Protection Coordinator

Job details

DIVISION: Impact

TEAM: Oxfam in Iraq, Programme

LOCATION: Erbil (Iraq) with 50% travel to the field

CONTRACT TYPE: Global, Fixed Term – 12 months, contract renewable

GRADE: C2

JOB FAMILY: Programme

SALARY: As per Oxfam Salary Scale

HOURS: Full-time role, 40 hours per week

TEAM PURPOSE:

Oxfam has been working in Iraq since 1990’s responding to both humanitarian crises as well as to development needs. In 2023, Oxfam implements work through eight offices in Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salahaddin governorates in Federal Iraq and Erbil and Kalar in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

Our humanitarian and development priorities in country are water, sanitation and hygiene; food security and livelihoods; gender justice; and protection. Across these themes, our programmatic approach:

• Continually looks to improve quality and lead through innovation
• Mainstreams gender and ensures women’s rights are at the heart of everything Oxfam does
• Establishes and maintains transformative partnerships to facilitate local leadership
• Promotes complementary advocacy, where possible, to influence systemic change

As an advocate for Local Humanitarian Leadership and a strengthened civic space, Oxfam has active partnership engagements with 47 local and national NGOs.

UNIT PURPOSE:

The Programme Team is overall responsible and accountable for the development, design, management, and monitoring of country programmes for Oxfam in Iraq. The Programme Team is responsible for ensuring that the Oxfam country programmes align with the Oxfam Country Strategy (OCS) and address priority needs and contextual trends.

The team is tasked with designing programmes that are relevant and responsive to the country’s needs, considering the political, economic, social, and cultural context. This requires a thorough understanding of the local context, including the needs of vulnerable communities and the challenges they face. Additionally, the Programme Team is responsible for effectively managing and monitoring the implementation of these programmes to ensure they are delivered efficiently and effectively. They must ensure that the programmes are in line with the Oxfam in Iraq’s overall objectives and outcomes and that they contribute to the organization’s mission of ending poverty and inequality.

JOB PURPOSE:

The Protection Coordinator is responsible for the strategic development and technical supervision of Oxfam in Iraq’s protection programming through technical guidance, support, oversight, strategy development, resources, fundraising, capacity development, and representation. The role will ensure the successful transition of Oxfam programming from humanitarian aid to recovery and development initiatives. The job holder will collaborate with other technical leads, such as those in the Gender Justice, and Economic Development sectors, as well as with Area Managers in the field in order to design and execute integrated programming and guarantee the quality of the interventions.

The Protection Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring that Oxfam’s Protection projects are successful in meeting their objectives and making a lasting impact on those affected by conflict, displacement, and poverty in Iraq.

 

POST HOLDER REPORTS TO

Deputy Country Director – Programmes

 

JOBS REPORTING TO THIS POST

Matrix management of the Protection teams in the field offices.

 

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and Programme Quality

• Responsible for the development, revision, and implementation of the Oxfam in Iraq Protection Strategy. Ensure its alignment with the Oxfam in Iraq Country Strategy, as well as relevant global and sector strategies, while remaining responsive to the evolving context in Iraq.
• Development of long-term vision and strategies to achieve significant impact on Oxfam’s ability to change policies and practices at governorate and national level.
• Lead on delivery of elements of the country Protection programmes through alliances and partners.
• Responsible for the establishment and ongoing maintenance of comprehensive Protection tools, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and guidelines for all activities. Ensure regular updates are made to these resources and provide thorough and coordinated revisions when necessary. Additionally, ensure that all relevant staff members receive proper training and adhere to the established standards during implementation.
• Review regularly the programme related outcomes of Oxfam Country Strategy to propose adaptation to changes in needs and context.
• Coordinate with country team and Oxfam’s regional and HQ technical advisors to implement, monitor, and adjust the programme related outcomes of Oxfam Country Strategy.
• Explore opportunities of innovative programming models through desk review and in country research, including but not limited to climate change programming, sustainable water resources management, women economic empowerment, resilience, private sector partnership, and suggest/pilot innovative interventions in Iraq.
• Responsible for working with HDP networks and Iraq Triple Nexus (Humanitarian Development and Peace) coordination structures.
• Conduct a thorough analysis of donor priorities within the Protection sector and proactively identify fresh fundraising opportunities.
• Take the lead in developing and strengthening methods and tools for comprehensive protection analysis at the country level. This includes conducting assessments and collecting data based on activities, all aimed at informing evidence-based program design and implementation.
• Put forth innovative ideas for project design, while conducting feasibility assessments to determine their viability.
• Foster seamless integration of Protection activities with other sectors within Oxfam in Iraq, with a particular focus on Economic Justice, Gender Justice, and Climate Justice and Innovation.
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding and knowledge of the dynamic landscape in Iraq, including the specific factors influencing the protection environment, as well as patterns of protection risks throughout the country and in specific regions.
• Strengthen the capacity of national and community-based actors to assess, analyze and respond to protection needs.
• Using a protection lens, support design of new programs according to the specific context in the target areas, including support to developing assessment tools.
• Ensure that “lessons learned” from the interventions are documented, become a team asset and are used to influence policies and future programme.

