Child Protection Training Officer

Background:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933, the IRC is at work today in over 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities. The IRC’s Resettlement, Asylum and Integration (RAI) department creates opportunities for refugees and other vulnerable migrants to gain stability and control of their future. RAI serves more than 50,000 individuals each year, through a diverse portfolio of programs aimed at five core outcomes: Health, Safety, Economic Wellbeing, Education and Power.

IRC’s safety, education, and wellness programs help heal and rebuild communities that have been deeply affected by grief, loss, and displacement by providing mental health and psychosocial support, mental health and interpersonal violence screening, and referral as needed to more specialized supports. Children from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, and other countries have unique needs which may require additional support, training, and resources.

Job Overview: This position sits within the IRC headquarters Safety, Education, and Wellness program. The Training Officer’s primary responsibilities will focus on providing training and technical assistance to enhance the Child Protection programs within Intensive Case Management (ICM) program and various Unaccompanied Children’s activities funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). This position serves to support the quality of Child Protection within ICM program delivery amongst IRC offices. In collaboration with the Child Protection Technical Advisor, Senior Program Officer of Child Protection, Child Protection Crisis Response Manager, and the Compliance and Operations Manager, the Training Program Officer will implement IRC’s Child Protection (including Child Protection within ICM) training program with particular attention to building local staff and partner knowledge and capacity. The Child Protection Training Officer is expected to advance guidance, training materials, manuals and other resources in alignment with federal, state, local and donor requirements and IRC global guidelines.

The main objective of this position is to work in partnership with local IRC field offices to ensure staff have the knowledge and skills to deliver high quality Child Protection and ICM services.

Major Responsibilities:

• Develop IRC headquarters training plan and support local staff in implementing the Child Protection program. This includes the development / delivery of webinars, communities of practice and in person training as well as a program manual and other written materials.
• Develop a mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of the training.
• Develop and provide support in implementing IRC’s Child Protection Protocol Manual.
• Train local Child Protection staff and all staff who work with minors (including ICM staff) in person and remotely on program services service delivery and documentation requirements.
• Provide support in tracking Child Protection training activities and maintain/update associated protocols.
• In coordination with the Senior Officer for Child Protection and Child Protection Technical Advisor, manage schedules and trainings for regular trainings including Child Protection Community of Practice meetings.
• Adjust training content based on an analysis of monitoring findings and community service provider trends.
• Write clear, concise activity reports for the donor and contribute to monitoring activities with compliance and completing monitoring reports.
• Manage, develop, and design e-learning modules for field offices and provide additional interactive training via webinars and other learning opportunities.
• Manage the Child Protection intranet pages (RescueNet) to ensure field resources are easy to locate and up to date.

Job Requirements: Successful candidates must possess knowledge of Child Protection programming with experience working on the Afghan or Unaccompanied Children’s response a plus. This position requires a diverse skill set including training, monitoring and strong communication skills with regards to content development. Demonstrated success working and communicating effectively in a multi-cultural environment with ability to effectively build internal and external relationships.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree in Social Work, International Affairs, or related field a plus.

• Minimum 2 years relevant experience, including in Child Protection or Child Welfare.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as, an overall ability to be clear and concise in all communications.

• Strong organizational and time-management skills; proven ability to prioritize and deliver on time.

• Ability to work both independently and in a dynamic, cross-functional global team structure.

• Ability to manage and work through change in a proactive and positive manner.

• Demonstrated experience collaborating with staff, interns or volunteers.

• Demonstrated experience creating and facilitating trainings.

• Demonstrated experience in relationships within stakeholders (i.e. child protective services, law enforcement and other child protection stakeholders).

• Effective people and program management skills in acute emergency contexts: the ability to train, lead and manage staff productively under stressful circumstances.

• Strong understanding of child development, trauma-informed care, culturally responsive service delivery, and strength-based and client-centered services.

• Demonstrated experience in case management and helping vulnerable individuals and families navigate complex systems and connect to resources.

• Experienced with competently managing emergent, urgent and crisis situations with clients (i.e., child welfare, suicidal ideation, mental health concerns, etc.).

• Highly developed interpersonal skills including active listening, emotional de-escalation, patience, and compassion.

• Service-oriented leadership skills.

• Excellent project management and knowledge management skills.

• Strong analytic problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work both independently and in a dynamic, cross-functional global team structure.

• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office suite.

• Ability to manage and work through change in a proactive and positive manner.

Working Environment:**

• Standard office work environment. Up to 20% travel required.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, 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 et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions. All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. 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.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.