The Protection Coordinator (Women's Protection and Empowerment) leads IRC’s GBV programming in Darfur, providing strategic oversight, technical leadership, and quality assurance for women’s protection services in a complex emergency context. The role involves managing teams, coordinating with stakeholders, ensuring compliance with grants, and advocating for survivor-centered approaches in humanitarian response.
Responsibilities
- Provide overall strategic vision for the WPE program in Darfur throughout the emergency response, ensuring context-appropriate adaptation and prioritization.
- Ensure the technical quality of all IRC WPE programming, guaranteeing that women and girl survivors have safe, timely, confidential access to GBV case management and referral services.
- Provide technical and management leadership in line with IRC policies, global GBV standards, and best practices adapted to insecure and low-access environments.
- Lead the development and ongoing refinement of a Darfur-specific WPE strategy, incorporating input from field teams, other IRC sectors, senior management, and external stakeholders.
- Foster a collaborative, supportive, and learning-oriented work environment, with particular attention to staff care and professional development.
- Ensure ethical, safe, and context-appropriate data collection and information management systems are in place, including responsible use of GBVIMS.
- Ensure data is used for analysis, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and advocacy without compromising survivor confidentiality or safety.
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with donors, government and local authorities, UN agencies, international and national NGOs, and community-based actors.
- Represent IRC in GBV sub-cluster, Protection, and inter-agency coordination forums at appropriate levels.
- Advocate for inclusive, survivor-centered, and high-quality VAWG response services in Darfur.
- Elevate field-level challenges and access constraints to relevant coordination and decision-making forums.
- Maintain open and professional relationships with team members, promoting teamwork and accountability.
- Directly supervise the WPE Program Sr. Manager and ensure regular performance management and coaching.
- Support recruitment of WPE staff in coordination with HR, senior management, and the WPE Technical Unit.
- Ensure ongoing capacity building for staff on GBV technical standards, case management quality, remote management, and staff wellbeing.
- Ensure effective implementation and overall achievement of WPE grants in Darfur.
- Ensure adherence to approved work plans, budgets, spending plans, and monitoring frameworks.
- Coordinate closely with IRC Operations, Finance, and Grants teams to ensure compliance with donor and IRC requirements.
- Oversee effective monitoring systems, quality assurance, and internal reporting processes.
- Ensure timely, accurate, and high-quality donor and internal reports on activities, outputs, and outcomes.
- Ensure quality GBV case management data collection, storage, and reporting in line with ethical standards.
- Oversee relationships with implementing partners and support partner capacity strengthening.
- Ensure regular performance monitoring of partners against agreed objectives and standards.
- Lead high-level advocacy with peer agencies and authorities to strengthen coordination and service delivery.
- Proactively monitor and assess safety and security risks affecting WPE teams.
- Ensure security concerns are promptly reported and mitigation measures are implemented in coordination with IRC management.
- Ensure safeguarding, PSEA, and duty-of-care principles are integrated across all WPE activities.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor to support and strengthen IRC programming.
Requirements
- MA/S or equivalent in public health, social sciences, gender studies, international development, or related field.
- At least 5 years of overseas experience, including substantial management experience in VAWG/GBV programming and at least 2 years experience in direct service provision for survivors of sexual and domestic violence
- Previous experience supervising and managing a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting
- Previous experience in emergency preparedness and response
- Demonstrated experience in capacity building and mentoring of national and international staff
- Demonstrated experience in grant management and proposal writing
- Excellent computer skills in programs such as: MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint
- 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
- Personal qualities: Team player, flexible, network-builder, able to handle pressure well
Nice to Have
- Fluency in English and Arabic strongly preferred.
Tech Stack
MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, GBVIMS
Work Arrangement
local-country — Darfur — Regular field presence required; role based in Darfur with operational constraints due to conflict and access limitations
Team
Team size: multi-disciplinary team. Structure: Reports to Deputy Director of Programs; directly supervises WPE Program Sr. Manager; works with WPE Technical Unit, Grants, Finance, Supply Chain, HR. Reports to: Deputy Director of Programs
- Solutions-driven
- Passionate change-maker
- Collaborative and learning-oriented
- Staff care and professional development focus
- Restoring safety, dignity and hope to affected populations
Additional Information
- Language requirement: Fluency in English and Arabic strongly preferred.
- Work location: Darfur, Sudan – a highly complex humanitarian context with ongoing conflict, displacement, and restricted access.
- Travel expectations: Regular field presence required.
- Security context: Proactive monitoring of safety and security risks is essential due to
