Syrian Arab Republic: Head of Education and Protection for North-East Syria

Location: Raqqa, North-East Syria and field travels within North-East Syria

Line manager: NES Area Programme Director

General position summary:

With supervision from the Area Programs Director and technical support from PIN´s Knowledge & Learning department, the Head of Education and Protection will be responsible for:

1. Overseeing project management and implementation of all PIN’s Education and Protection projects activities;
2. providing supervision, technical support, quality assurance and line management to Education Programme Manager and Protection Team Leader;
3. act as a focal point for two multisectoral projects (under ENI and SDC funding), leading on internal coordination amongst various thematic sectors (education, protection, Shelter, WASH, livelihoods) in regards to planning, activity coordination, budget forecasting, reporting and responding to unexpected challenges and,
4. coordinate with other sectoral projects to ensure Protection Mainstreaming;
5. represent PIN amongst relevant external parties; including but not limited to MENA region and coordination mechanisms (Working Groups) on Education, Protection, PSEA or HLP.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Project management:

• Leading regular monthly project review meetings & coordination between programs and support departments to ensure program implementation links well to financial, procurement, HR, MEAL planning
• Control over overall project spending (budget holder), financial forecasting and updated workplans against project timeframe
• Following upon project progress: indicators and project targets (to be) achieved
• Internal project approval processes, oversight of archiving being done & project records being in place
• Ensuring protection, accountability, safeguarding, conflict sensitivity and gender is mainstreamed throughout the projects
• Ensuring cross-sectorial engagement with other programmes such as WASH, Shelter, Livelihood, FSE when applicable

Cooperation with grants department:

• Consolidating/reviewing program reports per project to ensure accuracy of the inputs
• Preparing the technical design for new proposals/concepts in education and protection
• Providing any additional information or clarification asked by grants department or donor

Programme Development:

• Following goals and aims of existing sectoral strategy and leading regular strategy reviews related to - identifying potentially new geographical areas, ways of implementation, sub-sectors and potential partnerships, innovative programming approaches
• Develop & roll-out program technical guidance and focus on quality aspects such as improved safe learning environment for children in Temporary Learning Centres and schools, increased capacity of education & protection field team, monitoring tools are developed/ updated and used, analyse the data received and provide guidance to improve the areas with gaps
• Contribute to the development of relevant tools, SOPs technical standards
• Identifying lessons learnt for further incorporation into programming, proposing relevant changes and reviewing the PDM and evaluation findings are used to improve implementation
• Identify potential areas for studies and research to help develop further proposals and activities based on evidence of impact
• Engage with HQ based technical advisors around strategy development, capacity building, proposal development, etc.

Team Management:

• Management of the senior program staff within designated technical expertise and coordination with other senior program staff relevant for the project
• Assess training and development needs required for the programme team to meet the project and their individual objectives and ensure quality programming​

External Representation:

• Coordination with relevant Working Groups/Clusters
• Updating AD/APD on project specific activities updates to donors.

Suitable candidates for this position should possess:

• At least 5 years of professional experience within a humanitarian and/or development organization;
• Proven field experience in Education in Emergencies (EiE) programming (at least 3 years);
• Experience in implementation of child protection activities
• Experience in designing, implementing and providing technical support for the integration of protection mainstreaming into humanitarian programming; especially for sectors such as Livelihood, WASH, Shelter, ERMS
• Experience in managing large team of national staffs; between 70 - 100
• Experience in building the capacity of national teams;
• Experience in representing an organisation in strategic meetings and coordinate with working groups/ clusters
• Strong Project Management Skills with significant experience of US and European Donors
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills;
• Excellent command of English, knowledge of Arabic would be an advantage;
• Strong grasp of programme quality management including safeguarding and accountability mechanisms;
• Strong organizational, critical analysis and problem-solving skills
• Desirable: Experience of working in complex and volatile contexts, including familiarity Syria or the Middle East.

PIN Offers:

• Salary and benefits according to PIN salary scale and HR policies, salary 2,100 EUR (super gross) per month + 1,200 EUR monthly per diems;
• Comprehensive R&R package granted for every 10 weeks spent inside NES including 10 days of R&R leave days annually in addition to the 5 weeks of regular leave granted annually. Additional 500 USD of leave allowance provided for every 10 weeks spent inside NES.
• Accommodation in PIN’s guesthouse on PIN’s expenses;
• 25 days of paid leave annually;
• Reimbursement of travel expenses with travel to the country of residence once per every 6 months of completed work;
• Regional flights twice per year. The international staff has PIN’s support in leaving the base after every 3 months.
• Reimbursement of the costs of visas and vaccinations; assistance with visa application procedure;
• Free 24/7 medical helpdesk and psychological consultation available online;
• Reimbursement of the medical check-up before and after the deployment;
• Travel health insurance;
• Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT);
• E-learning platform, frequent webinars and other opportunities for your capacity building;
• In addition, team of dedicated colleagues who foster friendly and fair work atmosphere.

How to apply

Are you interested in this position? Send us your CV and short cover letter (no longer than 4 pages altogether) via our application form.

Please note only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Interviews will be conducted on rolling basis and the vacancy will be closed when filled.

People in Need staff are expected to perform job duties and responsibilities in accordance with People in Need Code of Conduct and key policies (available at: https://www.peopleinneed.net/key-policies-4142gp).