Protection Expert Capacity Strengthening and Systems Engagement

The Protection Expert Capacity Strengthening & Systems Engagement (Women Protection and Empowerment) provides national-level technical expertise to strengthen GBV prevention and response systems and IRC’s engagement with national and local partners in Ukraine. The position manages technical engagement with partners, leads capacity assessments, develops capacity strengthening plans, and supports survivor-centred approaches and sustainable service delivery models.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain effective technical engagement with relevant institutions and partner organizations at national and local levels to strengthen GBV prevention and response capacities, systems, and practices.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the mandates, roles, capacities, operational challenges, and priority needs of institutions and organizations involved in GBV prevention and response and identify opportunities for relevant programme engagement.
• Conduct and coordinate institutional and partner capacity and needs assessments, identify technical and organizational gaps, and develop tailored capacity strengthening and development plans based on identified priorities.
• Manage the technical engagement with the WPE partner portfolio, regularly review partners’ capacity strengthening priorities and progress, and identify areas requiring further technical assistance, mentoring, or programme support.
• Design and deliver capacity strengthening activities for institutions and partner organizations, including trainings, practical workshops, mentoring, coaching, peer learning, and other appropriate learning and professional development approaches.
• Develop and apply tools to monitor capacity strengthening results, assess progress against agreed capacity development plans, document changes in institutional and organizational capacities, and adapt approaches based on results and feedback.
• Provide technical guidance and accompaniment to WPE partners throughout project design, implementation, monitoring, and reporting, supporting the application of GBV technical standards, survivor-centred approaches, and programme quality requirements.
• Support partners in identifying programme priorities, developing technically sound interventions, addressing implementation challenges, documenting results, and incorporating learning into ongoing and future programming.
• Initiate and technically guide programme interventions aimed at addressing identified institutional and system-level gaps, including interventions that strengthen professional capacities, service quality, coordination mechanisms, and sustainable GBV prevention and response practices.
• Maintain technical engagement with relevant public institutions and authorities at national and local levels and facilitate technical consultations, joint planning processes, and other forms of collaboration related to GBV prevention and response.
• Contribute to the development and adaptation of technical guidance, SOPs, methodologies, assessment tools, training resources, and other technical products in response to identified institutional and partner needs.
• Maintain and regularly update mapping of women-led organizations (WLOs), women’s rights organizations (WROs), and other relevant Ukrainian organizations working on GBV prevention, response, and women’s protection and empowerment to identify opportunities for engagement, partnership, and collaboration.
• Work closely with the Partnerships Department to support partner identification and engagement, capacity assessment and development processes, partnership planning, and monitoring of organizational and technical capacity strengthening results.
• Facilitate connections, peer exchange, and learning opportunities among institutions, partner organizations, WLOs/WROs, and relevant professional networks to promote exchange of expertise, good practices, and locally led approaches.
• Monitor relevant institutional, policy, and regulatory developments affecting GBV prevention and response in Ukraine and provide technical recommendations to inform engagement with institutions, partners, and programme planning.
• Coordinate closely with Protection Technical Experts and other WPE team members to ensure that regional evidence, partner experience, and identified institutional needs inform capacity strengthening priorities and systems-level interventions.
• Document results, lessons learned, promising practices, and emerging needs from institutional and partner engagement to inform programme adaptation, future interventions, and continuous improvement of WPE partnerships and systems-strengthening approaches.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work, psychology, gender studies, education, adult learning, human rights, public administration, law or a related field.
• Additional qualifications in curriculum development, instructional design, adult learning methodologies, Training of Trainers (ToT), professional certification systems, capacity strengthening, or GBV programming are considered a strong asset.
• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in GBV programming, workforce development, capacity strengthening, systems strengthening, adult education, or professional learning initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience developing training curricula, learning programmes, facilitator guides, training packages, and capacity strengthening strategies.
• Proven experience designing and facilitating trainings, workshops, ToT programmes, mentoring initiatives, and professional development activities.
• Experience developing SOPs, technical guidance, methodologies, standards, and quality assurance frameworks.
• Experience working with government institutions, educational institutions, professional associations, accreditation bodies, or professional networks.
• Demonstrated experience supporting institutional strengthening and professional workforce development within humanitarian, development, social protection, health, education, justice, or related sectors.
• Experience engaging with national-level stakeholders and facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration processes.
• Advanced expertise in adult learning, curriculum development, instructional design, and capacity strengthening methodologies.
• Strong technical knowledge of GBV prevention, mitigation, response programming, and survivor-centred approaches.
• Excellent technical writing skills, including development of SOPs, methodologies, guidance documents, learning products, and professional standards.
• Strong facilitation, public speaking, coaching, and mentoring skills.
• Ability to design competency frameworks, professional development models, and learning assessment approaches.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, representation, and relationship management skills.
• Ukrainian – Native.
• English – Upper-Intermediate to Advanced (B2–C1).

Skills

• GBV Programming
• Capacity Strengthening
• Adult Learning Methodologies
• Curriculum Design
• Instructional Design
• Training of Trainers Workshops
• Professional Learning Initiatives
• Training Facilitation
• Workshop Facilitation
• Mentorship
• Professional Development
• SOP Development
• Technical Guidance
• Quality Assurance Frameworks
• Institutional Strengthening
• Workforce Development
• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Competency Framework Design
• Learning Assessment
• Technical Writing

Languages

Ukrainian, English