Provincial Coordinator

IRC Background:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war and disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home. 

IRC has been working in Pakistan for approximately 40 years, managing and delivering large, complex programs to meet the needs in health, education, safeguarding, environmental health and livelihoods for displaced, poor and disaster affected communities. With the support of the federal and provincial governments, and generous donors like FCDO, ECHO, USAID, GAC and Australian Aid Agencies the IRC is currently implementing projects across the country.

The IRC launched 5-year USAID’s “Women’s Economic Empowerment Activity” (WEEA) to promote women’s economic empowerment through safe and dignified access to livelihood opportunities, information, resources, and services in the target districts of Pakistan. The WEEA target districts include a total of six districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab.

Job Summary:

Under the supervision and mentorship of Chief of Party, the Provincial Coordinator provides a leadership, decision-making and coordination role on programmatic and operational management of WEEA in two districts of northern Sindh and two of southern Punjab. S/he acts as IRC’s representative in the province to key Govt. counterparts, donor agencies. S/he provides leadership to WEEA project and support functions (Finance, Human Resources, Security and Supply Chain) at province level that includes supervision of project implementation, reporting, budget management, decision-making, coordination with Govt, partner organization(s)/other stakeholders, beneficiaries’ feedback/complaints and monitoring & evaluation of programs.  

S/he collaborates closely with technical staff to ensure that the cross-cutting issues of gender, protection, women registration and learning and accountability to beneficiaries are addressed in timely manner.

S/he must have experience of managing projects in leadership role on women economic empowerment esp. in the areas of women-led micro- and home-based enterprises and employment developments (establish, nurture, and grow viable women-led businesses) in a safe and supportive environment for women’s access to livelihoods opportunities, information, resources and services.

Major Responsibilities

The Provincial Coordinator is required to:

Provincial (overarching):

• Represent the IRC at external meetings with Government, donors and other stakeholders at provincial, national and international levels as and when required
• Ensures a strong coordination with all key stakeholders and represent the IRC at high level coordination meetings as one of the leading humanitarian actors in the field
• Proactively engage with critical government departments like Election Commission of Pakistan, NADRA, Social Welfare Department, Women’s Development Department, PDMA, line departments etc. to represent IRC’s work, progress, plans and for broader coordination
• Play a strong and value-added role by ensuring an effective representation of the IRC in humanitarian and development coordination at various levels
• Ensure project goal and objectives compliment the IRC Program Framework and ensure implementation follows core programming principles.

Programmatic Management

• Overall responsible to ensure that project meets stated objectives within the timeframe and donor/IRC regulations
• Provides strategic clarity/direction to all WEEA thematic sectors through coordination with thematic leads/coordinators.
• Place and ensure compliance mechanism for strong performance management against key deliverables and commitments through strong monitoring and corrective action plans for improvement.
• Develop and lead project’s provincial operationalizing and management plans, organize periodic reviews to reflect on progress and support leadership in managing budgets and delivering against the targets.
• Ensure project’s socio-economic, social cohesion, women protection and empowerment, women’s access to opportunities areas under WEEA are implemented in a cohesive manner and demonstrate adherence to project objectives.
• Lead assessment process, including planning and reporting, to determine program needs.
• Ensure project quality through extensive engagement with technical leadership and extensive field visits.
• Work with thematic leads to integrate program activities across sectors and districts to promote cohesion, efficiency and to maximize overall performance.
• Work with M&E unit for monitoring plan, system, tools for data collection and management.
• Work with Ethics & Compliance/MEAL unit to ensure beneficiary accountability, gender sensitivity, inclusion is included in project implementation.
• Monitor budget allocations and expenditures to ensure sound management and compliance with IRC and donors’ financial requirements and policies.
• Ensure program/staff adherence to the IRC Way, ‘principles of professional conduct’ and humanitarian principles.
• Contribute to the preparation of proposals, budgets, and presentations as and when required. 

