Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) and Cultural Orientation Coordinator

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Returning to Latin America recently following a 40-year history in the region in order to support Central American migration issues and address political and economic instability in South America, IRC is uniquely placed to facilitate the protection, livelihoods, and integration of mixed-migrants within and across borders. IRC established a long-term office in Mexico in 2019 to serve migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers, anchored by strong understanding of the local context by locally recruited staff; coordination with key stakeholders such as UNICEF, IOM, ICRC, and local NGOs and governments; and application of sound technical capacity and global best practices. IRC has an ongoing gender-based violence prevention, livelihoods and basic needs assistance, mental health and psychosocial support and InfoDigna migrant information provision response in Mexico.

The IRC Mexico team is currently implementing Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) programming across the country, spanning provision of cash assistance for basic needs to refugees and asylum seekers to livelihoods training and job placement support for migrants. The ERD & CO Coordinator will oversee implementation and monitoring of the entire portfolio of ERD projects, which include projects focused on but not limited to job training and placement, financial inclusion, cash and voucher assistance, and private sector partnership. Economic wellbeing programming is closely linked to protection and legal assistance programming, and a number of projects involve integrated outcomes, so the ERD & CO Coordinator will be expected to collaborate closely with peer staff representing other sectors. Additionally, IRC Mexico’s programming is partnership-led, so the ERD & CO Coordinator will lead identification of and collaboration with local project design and implementation partners who also provide economic recovery programming. IRC Mexico’s current and recent ERD programming spans areas including Tapachula and Palenque, Chiapas; Acayucan, Veracruz; Tenosique, Tabasco; and Ciudad de Mexico. The ERD & CO Coordinator will be based in CDMX but should expect frequent travel to the field and other project locations to oversee projects and manage staff and partnerships, which will be done remotely the remainder of the time. S/he will also be expected to interface with both institutional and private donors and to lead in preparation of proposals and budgets for new ERD projects.

Job Overview/Summary

The ERD & CO Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the implementation of all of the IRC’s ERD and CO programming in Mexico. S/he will provide technical and managerial leadership to the ERD and CO team and ensure all activities are of high quality, utilize global best practices and approaches, and respond to contextually assessed needs. S/he will ensure program delivery is on time and on budget, ensure business development efforts maintain and expand ERD and CP activities based on client needs and the Mexico Strategic Action Plan (SAP) priorities, and ensure capacity building for ERD and CO staff is prioritized to take on more senior management responsibilities and most effectively implement programming.

The ERD & CO Coordinator is part of a program coordination team including a Protection Coordinator, and works closely with the Grants Coordinator, the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, the Finance Manager, and the Field Coordinators. S/he reports to the Deputy Director of Programs and oversees an ERD team of one ERD Manager, and between five and ten ERD Officers.

Major Responsibilities

Program Management

• Provide strategic direction, leadership and overall technical and management support to ERD programs in Mexico spanning emergency response, early recovery, and economic development;

• Support the development and maintenance of a coherent ERD and workplan across all of IRC Mexico, in alignment with the country’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP) and in coordination with relevant stakeholders.

• Supervise and provide technical support to the ERD Managers, and other ERD staff to implement ERD and integrated projects to a high quality standard;

• Coordinate closely and liaise regularly with the Deputy Director of Programs, Country Director, Field Coordinators, Protection Coordinator, and Grants Coordinator to ensure quality implementation and business development and to ensure quality management and compliance to donor requirements;

• In collaboration with the ERD Manager, ensure smooth management and integration of project work plans and budgets (budget forecasting, development of spending plans and budget follow-up) you have developed, timely recruitment, and accurate reporting in accordance with IRC and donor regulations;

• Ensure that the ERD department produces high quality inputs as part of the development and maintenance of program-specific budget management tools, including but not limited to, activity plans, Gantt charts, procurement plans, financial forecasts, and budget vs. actuals;

• In coordination with the grants unit facilitate the Project Management Meeting process;

• Ensure the implementation of existing M&E systems, provide guidance where needed to improve the effectiveness of these systems and work alongside the RMAC, M&E Manager and other M&E staff to ensure output and impact data are captured and used to optimize program quality and identify efficiencies;

• Ensure that all internal and external reporting requirements are met, that reports are of a high quality and are submitted on time.

