Protection Sector CO-Lead, Northeast Nigeria (PSNE) at the International Rescue Committee (IRC)

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 or disaster. 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Protection Sector CO-Lead, Northeast Nigeria (PSNE)

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Description

• The Protection Sector NGO Co-Lead will work in partnership with the Protection Sector Coordinator of UNHCR for Northeast Nigeria, to provide leadership and facilitate the processes that will ensure a well-coordinated, strategic, adequate, coherent, and effective protection response within the BAY States of North-East Nigeria.
• The Co-Lead will have specific responsibility for ensuring that the Protection Sector is informed by NGO perspectives, including, importantly, that of local partners.
• The Co-Lead will also be responsible for ensuring that the NGO membership is contributing to and sharing Protection Sector responsibilities and will play a lead role in developing the active engagement and technical capacity of members of the Protection Sector.  

The four expected results are as follows:

• NGOs concerns and priorities are adequately brought up and considered by the Protection Sector Coordination Team/ secretariat.
• NGO Protection stakeholders are encouraged to participate in Protection Sector activities, o Protection inter-sector and/or multisectoral coordination effectiveness is reinforced and, Protection Sector coordination, NGOgovernment relation is strengthened at LGA and state levels.
• The NGO Co-Lead Agency will appoint a Protection Sector Co-Coordinator, full time.
• The coordinator will be reporting to the NGO Co-Lead Agency for all contractual arrangements.  

Major Responsibilities
As per IASC Guidelines, Sector Co-Coordinators at the national level are accountable to the Humanitarian Coordinator for facilitating a process at the sectoral level aimed at ensuring the following:
Inclusion of key humanitarian partners:

• Ensure inclusion of key humanitarian partners for the sector, national protection actors, and key ministries, respecting their respective mandates and Programme priorities

Establishment and maintenance of appropriate humanitarian coordination mechanisms:

• Ensure appropriate coordination with all humanitarian partners (including national and international NGOs, the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, IOM, UN Agencies and other international organizations), through establishment/maintenance of appropriate sectoral coordination mechanisms, including working groups at the national and, if necessary, local level.
• Secure commitments from humanitarian partners in responding to needs and filling gaps, ensuring an appropriate distribution of responsibilities within the sectoral group, with clearly defined focal points for specific issues where needed.
• Ensure the complementarity of different humanitarian actors’ actions.
• Promote emergency response actions while at the same time considering the need for early recovery planning as well as prevention and risk reduction concerns.
• Ensure effective links with other sectoral groups, working groups and AoRs.
• Ensure that sectoral coordination mechanisms are adapted over time to reflect the capacities of local actors and the engagement of development partners.
• Represent the interests of the sectoral group in discussions with the Humanitarian Coordinator / Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and other stakeholders on prioritization, resource mobilization and advocacy.

Coordination with national/local authorities, State institutions, local civil society, and other relevant actors:

• Ensure that humanitarian responses build on local capacities.
• Ensure appropriate links with national and local authorities, State institutions, local civil society and other relevant actors and ensure appropriate coordination and information exchange with them.

Participatory and Community-Based Approaches:

• Ensure utilization of participatory and community-based approaches in sectoral needs assessment, analysis, planning, monitoring, and response.

Attention to Priority Cross-Cutting Issues:

• Ensure integration of agreed priority cross-cutting issues in sectoral needs assessment, analysis, planning, monitoring, and response (e.g. age, diversity, environment, gender and human rights); contribute to the development of appropriate strategies to address these issues; ensure gender-sensitive programming and promote gender equality; ensure that the needs, contributions and capacities of women and girls as well as men and boys are addressed.

Needs Assessment and Analysis:

• Ensure effective and coherent sectoral needs assessment and analysis, involving all relevant partners and complimenting sectors.
• Active contribution to the development, implementation of harmonized tools and participatory analysis

Planning and strategy development:

• Ensure predictable action within the sectoral group for the following:
• Identification of gaps.
• Developing/updating agreed response strategies and action plans for the sector and ensuring that these are adequately reflected in overall country strategies, such as the Humanitarian Response Strategy and the entire Humanitarian Program Cycle.
• Drawing lessons learned from past activities and revising strategies accordingly.
• Developing an exit, or transition, strategy for the sectoral group.

