provide guidance to staff, including identifying training needs and ensuring professional development;

• Work with IRC advisors to develop training materials, strengthen technical guidance and make recommendations for field interventions;

• Report on performance and lead regular team meetings aimed at ensuring the activities of the team members are coordinated and performed in a timely manner.

Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting

• Work with M&E Officer to ensure accurate and timely project monitoring and evaluation, including data collection, analysis, and data management;

• Supervising the adherence to the financial forecast of expenditures made in the implementation of the project and providing inputs for corrective re-alignments and extensions in accordance with donor requirements and organizational procedures.

• Ensure that the projects are data-driven and that programmatic decisions are grounded in evidence, supervise project progress against programmatic and budgetary targets and perform monitoring visits. Lead on timely and high-quality reporting.

Other responsibilities

• Coordinate and participate in need assessment and landscape analysis according to IRC Italy's strategic action plan.

• Development of outreach, information, and external visibility materials aimed at disseminating the results and good practices of the project;

• Liaise with other relevant partners, including local authorities, to ensure smooth implementation of activities and to identify potential new opportunities in the area for expanding IRC presence.

• In coordination with and under the supervision of the Program Coordination and the Head of Office, provide external representation before relevant collaborators, participate in meetings, working groups, and coordination fora.

Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a science subject, preferably social sciences, sociology, or psychology, with 5 years demonstrated ability in similar roles;

• Excellent ability to handle complex projects and experience working with diverse collaborators;

• Excellent communication skills with good interpersonal and negotiation skills;

• Knowledge of the project cycle, with preferred previous experience handling EU-funded projects;

• Required to be a great teammate with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work under pressure in a stressful environment, displaying patience, compassion, and diplomacy

• Adherence to the values and goals pursued;

• Digital literacy: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook.

• Knowledge of English and/or French, spoken and written, will be an asset.

Skills Required

• Excellent communication skills, able to build relationships and relate to a very broad and diverse range of subjects, willing to perform several tasks simultaneously.

• Problem-solving and strong organizational skills complete the profile.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that enable women to participate in our workforce, including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols, and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: At IRC, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Organizations that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, nationality, and perspective are validated to be better organizations. More importantly, creating a safe workspace environment where everyone from any background can do their best is the right thing to do. So, bring your whole self to work.

IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. In keeping with our core values of Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality, IRC strives to maintain a work environment built on mutual respect in which all individuals treat each other professionally and free of bias, prejudice, and harassment. IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of IRC Persons in any work setting. All IRC staff, wherever they are located, are accountable for creating an environment free of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and retaliation.

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Qualifications

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