Senior Program Coordinator

BACKGROUND:The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation, and post-conflict reconstruction support to survivors of natural disasters, oppression and violent conflict in some 40 countries. IRC is committed to bold leadership, innovation, creative partnerships, and assists people from harm to home.

IRC began working in Nigeria in October 2012 in response to a widespread flood disaster. Since then, IRC has expanded its program scope and size with the aiming of making the greatest possible contribution to meeting humanitarian needs in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states in North-East Nigeria. IRC’s response includes integrated health, reproductive health and nutrition services, protection including women’sprotection and empowerment services and child protection, environmental health, economic recovery and development, governance and education. In 2015, IRC Nigeria developed a five-year Strategy Action Plan (SAP), which has health and education as high priority program areas.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The Senior Program Coordinator (SPC) works closely with the Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) and the Deputy Director Field Management (DDFM) to design and deliver high quality, innovative programs, specifically in protection and rule of law, women’s protection and empowerment, child protection, economic recovery and development, and education. The role has a particular focus on driving strategy implementation, particularly enhanced program integration, supporting expansion into newly accessible geographic areas, and increasing IRC’s work on an early recovery across the humanitarian and development nexus. S/he will ensure timely and effective program delivery, coordination and technical coherence and support, monitoring, evaluation, and accountability. The SPC will provide a focus on SAP outcomes, partnerships and client responsiveness, and will represent IRC programs to major stakeholders, relevant government authorities, and other program partners.

AREAS of RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program quality and development

• Provide leadership to Technical Coordinators in setting priorities and delivering outcome-focused programs that align with the Nigeria Strategy Action Plan.
• Ensure that program design is evidence-based and uses theories of change that place crisis-affected people and their voice at the center of IRC's response, and lead program integration to support this.
• With HQ-based Technical Advisers, ensure that program implementation is aligned to relevant standards and makes use of tools, systems, and procedures that are in place.
• Work closely with the Senior Grants Coordinator and the Grants and Partnerships Team to shape concept papers and grant proposals for submission to donors.
• Work with the M&E coordinator to build and foster a culture of learning and reflection that uses data to design and adapt programs.
• Monitor changes in the context and ensure that IRC responds where necessary.
• Alongside our existing focus on humanitarian programming, analyze gaps and needs, and help to drive a new focus on early recovery programming in appropriate geographic areas, working across the humanitarian-development nexus.
• Support Technical Coordinators in creating and maintaining up-to-date briefings, factsheets, and updates for external stakeholders.

Program Implementation

• Work with project leads and Grants team in ensuring effective project start-up, review, learning and close-out meetings are planned and conducted in a timely manner with full participation of all relevant stakeholders from programs and support teams, and that actions are taken as a result.
• Provide leadership for Technical Coordinators in the timely and high-quality implementation of programs, and promote regular reviews - both internal and external - and other learning events.
• Provide support to the Country Emergency Team during the scale-up of a sudden onset humanitarian response and during the deployment phase.
• Ensure program coordination, and that Managers and Technical Coordinators for cross-cutting themes work together effectively according to program work plans, leveraging opportunities for integrated and coordinated programming across sectors.
• Conduct frequent field visits to all project sites for monitoring, quality control, and program staff mentoring and coaching.
• Coordinate high-level reporting on country-level indicators such as beneficiary numbers, design for impact indicators, cluster data and other information as needed.
• Ensure that donor reports produced by the programs team are delivered on time, of high quality and effectively demonstrate the impact of IRC’s interventions.
• Support IRC’s partnerships efforts, including monitoring of local partner performance, partner assessments of IRC performance and scoping of partnership opportunities, ensuring that key issues are discussed with Partnerships/Grants colleagues and DDP.

HR and Staff Management

• Help to drive a culture of ambitious, responsible, and committed leadership amongst Technical Coordinators and other program leaders.
• Support program staff through frequent communication and close attention to staff care, mentoring, and development.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Representation and Advocacy

• In coordination with the DDP/DDFM, actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders in Nigeria, including local communities, donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors.
• Develop strategic partnerships with local organizations.
• In coordination with the DDP and DDFM, assist in organizing donor visits by supporting staff in the smooth design and running of field visits.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

• The position reports to Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) and Deputy Director Field Management (DDFM).
• Position directly supervises Technical Coordinators in the sectors of education, economic recovery and development, protection and rule of law,women’sprotection and empowerment, and child protection.
• Other internal contacts: SPC for health and governance outcomes, M&E, Grants, Finance, HR, Supply Chain, Safety and Security, Field Coordinators, and Senior Area Managers.
• External contacts, as already outlined.