El Salvador: Senior Protection Manager

Organization: International Rescue Committee
Country: El Salvador
Closing date: 26 Nov 2017

Job Title: Senior Protection Manager

Sector: Program Administration

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Location: El Salvador

Job Description The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities which support them, as well as those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

In recent years, the region known as the Northern Triangle, comprising El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, has seen a dramatic escalation in violence by organized criminal groups. Homicide rates are among the highest ever recorded in the region and are as deadly as many contemporary armed conflicts such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Disappearances, forced recruitment into gangs, and the sexual exploitation of women and girls also form part of the pattern of violence. The overwhelming majority of survivors of sexual violence are between the ages of 10 and 19 years. The scale and severity of the epidemic of violence has caused people to flee their homes and seek international protection in record numbers. According to UNHCR roughly 164,000 refugees and asylum seekers have been forced out of the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) with reports of over 700,000 internally displaced as of 2015.

In response, (following initial assessments to identify gaps in the areas of protection & partnership development), the IRC has decided to open a country office in El Salvador and is launching an integrated protection pilot programme (with possibility of later scale-up) to help meet the acute needs of people displaced by violence, as well as those returning to the country following deportation. This programme will use innovative approaches to deliver humanitarian programming primarily in partnership with local civil society organizations.

SCOPE OF WORK The Senior Protection Manager will serve as the overall technical lead for the Protection programme and will be responsible for providing strategic direction and vision to the IRC's protection response in El Salvador as the team launches programming in the country (initial programme to be focused in/around the San Salvador area). The Senior Protection Manager will be responsible for the implementation of all aspects of a quality, protection response combining information sharing, access to information on rights and entitlements, access to services and basic needs assistance, risk reduction, vulnerable case identification and referrals and specialized programming for women and children. The Senior Protection Manager will oversee an initial overall team of 7 staff plus community volunteer focal points during the pilot phase of the project, who will focus on setting up activities in target communities in/around San Salvador, launching and managing an innovative interactive information and referral platform which would include hotline and online chat capacity, support to acute basic need provision (cash-based support) through small grants to existing civil society and NGO partners, and capacity building and partnerships with NGOs/Civil Society serving populations affected by violence within the country.

Based on needs identified during the assessment phase, the Senior Protection Manager will launch programmes building on the initial pilot strategy for the IRC mission in El Salvador, interfacing with technical colleagues in HQ. The Senior Protection Manager will also support fundraising efforts as needed, participate in protection actor coordination meetings, and work closely with the IRC El Salvador Head of Mission to continuously review the implementation strategy for effectiveness and fit for purpose, as well as to support the adaptation of the model for further expansion throughout El Salvador and/or the region, as needed.

The Senior Protection Manager will report directly to the IRC El Salvador Head of Mission.

RESPONSIBILITIES Technical Quality

Provide technical and management leadership to the start-up and implementation of the Protection Programme in accordance with best practices and IRC policy
Contributes to the development of any revision of the El Salvador Programme Strategy planning and documentation during and at the end of the initial 6-month pilot phase, in consultation with the technical unit and in collaboration with the IRC El Salvador Head of Mission.
Provides technical guidance on confidential and safe data collection, case identification, safe information sharing and referral mechanisms in line with internationally recognised best practices.
Support, as needed, the identification of key partners working with targeted persons of concern for partnerships based around acute basic need provision (cash programming) and capacity building/programme expansion for protection programming.
Support to improve quality of specialized services available in country in addition to contributing to the standardization of protection protocol and SOP's.
Support actions to mainstream cash/voucher assistance into protection programming.
Liaise with Violence Prevention and Response Unit technical experts at HQ to ensure program quality.

Coordination

Participate in coordination mechanisms at the national, and, as appropriate, at the sub-national, level.

1 As much as possible, participate in general protection and child protection coordination mechanisms (in the event a separate mechanism exists for women and girls (i.e. GBV task force).

Staff Supervision and Development

Directly supervises the Protection Manager (Capacity Building and Monitoring), Information Platform Officer, and the Protection Programme Cash and Voucher Senior Officer (in an overall team of 7 full-time protection staff) and provides quality oversight to and mentoring of the protection teams in the field, including support to volunteer community focal points.
Ensure a focus on providing adequate capacity building and training for IRC staff and volunteer community focal points especially in the initial phases of the programme.
Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions
Ensure timely completion and submission of monthly timesheets, probation reviews and performance reviews
Overall responsible for staff work plans, work and vacation schedules, and staff training/development activities
If/as required identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies

Articulation of broader Protection Strategy

Based on experience during the initial 6-month pilot phase of IRC programmes in El Salvador, support articulation of a broader programme strategy (if indicated) to include considerations for longer timeframe, geographic scale up, and increased direct service provision.

Fundraising against Program Strategy

As needed, support the El Salvador Head of Mission to pursue new funding opportunities to deliver on the initial program strategy and/or to support an eventual scale up.

Grant Planning, Implementation, and Reporting

Lead the overall implementation of the Protection programme and provide guidance to the protection staff to ensure that stated goals and objectives are met, that the project is appropriately monitored and evaluated, and that project reports are written and submitted in a timely manner
Prepare program work plans that meet the program objectives and prepare appropriate operational guidelines for project staff;
Ensure that project activities are implemented within the assigned budget parameters, manage all financial aspects of the protection programs, approve relevant expenses and review expenditures, in consultation with the Finance Team;
Analyze protection concerns in San Salvador and throughout the country, propose new areas of work to IRC, and participate/lead in proposal development;
Development/ maintenance of effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control and reporting systems and processes
Ensure regular field monitoring and modifications as required.
Ensure IRC and donor reports as per set schedules on grant activities, indicators and achievements are produced in quality.
Aid in the adaptation of the program stategy at the midway point of the pilot, support donor reporting and the final pilot project report, as well as aid in the development of any reports/recommendations related to next steps or the continuing strategy for programming in El Salvador.

Other Reporting

Provide support to sit-reps, and other reporting as requested by the IRC El Salvador Head of Mission or Technical Unit.

Ad hoc support to Head of Mission

Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team; promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with community leaders and other external parties as needed (in line with IRC security protocols and joint decisions through the Head of Mission and Security and Operations Manager) to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs
As needed, support Head of Mission for occasional tasks that may arise that are not detailed above.

Qualifications

Advanced degree preferred; in social work, psychology, human rights, international law, social science or related field.
Five plus years of experience implementing child protection, women's protection and/or protection programming in an emergency or complex emergency and security contexts, with demonstrable understanding of the relevance of international humanitarian law and human rights law to humanitarian action; Professional experience in the Northern Triangle region is required, experience in El Salvador preferred.
Solid knowledge and understanding of international child protection and women's protection standards and best practice
Applied experience in mental health and psychosocial support programming;
Demonstrated experience in capacity building and mentoring of staff, as well as identified partner organisations.
Must be capable of applying skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct implementation, advisory functions, training, and the transfer of technical knowledge and management skills to others.
Demonstrated experience and success working in partnership models and with remote management
Demonstrated experience working with new programme start up preferred
Demonstrated capacity to work with innovative systems and creative approaches to programming. Experience working with new technologies and/or hotlines is an asset.
Strong program and budget management skills including planning and reporting across multiple grants;
Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with internal and external parties
Strong program/technical and budget management skills, planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation skills
Fluency in Spanish and English is required
INGO experience required