DRC: IWRM Economic Recovery & Development Coordinator

May 7, 2017 | International Rescue Committee
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The IRC has been working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 1996 and with headquarters in Kinshasa and field offices in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut Katanga and Tanganyika, the IRC is one of the largest humanitarian actors in the DRC. The IRC aims to save lives, to strengthen Congolese institutions and to reinforce social cohesion through carefully designed and professionally-implemented programs.

With support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IRC seeks to implement the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) “Maji ya Amani” Program in the Ruzizi Plain in collaboration with its partners Search for Common Ground (SFCG) and ZOA. The program’s goal is to reduce conflict and increase stability in the Luberizi groupement of the Ruzizi Plain through increased and more equitable access to land and water for household and agricultural use leading to improved livelihood and food security outcomes, and improved governance around the use of the resources. The proposed intervention will benefit an estimated 28,800 people and the economic, food security and livelihoods component of the program is comprised of the following approaches: promotion of demand-driven agricultural commodities through the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and the value chain/farming as a business approach, the  promotion of village-saving loan associations (VSLA), creation of start-up small-scale enterprises for youth and women.

Scope of Work:

The ERD (Economic Recovery and Development) Coordinator will be responsible for the strategy development, program design, and technical support to ensure quality implementation, standardization, monitoring and evaluation of all the economic/food security-livelihoods activities in DRC. The ERD Coordinator will closely work with IWRM partners – and particularly with ZOA who is the primary implementer for the agricultural production component while IRC provides technical support on agricultural value chain development and farming as a business.

The ERD Coordinator reports to the IWRM Deputy Director. He / she will supervise the following staff: VSLA officers, livelihoods officers, value chain program manager and officer. The ERD coordinator will work closely with ZOA’s field staff and NNGO partner staff.

Responsibilities:

Supervision of value-chain assessments:

  • Supervise the in-depth market assessments and identify appropriate value chains, that offer good margins and employment opportunities, particularly for women and youth;

Overall program quality and strategic management:

  • Provide the technical supervision and support to ERD activities, including the activities implemented by partners (e.g. ZOA, GEL, etc) farmer-field school (FFS), farming as a business, entrepreneurship development, village savings and loans schemes and food security interventions;
  • Manage  resources and partners so that outcomes are delivered according to the donor contractual requirements and that all activities and deliverables are completed within the agreed timescale and budget;
  • Build strong partnerships at different levels (GoDRC/Ministries, private sector, NNGO, farmer organizations, etc) to ensure local ownership and sustainability of the project;
  • Support the development of relevant M&E systems and ensure regular follow-up on monitoring data relevant to IRC ERD to feed into on-going review of project cycle and decision-making.
  • Ensure, in collaboration with the country program's operations and finance departments, that the financial management, procurement, administration, HR and logistics needs of the ERD components of the program are conducted within IRC policy.

Grants Management and Program Development:

  • Contribute to development of IWRM program reports for the donor;
  • Contribute to technical assessments as a basis for future IRC DRC ERD programs and the development of program and project proposals,

Staff development:

  • Contribute to building the capacities of all relevant staff (IRC + partners) on economic, food security, livelihoods and value chain issues;   

Skills / Experience:

Essential

  • Professional degree preferably at the advanced level (Master) in international development, economics, business management, agronomy etc;
  • Minimum of five years’ of experience (including 2 years at a senior level) implementing/managing  field based food security, enterprise development, and agricultural programming; strong technical skills in agricultural value chain development and in market-based approaches;
  • Fluency in written and spoken French required
  • Demonstrated skills in strategic planning, budget development and management, gender responsive work plan development, and program reporting;
  • Proven skills in leadership and supervision, with an ability to work effectively and efficiently in a challenging, complex work environment;

Desirable

  • Experience in managing a program in consortium preferred;
  • Experience on addressing gender constraints across economic and food security outcomes; 

SECURITY SITUATION / HOUSING

This is an unaccompanied post based in Kamanyola / Luberizi, South Kivu. Comfortable and secure shared housing is provided by the IRC. The current security situation in eastern DR Congo is unpredictable and complex, but all possible measures are taken by the IRC to ensure staff safety and security.