Requisition ID: req50920

Job Title: Adolescent Girl Assistant

Sector: Women Protection & Empowerment

Employment Category: Regular

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Al-Raqqa, Syria

Job Description

Background/IRC Summary:  

The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Today, 13.4 million people in Syria - more than half of the country's population - are in need of humanitarian assistance with needs increasingly being exacerbated by economic decline. Of these, 6.8 million are refugees and asylum-seekers who have fled the country. This is no short-term humanitarian episode. The devastating human consequences to huge numbers of people will endure for decades. The destruction of relationships, communities, livelihoods, homes, and infrastructure will take years to repair.

IRC is offering a robust humanitarian response to the Syria crisis a rapidly expanding portfolio, supported by more than 1000+ staff in Syria Country Program. IRC is undertaking programs in Syria and the neighboring countries of Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan in the fields of health, child protection, early childhood development, education, women’s protection and empowerment, non-food items and food distribution, cash assistance, water and sanitation, protection and rule of law, and livelihood programming. Our work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing modern humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding, and coordination.

Job Overview/Summary:

IRC has an established program supporting the needs of women and girls throughout Al-Hassakah and Ar-Raqqa Governorate in northeast Syria. The IRC provides direct counseling, psychosocial, and case management services to women and girls, with a particular focus on responding to the needs of survivors of gender-based violence (gender-based violence). The Adolescent Girls Assistant works in the Women’s Listening Center and is based there. Her role is to support adolescent girls in the center through the provision of activities including setting up information sessions, recreational sessions, and emotional support sessions. She will assist in the provision of age-appropriate group activities, skills building, information sessions, and other recreational activities that promote support networks and cohesion with adolescent girls at the women and girls Centers/safe spaces. She will also engage guardians in describing the importance of social connectedness for adolescent girls.

Responsibilities:

• Enforce and proactively promote the women-, girl- and survivor-cantered support approach, and the GBV guiding principles.
• Consult and work with adolescent girls in the centres to identify their needs, interests, and priorities, and what’s important to them, and where possible, adapt activities according to these to ensure activities offered are culturally appropriate and meet the needs of adolescent girls.
• Assist in the planning and implementation of training activities for adolescent girls participating in centre services and activities.
• Assist in the planning and implementation of activities aimed at community leaders and parents (or guardians/gatekeepers) of the adolescent girls accessing the centres and safe spaces.
• Conduct, prepare, and help plan and organize activities with adolescent girls with an understanding of the age range of adolescent girls and the varying risks adolescent girls face.
• Provide Psychosocial First Aid and appreciative support and services to adolescent girls.
• Assist with dignity kit distributions, appropriate messaging, and feedback from adolescent girls on dignity kits and other discretionary items provided.
• Know, understand, and use the internal and external referral pathways.
• Work in close, daily collaboration with relevant and available health services to ensure women and girls have safe, discrete, and confidential access to/from the WPE and health services via the agreed safe and confidential referral procedures.
• Know, understand and be able to apply the best interest and determination for children, specifically girls.
• Share with the adolescent girls’ what options for her care are available, including what services can be provided and what services cannot.
  

Outreach and Community Mobilization

• Build positive, productive, believing connections with adolescent girls, their parents/carers, and their communities, ensuring to always maintain of professional boundaries and humanitarian ethics.
• In collaboration with the whole Centre team, conduct community outreach and engagement activities to build community support and agreement for the Centres in a safe and appropriate manner, and awareness activities on GBV and its health consequences, promote available services to adolescent girls, and listen to adolescent girls on barriers to accessing services with activities for women only groups.
• Advise adolescent girls and their guardians about available services and material support in accordance with their needs.
  

Other duties and responsibilities

• Ensure supplies/resources for adolescent girls’ activities in the centres are requested in a timely manner and are efficiently applied.
• Track participation numbers of adolescent girls attending centre activities.
• Maintain positive and productive collaboration, coordination, and relationships with the Centre team, external partners, and other sectors.
• Other tasks as requested by the Women’s Centre Officer

Qualifications

• A higher national diploma or university degree.
• Minimum, 2 years of progressively responsible professional experience of GBV, in particular - supporting adolescent girls protection and empowerment – essential, counseling, or PSS preferably with women / girls.
• Previous experience in an emergency or conflict-afflicted setting is required.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• A commitment to IRC’s mission, vision, values, and IRC Way – Professional Code of Conduct.
• Credible written, presentation, and verbal communication skills; ability to convey information optimally and proven experience providing training and staff development.
• Validated a sense of professional discretion, integrity, and ability to handle sophisticated situations subtly and to effective resolution.
• Excellent management and communication skills and a solid ability to promote harmonious/cohesive collaboration, in a cross-cultural context.
• Validated ability to plan long-term, organize priorities and work under administrative and programmatic pressures with detail orientation and professional patience.
• Highly collaborative and resourceful; ability to establish positive working relationships with senior-level management and all other partners to improve collaboration and productivity.
• Curiosity, a desire to continually learn and develop, and a sense of humor are a must.
• Analytical ability in creating effective solutions to sophisticated matters while adhering to labor laws and internal policies.
  

Language/Travel:

• Arabic is required, while Kurdish and English will be added advantages.
• Travel: 100% to field sites in 100% as well as attending regional and global workshops and meetings.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:  WPE Center Officer
Position directly supervises: None.

Indirect Reporting (If applicable):
Key Internal Contacts: WPE, Child Protection, Health team members

Key External Contacts: Communities, service providers

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

Returning National Candidates: We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a citizen of the Country in which this position is based and are currently located outside of your home country and possess over two years of international work experience, the Middle East Region has introduced an attractive remuneration package. The package includes competitive compensation, return flight to post, shipping allowance, temporary housing and a relocation allowance. Certain restrictions may apply. IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: at IRC MENA, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Organizations that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, nationality, and perspective are validated to be better organizations. More importantly, creating a safe workspace environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best is the right thing to do. So, bring your whole self to work.

IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. In keeping with our core values of Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality, IRC strives to maintain a work environment built on mutual respect in which all individuals treat each other professionally, and free of bias, prejudice, and harassment. IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of IRC Persons in any work setting. All IRC staff, wherever they are located, are accountable for creating an environment free of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and retaliation.