Application of Standards:

• Ensure that sectoral group participants are aware of relevant policy guidelines, technical standards and relevant commitments that the Government has undertaken under international human rights law;
• Ensure that responses are in line with existing policy guidance, technical standards, and relevant Government human rights legal obligations.

Monitoring, Evaluating, and Reporting:

• Ensure adequate monitoring mechanisms are in place to review the impact of the sectoral working group and progress against implementation plans.
• Ensure adequate reporting and effective information sharing (with OCHA support), with due regard for age and sex disaggregation.
• Support Sector Information Management Officer (IMO) to ensure Protection related data are compiled, analyzed, and synthesized to inform planning and decision making.  
• Support the sector IMO to ensure mapping of various Protection related needs assessments planned or done including multi-sector needs assessments and ensure Protection findings are refined.
• Support in analysis to identify and address (emerging) gaps, obstacles, duplication, and cross-cutting issues.

Advocacy and Resource Mobilization:

• Identify core advocacy concerns, including resource requirements, and contribute key messages to broader advocacy initiatives of the HC and other actors.
• Advocate for donors to fund humanitarian actors to carry out priority activities in the sector concerned, while at the same time encouraging sectoral group participants to mobilize resources for their activities through their usual channels.

Training and Capacity Building:

• Promote/support the training of staff and capacity building of humanitarian partners.
• Support efforts to strengthen the capacity of the national authorities, civil society and LGA authorities.
• Provide training and update sector partners on the benefits and outcomes of incorporating better assurance mechanisms into programs and responses as required.

Other Responsibilities:

• In addition, the Protection Sector Co-Coordinator, as a representative of NGO interests in the Protection Sector will assume the following responsibilities:
• Participate in HNO, HRP, NHF and Flash Appeals processes and represent /sector Partners during the processes of defenses before the respective boards.
• Develop a sector strategy that ensures appropriate NGO inclusion.
• Establish regular exchange with NNGOs and INGOs mechanisms and Nigeria INO Forum (NIF).
• Ensure that NGO Protection partners have equal and fair access to all Humanitarian Common Services (HCS)
• Represent the NGO community at the monthly Protection sector meetings.
• Contribute to the production of Protection documents (policies, strategies, work plans, advocacy briefs, and bulletins) with an appropriate view and technical input from NGO Protection partners.
• Work closely with the UN co-lead agency UNHCR to ensure effective collaboration between UN and NGOs
• Motivate NGOs to participate in Protection events (coordination meetings, working groups, training, workshop, assessments, etc.).
• Represent the NGO interests various in humanitarian forums where needed.

Job Requirements
Education:  

• Advanced University Degree in Protection related field with a minimum of 4 years experience in Humanitarian assistance.

Competencies:

• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities.
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Be technically competent in the sector systems, procedures, and governance structures.
• Able to maintain good relationships with all relevant stakeholder counterparts.
• Be able to work with diverse stakeholders to develop consensus.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the international humanitarian response and coordination mechanisms, and humanitarian reform.
• Able to take into consideration the interests of NGOs (international and national) while advocating or lobbying for any cause. The sector is guided by the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and advocacy for all.
• Experience working with UN agencies on Protection matters.
• Demonstrate personal and professional integrity in all interactions.

Context / Specific Skills, Knowledge, and Experience:

• Strong leadership and coordination skills.
• Considerable relevant field experience in Protection projects in humanitarian and development programs preferable with non-governmental organizations and in more than one country.
• Experience and/or understanding of Protection related issues in humanitarian and development contexts.
• Experience in management and capacity building of teams in complex contexts.
• Proven record of training/skills development of individuals and teams, including partner organizations.
• Proven ability to analyze complex humanitarian and recovery contexts at the local and national level, monitor changes and translate into appropriate strategic planning.
• Good assessment, analytical, monitoring and evaluating and planning skills and project management skills to enable program delivery.
• Ability to consolidate and triangulate information received from various sources.
• Good communication skills
• Working experience in BAY is preferred.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience from working in complex and volatile IDP’s contexts.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.