Regional Safeguarding Advisor, Europe

Job Description

IRC seeks to ensure that our clients and staff are free from all forms of exploitation, abuse or other harm from those who work for or are associated with IRC. The Regional Safeguarding Advisor for Europe supports IRC teams across the country in this goal. The Regional Safeguarding Advisor is responsible for robust approaches to learning, risk mitigation in programs and other efforts to prevent harm; coordination with relevant teams to ensure tailored approaches to community engagement and survivor response; promoting and advocating for safe reporting and case follow up, working closely with investigation teams; and partnership with leadership and IRC staff to foster trust, and create space for ongoing dialogue and learning.

The Regional Safeguarding Advisor reports to the Safeguarding Lead in IRC’s Resettlement, Asylum & Integration Department, Program Excellence unit, with Management in Partnership to the Deputy Regional Director, RAI Europe.

As the role supports IRC offices across Europe, up to 20% of the Regional Safeguarding Advisor’s time may require travel.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Support operationalization of Safeguarding policies and procedures

• Convene stakeholders and support IRC program offices across Europe in delivery toward IRC’s Safeguarding Minimum Standards; identify best practices, as well as gaps; advocate for needed resources

• Ensure and track participation in dynamic, learning (onboarding, refreshers, etc.) and dialogue related to safeguarding for IRC staff across RAI Europe, covering IRC policies and procedures, behavioral expectations, reporting pathways, and other topics identified with staff and leadership

• Collaborate with relevant country teams to ensure site-level service mappings are complete for all Europe offices

• Collaborate with appropriate country teams to develop clear client communication and engagement strategies, feedback mechanisms, and client satisfaction surveys

• Support the development of office-/site-level safeguarding SOPs, capturing client feedback mechanisms and clear pathways for survivor-centered response for staff and clients who experience safeguarding violations

• Guide country efforts to analyze and mitigate safeguarding risks in program design and delivery

• Partner with operational and programmatic departments in the region to ensure that safeguarding commitments in the Minimum Standards are integrated into key work tools and processes (ex: HR, Supply Chain, Safety & Security, Partnerships, etc.)

Contribute to Safeguarding culture

• Convene regional meetings dedicated to safeguarding with regional leadership, ECU, and Employee Relations; to review trends in reporting and safeguarding investigations, update on progress toward Safeguarding Minimum Standards, and planning of preventative action based on analysis of trends and progress

• Support Senior Management Teams to build safeguarding messaging and learning into team meetings and communications to promote continuous learning

• Pilot creative approaches to safeguarding learning in partnership with GEDI and other teams focused on building a safe, equitable and caring culture at the IRC

• Promote cross-context learning on safeguarding, including with and across the network of IRC partners in Europe

• Liaise with the Europe Partnership Advisor to support teams on partner engagement, support planning, and mutual learning related to safeguarding

• Collaborate with and contribute actively to the work of regional GEDI, Program Excellence, and People & Culture leaders

Other Safeguarding Responsibilities and Representation

• Ensure excellence in knowledge management related to the RAI Europe teams’ learning, progress and innovation related to safeguarding

• Work collaboratively with peers in the Safeguarding team in RAI and the global community of practice to update safeguarding policies, standards, tools and templates

• Partner with colleagues in RAI’s Resource Acquisition and Management (RAM) and office-based Grants colleagues to ensure organizational compliance with donor requirements and to integrate safeguarding and ‘do no harm’ into proposal design and budgeting

• Lead inter-agency representation on safeguarding in Europe

• Actively participate in IRC coordination spaces, such as regional SMT or other

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, protection, program management or related field of study; equivalent professional or lived experience will be considered

Work Experience

• 5 years of relevant professional experience in humanitarian or social service settings – including in Europe – required

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies

• Experience with client protection from abuse and exploitation, sexual violence in development and humanitarian contexts in conflict/refugee settings, and knowledge of international protection frameworks and mechanisms on safeguarding

• Experience working with Gender Based Violence or Child Protection related programs is an asset

• Capable of applying skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including implementation, advisory/technical function, training and the transfer of technical knowledge and management skills to others

• Experience in conducting training, orientation and refresher sessions with diverse teams; experience conducting such sessions remotely will be a plus

• Experience working cross-culturally with displaced populations, such as refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants is preferred

• Excellent spoken and technical writing ability in English is a requirement. Additional language skills are an asset

• Proven track record in working with teams, excellent interpersonal skills, positive and professional attitude, and ability to lead and work well with diverse teams in a complex international environment and with multiple partners

• Ability to travel up to 20% of time

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional 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, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

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Qualifications