Programme Development and Implementation

• Conduct technical review of the new program opportunities, provide recommendations in terms of their relevance to Oxfam Country Strategy, including review of risks, value addition, existing capacities and other strategic links both internal across sectors and externally with relevant stakeholders.
• Accountable for, and lead, the technical design and review Protection-related concept notes, logical frameworks, budgets, and comprehensive proposals. Collaborate closely with the Deputy Country Director Programmes, the fundraising unit, and area teams to ensure a coordinated approach.
• Guide the implementation of Protection related outcomes of Oxfam Country Strategy.
• Responsible for providing technical advice and guidance to the Area Managers, and teams, in the field. This advice will be based on their knowledge of the local context and understanding of the various economic challenges facing the region.
• Provide technical review to operational/progress reports and donor reports, and ensure quality reporting.
• Support Area Managers and thematic team to unpack projects results into detailed activities and implementation plans.
• Oversee the quality and the timeliness of the implementation for the regular programme and potential emergency responses.
• Ensure timely technical support to teams in the field in developing appropriate approaches to protection and social cohesion, providing input, support, and regular follow-up.
• Review program monitoring and evaluation results, provide recommendation and technical support to Area Managers and provide necessary backstopping and/or distance management as required.

Team Management and Capacity Building

• Support the recruitment staff as required.
• Ensure performance management of staff reporting to this position and contribute to performance management of staff under matrix management, according to the Oxfam standards and procedures.
• Provide temporary cover (gap-filling) for technical vacancies in the field when needed.
• Design and deliver induction on Economic Justice programming to new staff.
• In close coordination with the Partnership Manager and Area Managers, support in identifying capacity building needs for Oxfam and implementing partners’ staff, identify training opportunities and/or deliver training, particularly in view of the transition of the programe.
• Ensure regular learning and knowledge sharing opportunities for staff, including and not limited to participation to Project Reviews, After Action Reviews, Internal technical discussions, peer to peer visits/experience sharing, regular thematic team meeting, mapping of staff specific expertise and field of interest to be linked with program needs and capacity building plans.
• Provide mentoring/coaching to Oxfam’s and partners teams in the field.

External Representation, Coordination and Influencing

• Ensure active representation of Oxfam in relevant working groups and keep Oxfam in a leading position in the relevant coordination fora, both at National and at Local (governorate and district) levels.
• Share regularly relevant information form external Coordination fora with Line management and CMT+ team.
• Collaborate and provide technical support to the Policy and Advocacy team for Livelihood and Resilience related work.
• Provide support in country to field locations to develop effective advocacy strategies that are an integral part of the Iraq Change Strategies. Establish potential linkages between local advocacy action and national advocacy strategy and steer.
• Attend meeting with donors, partners and authorities as required.
• Disseminate actively Oxfam learning and best practices with relevant stakeholders, including Government bodies, donors, UN agencies, other NGOs, and other key stakeholders.
• Contribute to the design, review and implementation of Livelihoods and EFSVL related outcome of Oxfam Iraq Influencing strategy

Experience, Knowledge & Competencies

Essential

• At least 3 years’ experience in Humanitarian Protection field, working with UN or International Agencies
• Degree in Law, Social Sciences, International Relations or Social work
• Advanced English skills
• Advanced IT skills.
• Knowledge of the Iraqi and Middle Eastern context
• Prior experienced in community-based protection and conflict management.

 

Feminist Leadership approach

• Self-Awareness Able to develop a high degree of self-awareness around our own strengths and weaknesses and our impact on others. Our self-awareness enables us to moderate and self-regulate our behaviours to control and channel our impulses for good purposes. We self-moderate appropriately to different context thereby optimizing our ability to achieve goals.
• Listening We are good listeners who can see where deeper levels of thoughts and tacit assumptions differ. Our messages to others are clear and consider different preferences.
• Relationship building We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organization.
• Mutual accountability We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values. We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.
• Enabling We all work to effectively empower and enable others to deliver the organisations goals through creating conditions of success. We passionately invest in others by developing their careers, not only their skills for the job. We give more freedom and demonstrate belief and trust, underpinned with appropriate support.

At interview, shortlisted candidates will also be assessed on our values and organisational attributes, as outlined above.

Desirable

• Arabic and/ or Kurdish language skills highly desirable.
• Knowledge and understanding of Oxfam’s programmes in emergencies and development.
• Master’s in law, Humanitarian Studies