Job Consellor Senior Officer

Job Description

BACKGROUND

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is an international, independent humanitarian aid organisation. The mission of the IRC is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. The IRC is now at work in over 50 crisis-affected countries.

The IRC launched an emergency response to the escalation of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, working directly and with local partners to reach those most in need. In Ukraine, we are focusing our response in the conflict-affected areas in the east and southeast. Responding along the entire arc of the crisis, we are running activities targeting Ukrainian refugees in Poland, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and Bulgaria, as well as in Germany, Italy, Greece and the UK.

In Poland, the IRC delivers Economic Support, Education and Protection programming to Ukrainian refugees and Polish host communities. In Warsaw and Katowice, the IRC delivers Economic Recovery & Development (ERD) programming to support refugees in gaining access to quality labor market integration services.

The IRC is recruiting a Job Counsellor Senior Officer to be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of career development activities. The Job Counsellor Senior Officer will be based in Warsaw, with up to 20% travel within the Mazovian Voivodeship and other locations as necessary. As this is a fluid and rapidly changing context, the location of this assignment may change based on the program’s needs.

JOB SUMMARY

The IRC Poland provides job counselling and matching services, employment-relevant soft skills, language courses and supports refugees and host community in job placement opportunities. These services are delivered from two Livelihoods Centers: in Warsaw by IRC and in Katowice, via IRC’s partner. The Job Counsellor Senior Officer will be supervising a team consisting of Job Counsellor Officer and Polish Language Trainer Officer. The person will be in charge of monitoring and evaluating the career development activities.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the supervision of the Livelihoods Manager, the Job Counsellor Senior Officer will be responsible for:

Program Quality and Implementation:

· Provide overall technical guidance to the Job Counselling (JC) unit and to the Soft Skills Trainer Officer.

· Ensure that the JC unit delivers effective job activation of the refugees from Ukraine into employment in the labor market.

· Assist clients individually & in group career coaching sessions in order to develop a career pathway.

· Provide one-on-one career services. Help clients develop a professional CV and Cover letter, to identify relevant employment opportunities and provide overall support throughout the professional job search.

· Prepare clients for job interviews and employment orientations.

· Support job match clients with vacancies and opportunities.

· Assist clients with enrollment in post-secondary, recertification programs and non-formal and formal vocational training opportunities in line with client needs.

· Research potential training programs and trends in Mazovian Voivodship.

· Support the business outreach process and represent the IRC in external job fairs and networking meetings.

· Ensure that gender, protection and environmental stewardship are mainstreamed in the Career Development program

· Support the ERD Livelihoods Manager and the ERD Team in proper documentation, including the use of appropriate technology platforms, for client data and distribution information, per SOPs and Data Protection regulations.

· Identify Ukrainian / Polish language resources both for training of clients, screening for quality/consistency with comparable IRC standards or approaches and compiling technical resource library for IRC staff and partners.

· Provide translation and interpretation support to the program team (verbal and written) to / from Polish and English.

· Support the ERD Livelihoods Manager in establishing and maintaining relationship with the key regional stakeholders including municipalities, private sector, business associations, and TVET providers.

· Support the ERD Livelihoods Manager with drafting Standard Operating Procedures, Project Implementation Guidelines and Terms of Reference for various project activities.

External Representation:

· Provide support to implementing partners as needed and determined by them and the ERD Livelihoods Manager, including trainings, data management support and other operational support for their programs.

· Working with partner organisations to ensure compliance with IRC standards, meet project milestones, and troubleshoot issues as needed.

Management:

· Provide support to the JC unit in terms of time management, management of workload, and ensuring the team remains motivated.

· Schedule weekly check-ins with the team to ensure supervision and monitoring of progress and to support the team in solving work-related issues.

· Develop performance objectives and schedule and conduct performance review check-ins in line with IRC’s performance management requirements

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL):

· Adjust and adhere to detailed implementation plans to ensure program implementation is on time, with target goals and budget management using effective monitoring & evaluation systems and adaptive management principles to reach desired impacts.

· Ensure proper data collection and information management systems are used for projects in-line with MEAL support.

· Work with databases developed by the MEAL team for client data and other programmatic information.

· Support written program evaluations and reviews ensure documentation of lessons learned informing reporting and program development.

· Support the ERD Livelihoods Manager and Client Responsiveness Officers in addressing feedback from clients and partners.

Professional Standards:

· Complete other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.

· Adhere to the IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct and the IRC country employment policies.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: ERD Livelihoods Manager.
Position directly supervises: Job Counsellor Officer and Polish Language Trainer Officer.

Works closely with:

Internal: Other ERD team members, IRC Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) staff, Finance and Supply Chain.

*External:*IRC’s partner organizations, local municipalities and CSOs, and other community stakeholders; other practitioners in the field as needed.

Qualifications

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education: minimum Bachelor university degree in International Development, Business Administration, Economics, Social Science, Humanitarian Response, or related areas. Advanced degree is a plus – or equivalent work experience.

Demonstrated Skills and COMPETENCIES:

• At least 2 years of relevant work experience in livelihoods, career counselling, social protection, project management and/or public and governmental sectors.

• Native level of Polish, English Intermediate level, Ukrainian/Russian is an asset.

• Proven experience in job activation projects or public support institutions in Warsaw. Expertise in working with vulnerable populations/refugees/people with migrant experience.

• Knowledge and experience in implementing humanitarian or development projects, especially in conflict contexts, is preferred.

• Strong interest in support refugees and vulnerable populations.

• Demonstrated understanding and ability to maintain confidentiality and respect for the beneficiaries and partners.

• Proven ability to work well in and promote teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure with professional grace.

• Willingness to travel within Poland.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and Outlook.

• Demonstrated dedication to an anti-racist and Do No Harm approach, gender equality and inclusion.

• Must have right to work in Poland.

Standards of Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of 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, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

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.

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.

IRC 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.

How to apply

Please apply on our career site: https://rescue.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/47794?c=rescue