IRC Global Surge Team:

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 30 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

The IRC’s Global Surge Team (GST) is a roster of esteemed and highly qualified humanitarian professionals who deploy on short notice to non-emergency and emergency contexts to support the IRC’s mission. Members of the GST provide specialist support where talent is most needed for short-term deployments of up to three months. The GST is a flexible employment opportunity for staff, requiring members to be available for deployments only 50% of the year (with opportunities for additional deployments if incumbent is interested).

Members of the GST who specialize in emergencies are deployed to support either existing country programs in their emergency response, or to initiate a new program in the crisis zone. The overall responsibility of the team is to design, develop, and manage the IRC’s on-site humanitarian response, allowing us to meet the immediate needs of the affected population rapidly and effectively.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Programming at the IRC

The IRC has been among the leaders in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) in humanitarian for over fifteen years during which time enormous strides have been made in integrating and prioritizing SRH in humanitarian responses. IRC is an active participant in the Interagency Working Group on SRH in Humanitarian Settings (IAWG).

The IRC’s SRH services are geared towards addressing the most critical needs of crisis-affected people and are respectful of their cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. IRC strives to ensure that SRH services are made available to all populations affected by acute crises as part of the IRC’s Integrated Emergency Health Package and in line with the Minimum Initial Services Package for SRH in Humanitarian settings (MISP).

SCOPE OF WORK:

When deployed, the Emergency SRH Coordinator will report to the Emergency Country Director. The Emergency SRH Coordinator, when deployed to an emergency setting, is expected to rapidly initiate a quality MISP response including securing a base of operations, recruiting staff, providing on-the-job training to health care providers, managing the emergency SRH stock, and liaising/coordinating with other agencies on the ground. S/he will ensure that SRH services, in accordance with the MISP, are made available to the populations affected by the crises. The length of stay of the Emergency SRH Coordinator in the emergency setting would vary widely in accordance with the evolution of the situation and could last for up to 3 months at a time.

S/he will be responsible for keeping abreast with best practices. The Emergency SRH Coordinator will document IRC’s emergency SRH responses and present data and lessons learned at relevant professional meetings and other forums and will participate in SRH related relevant inter-agency initiatives.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Emergency Response

• Be prepared to be deployed within 72 hours; emergency deployments take precedence over other duties;
• Ensure high quality and timely assessments of the SRH humanitarian needs in large scale/complex emergencies and provide prioritized recommendations for health program interventions to the Emergency Country Director/emergency lead;
• Design SRH outcomes-driven program response strategy in close collaboration with other IRC response sectors, notably Primary Health Care, Nutrition, Environmental Health, and Women’s Protection and Empowerment;
• Develop technical proposals and budgets for international donors, work in close collaboration with IRC grants and finance staff to finalize proposals and respond to any requests for additional information;
• Coordinate the IRC’s emergency SRH responses with the local government, agencies, donors, and other stakeholders, and represent the IRC in relevant forums in locations where mobilized;
• Manage and/or supervise staff responsible for grant and programme implementation, including recruitment and training, workplan development, procurement and inventory planning, and budget management.
• Prepare high quality and timely donor and management reports on grants and SRH activities;
• Design and implement appropriate SRH monitoring and evaluation systems; ensure consistent reporting and analysis of results to enhance program effectiveness and quality;
• Ensure compliance with IRC policy and procedures throughout the program team and activities;
• In close collaboration with country management and global advocacy units, identify, develop and implement strategies to address IRC advocacy priorities;
• Support media and communications activities as requested by the Emergency CD/in-county emergency lead;
• Assess and provide input on SRH post emergency strategies and transition plans for IRC programming;
• Provide a comprehensive handover to successor, including ensuring transfer of all related documentation, program monitoring data and staff performance information.

Emergency Preparedness and Technical Assistance

• In collaboration with the SRH in Emergencies Specialist, work with EMU and HQ program technical staff to develop, revise and update SRH emergency preparedness and response strategies and tools as part of the integrated emergency health package;
• Take on other special projects as negotiated with supervisor.

REQUIREMENTS:

• At least 5 years of progressive international public health experience in low-income and humanitarian settings, with demonstrable technical expertise in sexual and reproductive health (SRH), including implementation of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) and programmes related to BEmONC, contraception, and comprehensive abortion care.
• A medical/nursing/midwifery degree required
• Fluency in written and spoken English in addition to Arabic and/or French
• Effective people and program management skills in acute emergency contexts: the ability to train, lead and manage staff productively under stressful circumstances;
• Proven writing and editing skills, including the ability to effectively write and edit grant proposals and reports;
• Flexible work attitude: Be flexible and yet focused & reliable in an environment of changing demands;
• Good computer skills: facility with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and email/internet software.

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