Outreach Worker

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to responding to the world’s most severe crises. Since its founding in 1933 by Albert Einstein, IRC has worked in over 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and empowerment to people affected by conflict and disaster. IRC’s mission is to help vulnerable populations survive, regain control of their futures, and rebuild their communities with dignity and hope. We are seeking a passionate, solutions-oriented Outreach Worker to join our protection programming team. This role focuses on improving access to protection and gender-based violence (GBV) services by identifying protection concerns, raising community awareness, and facilitating safe referrals to appropriate support services.

Key Responsibilities

Community Engagement and Awareness:
- Conduct regular awareness sessions at the community level on protection, GBV, rights, available services, and referral pathways.
- Disseminate accurate, context-sensitive protection information to community members.
- Engage respectfully and inclusively with diverse community groups, ensuring cultural sensitivity.
- Identify barriers that prevent vulnerable individuals from accessing protection services.

Identification and Referrals:
- Identify individuals in need of protection, GBV, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), health, legal, or other specialized services.
- Provide information on available services and facilitate safe, confidential referrals based on informed consent.
- Follow up on referrals according to established standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Report urgent protection concerns immediately through appropriate referral and escalation channels.

Protection Monitoring:
- Document and report emerging protection risks, concerns, and service gaps using approved tools.
- Share protection trends and issues with supervisors while maintaining confidentiality.
- Support protection assessments, community consultations, focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews (KIIs), and other monitoring activities as needed.

Coordination and Support:
- Collaborate with Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS)/Hub Center Facilitators, Protection/GBV Case Workers, MHPSS staff, and other relevant teams.
- Support community-level activities and strengthen linkages to services.
- Participate actively in training, team meetings, and capacity-building initiatives.

Documentation and Reporting:
- Maintain accurate records of outreach activities, awareness sessions, referrals, and community feedback.
- Submit timely reports and data as required.
- Ensure confidentiality and secure handling of sensitive information.

Safety, Safeguarding, and Ethical Standards:
- Uphold principles of Do No Harm, confidentiality, informed consent, dignity, respect, and non-discrimination.
- Maintain professional boundaries with community members and service users.
- Comply with IRC’s Safeguarding, Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Child Safeguarding, Code of Conduct, and data protection policies.
- Ensure outreach and referral activities do not increase protection risks for individuals or communities.

Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree or Intermediate certificate in Social Sciences, Education, Psychology, Development Studies, or a related field from an HEC-recognized institution.
- 1 to 2 years of relevant experience in humanitarian, protection, GBV, community-based, or social development programming.
- Experience working with vulnerable and diverse communities.
- Strong communication, interpersonal, and community engagement skills.
- Proficiency in documentation, reporting, and basic IT skills.
- Knowledge of local languages and contextual understanding is preferred.

Core Competencies
- Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
- Community engagement and facilitation expertise.
- Basic knowledge of protection and GBV issues.
- Skills in referral processes and information sharing.
- Strong documentation and reporting capabilities.
- Cultural sensitivity, empathy, and the ability to work effectively with vulnerable populations.
- Capacity to work independently and collaboratively within a team.

The IRC is committed to upholding professional standards based on integrity, service, equality, and accountability. All staff are expected to adhere to the IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct, including safeguarding policies and ethical guidelines. We foster an inclusive, safe environment where employees can contribute to meaningful change and deliver high-quality services to those in need.