Technical Advisor, Livelihoods

Background/IRC Summary: The International Rescue Committee (IRC), responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people survive, recover and gain control of their future. The IRC is working to improve the safety, health, education, economic well-being and power of people in crisis affected places.

The Economic Recovery and Development Technical Unit (ERD TU) is responsible for supporting the development, implementation, and monitoring of client-centered programs such as, but not limited to, cash and voucher assistance (CVA), rural & agricultural livelihoods, and enterprise development and employment promotion. The TU’s technical assistance to this wide variety of programs ensures quality and use of evidence-based practices; promotes innovation, diversity, equity, and inclusion; and drives data-based management and decision making.

Job Overview/Summary: The Technical Advisor (TA), Livelihoods will take a lead role supporting IRC countries (with a portfolio primarily, but may not be exclusively, focused on West Africa) on crafting and implementing evidence-based projects to improve livelihoods programming to high quality standards with a specific focus on climate-smart agricultural and livestock related livelihoods. Moreover, we expect all TAs to be well versed in gender-sensitive programming and be able to support gender-transformative approaches. To this end, the TA will work closely with TU team members from the cash & emergencies and livelihood teams as well as staff from IRC’s Technical Units for Health/Nutrition/WASH, Violence Prevention and Response, Governance and Education.

The position requires a dynamic, self-motivating, driven and forward-thinking personality with experience in working remotely with a broad range of people from very different cultural backgrounds. The remote nature of this position with both the TU team and countries teams that are being supported means that TAs need to be excellent in pro-active communication and relationship building.

Provide technical support to country programs

• Assist in the design, quality implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programs across all of ERD TU’s programmatic outcomes to an average of 6-8 countries in accordance with our Technical Assistance model and based on programs’ Strategy Action Plans (SAPs)
• Provide expert advice to and build capacity of TU colleagues and country staff on skills related to climate-smart agriculture and livestock rearing, food security and food system development
• Being competent in livelihoods to advise on enterprise development and employment related issues such as business development, job placement, financial inclusion, as well as cash and voucher assistance, or willing to invest time at the onset to learn IRC approaches and tools
• Experienced in private sector partnership development and collaborative project implementation.
• Competent in integrating gender equality, local partnership, and inclusion in livelihoods programming.
• Communicate regularly with country staff through phone and email. Provide remote support and conduct regular on-site visits to assess quality of programs, deliver technical support and trainings, provide recommendations, and engage in knowledge sharing.
• Support recruitment of key programmatic positions (management/coordination level and consultants).
• Input into go / no go decisions on proposals and on budgets required for project delivery
• When necessary, write technical narratives of proposals and provide support on monitoring and evaluation aspects of ERD projects
• Engage with donors, participate to donors’ meetings and do outreach in support of country programs
• Support research efforts, both qualitative and quantitative, to drive IRC’s evidence generation agenda, in collaboration with research specialists in the Technical Unit and in the Airbel Impact Lab

Drive tool development, integrated programming, and innovation

• Research, adapt and write evidence-based guides, manuals, and other resources to improve and innovate livelihoods programs, with a particular focus on remote delivery through the use of learning technology.
• Collaborate with other technical units to promote integrated programming, avoid redundancy and integrate gender equality, inclusion, context flexibility, client responsiveness, partnership and ICT
• Participate in ERD TU strategic design, special projects, meetings, communications material development, intra-net content development.

Local partnership building and business diversification

• Support countries and TU in pursuing emergency and long-term business development opportunities for livelihoods projects and resilience building. Tasks include donor and partner mapping, relationship-building (with a focus on local partners and private sector partnerships), program design and narrative review, and technical proposal development.
• M&E framework review and/or development promoting mobile monitoring, standard indicator use and data-use for management

Representing and communicating internally and externally

• Engage in priority networks, working groups, panels, and external fora on livelihoods issues
• Regularly provide briefings and responses to information requests on livelihoods and ERD programs, emerging issues and political developments to many audiences, including IRC colleagues, donors, the media, UN agencies, inter-agency networks, and new recruits.

The TA will undertake other special projects and tasks as needed within the realm of their expertise and within the TU’s function.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: STA, Livelihoods

Other Internal and/or external contacts: Close coordination and collaboration with members from the ERD TU team and other Tus

Job Requirements:

Education: Master’s degree in international development, agronomy, economics or related fields or a combination of equivalent education and lived experience.

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of proven experience in international emergency and development field posts, and or related private sector entities.
• Experience in managing large evidenced-based emergency and development programs, including staff and budget management, preferably in conflict- or disaster-affected environments.
• Technical expertise in complex and volatile security contexts and in one or more of the following areas (i) Climate-smart agriculture/livestock/resilience programming, (ii) Nutrition-Sensitive food security and food system development programming (iii) Innovative finance, (iv) Technical Skills development
• Demonstrated success in large business development for economic programs and familiarity with key donors and their funding streams.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Capacity to work flexible hours, as appropriate to accommodate for different time zones
• Demonstrated assessment, data collection and analysis skills, including needs assessments, market assessments and incorporation of gender analyses into assessment approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to work across functions and sectors to build strong working relationships and to ensure high-quality market-based program delivery.
• Knowledge of main institutional donors and a proven track record in developing funding proposals and reports for a range of institutional and other donors.
• Strong program/technical, project design, proposal development and budget management skills, planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills involving listening to, interacting with, and communicating clearly with people from diverse nationalities and backgrounds, and senior level internal and external partners, with a high degree of professionalism and pro-activity.
• Solid organizational skills: proficiency inworking productively in a fast-paced environment and under remote team and management structures
• Proficiency with Windows-based software, knowledge management tools, remote training and engagement tools, and familiarity with mobile monitoring tools
• Demonstrated dedication to an anti-racist and Do No Harm approach, gender equality and inclusion.

Language Skills: Demonstrated excellence in, English and French, both in writing and orally

Working Environment: Up to 40% travel is expected, Covid-19 restrictions permitting. This position will be based in a relevant IRC country office, with flexibility for remote work in alignment with IRC’s flexwork policy.

Standards for professional conduct and commitment to equality:

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.

We offer benefits that help promote an empowering work environment, including parental leave, medical insurance, counseling services, gender-sensitive security protocols, and more.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Language preference and/or interpretation to interview for the role can be made available upon request for the IRC’s working languages (Spanish, French, Arabic, English).