DRC: Women Protection & Empowerment Program Coordinator-Ebola Response

Jun 6, 2019 | International Rescue Committee
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The International Rescue Committee is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and those displaced by war, persecution, or natural disaster.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared an outbreak of Ebola in North Kivu Province, Eastern DRC, on 1 August 2018. This is the first time Ebola has been reported in this part of the country and represents the tenth outbreak of the disease in the DRC, with the most recent outbreak in Equateur province ending only days before on 26 July 2018. 

The province of North Kivu is among the most populated in DRC with 8,000,000 inhabitants, and has been marked by chronic and intense insecurity, which has resulted in intermittent disruption of key response activities. The overall humanitarian situation in DRC, and especially in North Kivu has significantly deteriorated since mid-2017, with approximately 1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The health and protection sectors are experiencing some of the highest numbers of people in need.

The Ebola outbreak in North Kivu is still expanding. By 24th March 2019, the outbreak has reached more than 1000 cases, becoming the second largest in history, only second to the 2014-16 West Africa outbreak. Cases have been reported from 18 health zones in the two neighboring provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. 

The IRC is supporting the containment of the EVD outbreak in the North Kivu region of DRC. The IRC’s primary focus will be to provide support to existing MoH health facilities to ensure the safe continuity of services. The IRC’s support will include the strengthening of infection prevention and control (IPC) practices and the establishment of EVD screening and isolation points at the facilities , upgrading of water supply and waste management at these facilities, ensuring safe access to lifesaving services for women and children, and promoting community resilience and participation in solutions. The IRC is currently supporting 59 facilities in Beni, Mutwanga, Butembo, Katwa, Vuhovi, Musienne and Goma. 

SCOPE OF WORK: 

The WPE Coordinator will be based in Beni and will act as the focal point for gender based violence and women’s protection issues on the IRC’s Ebola response team in Beni, Butembo and Goma. The WPE Coordinator will provide technical expertise for the overall protection response to the Ebola outbreak and will support the IRC DRC country program WPE team to integrate Ebola-related protection concerns into their regular program activities in locations where IRC supports primary health care services. The WPE Coordinator will work collaboratively with other sectors of the IRC response team – especially child protection, health and EH teams working to strengthen infection prevention and control in health facilities, and engagement and protection in communities. The WPE Coordinator will report to the Field Director.

RESPONSIBLITIES

  • Oversee the delivery of high quality technical proposals and reports, in line with donor requirements. This includes: 
  • Work in close collaboration with IRC grants and finance staff to finalize proposals and respond to any requests for additional information.
  • Manage grant/program implementation including staff recruitment and training, work plan development, procurement and inventory planning, and budget management.
  • Ensure consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality.
  • Design and implement appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems ensuring consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality; 
  • Ensure regular trends analysis of broader protection context and highlight needs in other technical fields within VPRU – Child Protection and Protection/Rule of Law – where necessary; 
  • Ensure – through program design and practice, team capacity and behavior – that women and girls are part of the design and implementation of IRC programs, and that their access to services and programs is meaningful and safe; 
  • Ensure compliance with IRC policy and procedures across all activities. This includes acting in line with the IRC Code of Conduct, the Do No Harm Imperative, and international accords including the UN Secretary General's Bulletin on the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse; 
  • Coordinate with other agencies, local government, donors and other stakeholders to promote delivery of best practice humanitarian assistance; 
  • Support media and communications activities as requested by the ERT Field Director/CD/in-county emergency lead, and in line with VPRU guidance; 
  • In close collaboration with country management and global advocacy units, contribute to strategies to address IRC emergency advocacy priorities as they relate to women and girls; 
  • Assess and provide input on post emergency strategies and transition plans for IRC programming;
  • Represent the IRC on protection issues at relevant Ebola response coordination fora  as necessary 
  • Develop and maintain effective working relationships with other actors, donors, and key stakeholders in order to assure appropriate attention to the Ebola-related protection needs of women and girls;
  • Contribute to the IRC’s strategic response plan for Ebola;
  • Finalize the recruitment process for the WPE Manager role including training of newly recruited staff
  • Assist with proposal development for new funding opportunities, grant modification and reporting;
  • Coordinate and collaborate with other sectors of the IRC response team, notably child protection, health, and EH, to strengthen and mainstream protection across IRC responses, and ensure robust linkages and referral pathways for affected women and girls.
  • Ensure contintuation of WPE activities in Beni and extension to Butembo.
  • Support the IRC Emergency team to integrate GBV programming in to response preparedness  and Implemenation in Goma.
  • In collaboration with the M&E team ensure quality WPE activities measurement and evaluation.
  • Support the IRC DRC country program to undertake the following activities in supported primary health care facilities:
    • Ensure refresher trainings, coaching, and follow-up for service providers, community networks, and relevant focal points working to strengthen protection of women and girls affected by EVD
    • Awareness raising for health workers and communities on EVD risks for women and girls and prevention practices that limit risks for these groups (e.g., safe sex and condom use);
    • Review of and training on local SOPs and referral pathways for women and girls who experience violence;
    • Training of local women’s groups and civil society service providers on implementation of safe spaces for women and girls, in line with infection prevention and control measures and needs of EVD affected persons;
    • Development and implementation of a package of services for vulnerable populations (eg women and children affected by Ebola);
    • Train and equip providers and community leaders on legal assistance for survivors of GBV;
    • Work with WPE and CP teams to identify actions they can take with communities to ensure care and social reintegration of GBV survivors and children orphaned due to EVD, and other groups whose vulnerability has worsened as a result of EVD.
    • Deliver training to staff at IRC supported health facilities to ensure integration of protection and that minimum standards are met when referring vulnerable suspect cases (eg women and children). 
    • In supporting the country program team, the WPE Coordinator may:
      • Conduct technical interviews and make recommendations for recruitment of WPE team members;
      • Provide training and coaching to newly hired and existing staff;
      • Support the team in service mapping and establishment of referral pathways;
      • Help establish relationship with local CSOs working in the area of women’s rights, response to GBV and/or women’s empowerment.
      • Ensure compliance with IRC and donor policies.
        • Develop linkages with other response agencies to share knowledge to foster improved protection of women and girls in the Emergency Ebola Response.
        • Support the well-being of team members by assuring adherence to safety and security protocols as well as the IRC Way;
        • Work closely with DRC CP at time of transition and/or close out to ensure full handover to CP to manage any final close out and/or ensure integration of the relevant WPE principles into overall DRC CP portfolio;

Key Working Relationships: 

  • Position reports to: Field Director            

Position directly supervises: WPE team

  • Technical Supervision: VPRU Deputy Field Director for Emergencies

Qualifications

  • University degree and technical accreditation or equivalent; 
  • At least five years of experience developing and managing GBV programming in humanitarian contexts;
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively with agencies, local governments and community leaders and develop multi-stakeholder support for humanitarian priorities and advocacy initiatives;
  • Demonstrated ability to identify creative and appropriate solutions for the populations affected by crisis, considering factors including the context and an individual client's developmental stage, gender and status; 
  • Experience managing large, complex donor funded programs and grants, including staff management, budget oversight, monitoring and evaluation systems, and technical input to proposal-budget development and donor reports; 
  • Fluency in both French and English, written and spoken
  • Ability to live and work in stressful and insecure environment;
  • Excellent professional approach and strong team building skills.