Safeguarding and Protection Manager

In 2022, in response to an increase in asylum seekers and migrants arriving to New York after having recently arrived via the southern US border, New York City’s Health & Hospitals (H&H) launched several Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRCs) to provide humanitarian reception and supportive services to asylum seekers while they stabilize and organize plans to reach their destination, whether that be NYC or elsewhere in the US.

The IRC New York office will partner with H&H to provide initial intake, basic legal information, referral services, and reconnection case management to arrivals at HERRC sites. The IRC believes that effective humanitarian reception can serve as a gateway to a safe and dignified asylum system in the US by providing asylum seekers with initial reception and referrals to understand their rights and the legal process, offering more intensive case management for cases with heightened needs, and facilitating safe connections to US ties and referrals to legal and social services in their final destinations.

Safeguarding is at the core of IRC’s mission – to do no harm and ensure that the IRC’s clients and staff are protected from violence, exploitation, and abuse by the IRC or its associates. Safeguarding includes both staff and client-facing protection from exploitation and abuse. It sets out deliberate action taken to ensure the safety, dignity and protection of clients receiving aid and workers delivering it.

Protection refers to “all activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law (i.e. International Human Rights Law (IHRL), International Humanitarian Law, International Refugee law (IRL)”.[1] Protection includes both prevention and response interventions.

Reporting to the Site Lead, the Safeguarding & Protection Manager will be responsible for supporting prevention and response-related safeguarding efforts, as well providing protection oversight at one HERRC site in NYC. They will work in close collaboration with a range of colleagues, including program managers at the HERRC site, the Safeguarding technical unit, Safety Health and Education technical unit, Asylum & Legal Protection unit, Safeguarding & Protection Managers at other HERRC sites, HR, Duty of Care, and others.

Major Responsibilities:

- Ensure IRC’s safeguarding minimum standards are upheld at the HERRC. - Regularly assess potential safeguarding and protection risks throughout the site, and work with the Site Lead to address them. - Provide training to casework and supervisor staff on safeguarding and protection in line with standards and policies. - Develop and maintain strong relations with referral pathways partners both at the site and beyond. - Ensure information and systems are in place at the site that inform all clients – irrespective of their origin, age, gender, or other characteristics – of their rights and responsibilities, as well as channels for reporting and redress in close collaboration with the Site Lead and Program Managers. - Engage and assist clients and workers when there is suspicion or disclosure of safeguarding violations or protection concerns in line with standards and in close coordination with casework staff and program managers. - Ensure timely, confidential, and appropriate support for adult and child clients facing protection or safeguarding concerns as well as workers facing safeguarding concerns in line with policies and following established referral pathways; engage directly with individual clients/workers (or support caseworkers to do so appropriately) and make necessary referrals as needed. - Ensure appropriate reporting of protection incidents and/or safeguarding violations upholding the survivor-centered approach, in collaborate with the Site Lead, Program Managers, and H&H on-site management. - Track protection trends and report accordingly. - Work closely with peers at other HERRC sites to overcome common challenges and to share/act upon best practices. - Uphold and comply with all IRC policies, procedures and protocols including adherence to the IRC Way and Child and Adult Safeguarding. - Other related duties as assigned.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Site Lead; Management in Partnership with Senior Protection Advisor

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Program Managers at the HERRC site; Safeguarding & Protection Managers at other sites; Safeguarding, Safety Health & Education, and Asylum & Legal Protection Technical Units; HR; Duty of Care

External: H&H on-site management; referral partners

Job Requirements:

Education:

- Bachelor’s degree in relevant field such as social work, gender/child studies, international studies, law, etc. required. - Graduate degree or commensurate professional experience preferred.

Work Experience:

- Five or more years of related professional experience in protection and/or safeguarding; preferably in crisis case management with a non-profit or social service organization. - Experience with providing direct support (for example – basic counselling, case management, psychosocial support) including for survivors of gender-based violence and/or previous training in these areas strongly preferred.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

- Excellent command of client- and staff-facing safeguarding – spanning prevention, mitigation, and response, as well as protection-related prevention/response interventions. - Strong capacity building and knowledge sharing skills – for example via trainings, workshops, and mentoring. - Experience working with asylum-seekers and migrants. - Clear understanding of and ability to uphold confidentiality and respect for clients/beneficiaries without discrimination. - Experience coordinating with different stakeholders, including from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, in a dynamic and challenging operating environment. - Self-motivated, flexible, and independent while being a team player. - Highly developed interpersonal skills including active listening, emotional de-escalation, patience, and compassion. - Detail-oriented with the ability to prioritize and manage time effectively.

Language Skills:

- Fluent spoken and written skills in English required. - Fluent/strong spoken and written skills in another/other language(s) preferred – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Dari, Georgian or other New York City refugee/immigrant language. Strong cross-cultural understanding and excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

Working Environment:

- Daily on-site presence at the HERRCs, which are 24-hour/7-day facilities, where it is expected that the IRC will operate on a regular (for example, 9-5) schedule; some flexible or hybrid work hours with supervisor permission.

Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirement.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

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