Reporting:

• Prepare and submit timely all project reports to the supervisor and country office
• Ensure monthly, quarterly and annual project reports are produced at field level that should maintain high quality and shared with respective thematic lead for review before submission to supervisor.
• Assist awards management unit in timely submission of donor reports.
• Ensure technical quality and accuracy of information in project reports including baseline, progress and donor reports.

Operational Management

• Ensure IRC’s relevant Policies and Procedures (e.g. HR Handbook, Finance Manual etc.) are fully complied by field supply chain, security, HR finance and program staff
• Oversee all field operations in the Sindh and Punjab province, including but not limited to recruitment, personnel administration, local procurement, contractor relations, office facilities and equipment management, fleet and transport, staff safety and security, asset and inventory control, IT, fund management and field office cost management and ensure all prerequisites are taken care as per auditory requirements.
• Oversee the HR, supply chain, security, IT and finance ensuring the timely and effective support is available to programs and the highest transparency is maintained across the sections in day-to-day operations.

Staff Management and Leadership

• 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 including staff development plans.
• Ensure that all staff understand and can perform their role
• Manage Program and Operations team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
• Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for staff
• Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable staff performance objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations.
• Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities.
• Lead with commitment, integrity, and accountability to “The IRC Way” – Global Standards for Professional Conduct
• Contribute in cultivating a culture of accountability, transparency, high-performance and team work   

Key Working Relationships

• Position reports to: Chief of Party, WEEA
• Position directly supervises WEEA Sindh and Punjab project team: Project Managers, HR / Supply Chain / Finance / Security / MEAL Field In-charges

Other Internal and/or External Contacts

• Internal: Program and Program Support teams at country office
• External: Government counterparts, provincial Donor counterparts, cluster/working groups, Partners, IRC vendors, Program beneficiaries

Position Requirements

• Master’s degree in social sciences or international development from a recognized University
• Minimum of 10 years programming experience in development context, with a specific focus on Livelihoods, economic empowerment, Protection, registration for women as well as cross cutting areas like Gender, M&E
• Understanding of key gender equality considerations, design, approaches, and indicators for women’s economic empowerment and equality
• A proven successful experience of oversight management of supply chain, security, administration and finance departments at field level
• Strong networking skills with proven track record of maintaining high-level coordination and extensive engagement with high profile government and donor representatives
• Significant knowledge of international humanitarian systems, institutions and donors, and of procedures, accountability frameworks and best practices in emergency management
• Experience in managing complex USG/USAID contracts and agreements is preferred.
• Substantial experience and knowledge of effective financial and budgetary control and managing grants from major institutional donors
• Solid project management skills related to organizational development projects and international, cross-functional teams with a proven history of delivering results
• Highly developed analytical and communication skills, including excellent oral and written English and Urdu
• Proven experience in training and capacity-building of staff
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills, sound judgment, planning, team building and facilitating skills
• Competence in using information technology including experience with word-processing, spreadsheets and database software
• Interest in sharing professional skills as well as learning from others
• Willingness and capacity to work and travel to project field areas
• Proven track record of quality performance in highly pressured environments.
• Ability and willingness to change work practices and hours, and work with new teams 

The IRC Core Values and Commitments.

• The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.
• These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity Anti-Retaliation and Combating Trafficking in Persons.
• IRC is committed to ensuring that IRC staff is suitable to work with children and have the knowledge s/he needs to uphold and abide by the IRC’s Child Safeguarding Policy.
• Level of interaction with children: Less contact with children
• IRC ensures that its staff must actively practice the roles and responsibilities related to client responsiveness, accountability to people in affected communities and must have competencies to solicits and listens to feedback and other’s perspectives, responds to feedback with maturity and sensitivity and takes appropriate decisions and makes changes to behavior or actions in response to feedback.
• IRC recognizes that gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of our organizational mission. As such, IRC is committed to the promotion of gender equality in all aspects of our operations and programs.
• Our organizational policies, procedures and actions demonstrate this commitment.

Women candidates and differently abled persons are highly encouraged to apply.