Business Development

• Lead design processes and proposal/budget development that ensures new or adapted programming for the ERD sector focuses on maximizing efficiencies, impact and integrated approaches;

• Support the Country Director, DDP, Grants Coordinator, ERD TA, and IRC’s global fundraising teams on identification and cultivation of relevant institutional and private donors;

• Lead identification and pre-positioning of relevant implementation partnerships with local and international NGOs, community organizations, government agencies, businesses and business networks, and financial service providers to best allow for sustainable service to our clients.

Technical Quality

• Ensure all IRC ERD projects are implemented in a timely and professional manner, according to objectives, goals and indicators established by the IRC and standards-creating agencies like SPHERE, in line with donor requirements and based on beneficiary needs;

• Lead planning and implementation of relevant assessments to determine contextual realities and client needs, to include labor market assessments, cash feasibility studies, post-distribution monitoring, and other studies as needed to initiate and inform programming;

• Analyze ERD and CO data collected from the field and conduct field visits to identify, monitor and report unmet needs and explore the potential of the IRC to adapt ongoing and new programming to address those needs;

• Work with operations and logistics staff to ensure procurement of supplies and materials and compliance with Donor and IRC rules and regulations;

• Provide technical assistance including supportive supervision to IRC’s staff and partners working on all ERD and CO projects;

• Liaise with ERD Global Technical Advisor(s) on a regular basis to ensure approaches are aligned with global best practices, leverage existing tools, and contribute back to the global base of knowledge.

HR & Staff Capacity Building

• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions;

• Take responsibility for discussing job expectations, performance, and objectives on an informal, regular basis with all reporting staff, in addition to conducting required midterm and annual performance evaluations and goal-setting;

• Overall responsibility for ERD and CP staff timesheets, work plans, vacation schedules, and staff training/development activities;

• Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC Global HR Policies and Procedures and the IRC Way, to include equal treatment for all staff, clients, and partners in alignment with IRC’s commitment to gender equality and diversity and inclusion;

• Manage ERD staff and develop specific capacity building plans for the ERD department and each individual staff in order for staff to take on increasing levels of management responsibility;

• Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches to build the capacity of the dispersed team;

• Provide training to program teams and partners on IRC ERD approaches and best practices.

Coordination

• Play an active role in the planning and execution of the overall country strategies and achievement of Mexico strategic action plan goals;

• Coordinate with the Deputy Director for Programs and Field Coordinators to ensure field concerns and challenges are brought to relevant stakeholders for the development of improved standards and procedures;

• Ensure all implementation plans employ a programmatic approach that integrates the needs of other sectors of work and regularly liaise with staff from other programmatic sectors to ensure strong collaboration;

• Work closely with relevant sector coordination mechanisms such as the Cash Technical Working Group and relevant government bodies to ensure IRC approaches are aligned with local standards and government regulations as well as ensuring harmonized implementation approaches;

• Ensure strong implementation and community partnerships are developed that allow for cross-learning, capacity building, and building of sustainable client support.

Other

• Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team and clients; promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with community leaders and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs;

• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.

Key Working Relationships

Reports to: Deputy Director of Programs

Staff oversight: ERD Manager, ERD Team in southern Mexico. ERD team in CDMX

Job Requirements

• Economic Recovery & Development professional with experience in employment support programming, cash transfer programming, market systems development, private sector partnership, financial inclusion, and/or emergency response; previous remote management experience and iNGO experience preferred;

• Bachelor degree in business, international relations, economics, social science, human rights or related field required. Master degree preferred.

• Minimum of 3 years professional experience in management of Economic Recovery and Development programs; total 6 or more years overall professional experience in relevant economic and or human rights/protection programming.

• Strong program/technical and budget management acumen as well as planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation skills;

• Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external parties;

• Proven technical writing skills;

• Business development and proposal writing experience. Experience working with larger institutional donors such as UN agencies and government donor agencies as well as with private sector donors.

• Must be capable of applying his/her skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct implementation, advisory functions, training and the transfer of technical knowledge and management skills to staff and partners;

• Interpersonal qualities: works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure with professional grace; ability to manage and collaborate effectively both in person and in remote circumstances;

• Fluent in spoken and written Spanish; professional level of English.

Working Environment: The position will be based in Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico with frequent travel (estimated at 35%) to other regions of Mexico including Chiapas, Chihuahua, Tabasco, Veracruz, Baja California, and other states as needed.

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