BACKGROUND:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) Thailand country program was established in 1976 to assist refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and currently assists refugees and migrants from Myanmar (Burma). IRC operates one of the largest and programmatically diverse humanitarian programs providing essential services to displaced populations in Thailand. Assistance programs encompass health, education, institutional capacity building, gender-based violence prevention and response, water and sanitation, advocacy, protection and legal assistance. The IRC Thailand country program operates with an annual grants portfolio of over $28 million with support from multiple international governments and private and corporate donors to assist displaced persons living on the Thailand-Myanmar border.
SCOPE OF WORK:
The Deputy Director for Programs (DDP) oversees the implementation of protection and health programming portfolio through direct supervision of its component projects. Responsibilities include oversight of health programming for refugees, the Legal Assistance Centre Project, Improving Mechanisms for Partnership and Action for Children in Thailand (IMPACT), and Women’s Protection and Empowerment program. The DDP serves as a point of contact with relevant donors of these projects including DFID, US Government, UNHCR, EC, and USAID/ World Learning. This position reports to the IRC Thailand Country Director.
GENERAL JOB DESCRIPTION:
The DDP is responsible for overall program management, supervision of program coordination staff, proposal design and submissions, grant cycle management and fiscal tracking of all country program grants. The position represents the IRC in interagency meetings and amongst donor-participated events and also requires regular travel to field offices for management and monitoring activities. The DDP also serves as the point of contact for IRC Headquarters technical unit focal-points and plays a key role in the country program’s strategic planning process.
- Ensure progress towards meeting yearly performance and strategic objectives as set by the DHAP and Representative for East Asia are met.
- Assess existing and future staffing needs to build appropriate capacity within the protection portfolio and other program sectors as required to fulfill project objectives;
- Effectively communicate with and training relevant IRC staff throughout the country program to understand the importance of program quality at all levels.
- Provide daily supervisory, operational and management support to the following staff: The Legal Assistance Center Coordinator, The Child Protection Coordinator, The LAC Program Advisor, The Senior RTG Liaison Officer, The Women’s Protection and Empowerment Coordinator.
-Uphold IRC’s global corporate initiatives related to project design, monitoring and evaluation, the IRC’s program framework and implementing aspects of the Thailand program’s strategic plan.
JOB-SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:
Program Oversight:
- Direct overall supervision of IRC Thailand’s health, legal, women’s empowerment and child protection programs
- Ensure high quality and timely technical supervision of program coordination staff
- Serve as the focal point for communication with IRC technical unit staff headquarters staff
- Oversee and critically monitor programs that reflect the spirit of IRC’s Program Framework, sector strategies and IRC Thailand’s strategic plan.\
- Work with the Chief of Party for the USAID/Project for Local Empowerment to ensure IRC implementation strategies are harmonized across all project areas
- Ensure internal program coordination at the project and strategic levels within the country program and across program portfolios, specifically ensuring quality data collection, strategic planning alignment and program framework integration
Grant Management:
- Ensure grants are managed within budget by leading Budget to Actual meetings and ensuring appropriate management staff review expenditure reports
- Initiate internal reviews and final evaluations, as necessary; identify opportunities for external consultants to help inform the country offices approaches and strategies. Incorporate lessons learned into revised implementation approaches
- Ensure through program coordination staff that projects collect and analyze high quality data, and uses this data to inform project decisions and designs
- Oversee the internal and external submission of reports as required by various donors
- Conduct regular field visits to monitor programs and provide support to field-based staff
- Provide pro-active human resource support for program management staff
Program/Project Development:
- Actively seek to increase IRC’s potential to operationalize sector-specific programming by capitalizing on opportunities and developing proposals
- Develop new programs and assist in project identification, design, monitoring and evaluation
- Oversee and lead the formulation of new grant proposals or work-plans as per IRC or donor requirements to established donors. Ensure all programs are aligned with IRC Thailand’s strategic goals and management capacities
- Participate in program design sessions that benefit the Thailand country office, provide input to proposals and give advice to project managers who design and implement programs to ensure protection matters are considered and addressed within programs/budgets
Representational:
- Develop and maintain a positive working relationship with donors, host government, refugee committees, NGO/UN/IO community, IRC staff and headquarters based staff. If requested, represent IRC at coordination events, invited meetings and official functions as needed
- Represent IRC Thailand at regularly scheduled meetings that bring together key stakeholders working with Burmese refugees/migrants in Thailand including relevant Thai ministries, INGOs, Thai NGOs, Burmese CBOs, and relevant UN agencies
- Serve as focal point for management of official donor and IRC visitors to the Thailand-Myanmar border as assigned
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor’s degree in related field
- Graduate or post-graduate degree in humanitarian assistance, civil society development, community development, or other related field highly desirable
- Minimum of eight years’ experience in leading humanitarian and/or development assistance programs with a focus on services in an international setting
- Demonstrated expertise in managing a complex program portfolio spanning humanitarian and development assistance across multiple sectors in a variety of operating contexts
- Technical expertise in one or more of the following: health, education, emergency cash and food assistance, rights protection, institutional capacity building, advocacy, with a demonstrated ability to foster the close integration of multiple project sectors
- Demonstrated ability to ensure appropriate monitoring and evaluation of a complex program portfolio, especially those administered by community-based partner organizations
- Ability to lead large multi-cultural teams delivering complex humanitarian and developmental assistance involving a wide array of project partners
- Strong strategic planning, monitoring, management, supervision, and budgeting expertise
- Strong communication skills, both interpersonal and written
- Indigenous and local language (Burmese, Karen, Karenni, Shan, Thai) capability a plus
How to apply:
Application letter and most recent CV in English stating qualifications and experience should be submitted to the IRC Human Resources Department at: Thailand.HR@Rescue.org
All applications will be treated confidentially and not returned. The IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, national origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or physical or mental disability. The IRC is an equal opportunity employer.
