Protection Senior Manager (Women’s Protection and Empowerment)

The Protection Senior Manager (Women’s Protection and Empowerment) oversees the quality, performance and timely delivery of the WPE programme across IRC and partner implementation. The role manages the central WPE team and coordinates its support to regional teams and partners, ensuring programme quality reviews, technical support, monitoring and reporting translate into practical improvements in services for women and girls who are survivors of GBV or at risk.

Responsibilities

• Lead regular programme quality reviews across direct and partner implementation, assessing service quality, accessibility, safety, relevance and outcomes against agreed WPE standards and project commitments.
• Develop and maintain a programme quality review schedule with the WPE Coordinator, regional teams and MEAL; use monitoring visits, service observations, partner reviews and programme evidence to identify gaps and priorities.
• Ensure implementation follows survivor-centred approaches, GBV guiding principles, safeguarding requirements and applicable GBV Minimum Standards, including informed consent, confidentiality, non-discrimination and safe referrals.
• Assess the quality of GBV case management, specialized psychosocial support, empowerment and risk mitigation activities, and cash assistance delivered within specialized GBV support, where included in approved projects.
• Agree practical improvement plans with responsible teams and partners, assign follow-up actions and timelines, and verify whether corrective measures improve programme quality.
• Work with MEAL and designated data and technical staff to review data quality, indicator definitions and outcome evidence; use aggregated or anonymized information and protect confidential survivor data.
• Ensure programme adaptations respond to assessed risks and access barriers affecting adolescent girls, women and girls with disabilities, and other underserved groups; escalate significant quality or safeguarding concerns through the appropriate channels.
• Coordinate delivery of approved WPE projects across locations and partners, ensuring that workplans, implementation schedules and technical support priorities are aligned with grant commitments.
• Maintain a consolidated overview of progress against activity, output and outcome targets, reviewing disaggregated results with regional teams, partners and MEAL at agreed intervals.
• Identify underachievement, delays, service gaps and implementation risks; agree recovery plans and resource adjustments with relevant colleagues and escalate changes requiring Coordinator or donor approval.
• Support project procurement planning, continuity of referrals and responsible transition arrangements for clients and partners.
• Line-manage central WPE staff, establish clear objectives and workplans, allocate responsibilities and monitor the timeliness and quality of their deliverables.
• Coordinate central team support on capacity strengthening, programme development, digital systems, technical tools.
• Conduct regular individual supervision and performance reviews; provide coaching, address performance concerns and support professional development and staff wellbeing.
• Ensure central team activities respond to documented regional and partner needs, with clear priorities, realistic timelines and coordinated follow-up.
• Provide technical and programme management support to regional WPE teams in collaboration with Field Coordinators and their line managers, respecting established field reporting arrangements.
• Contribute to recruitment, onboarding and technical assessment of WPE staff, and promote a respectful working environment with accountability for safeguarding and IRC values.
• Coordinate preparation and consolidation of WPE donor reports and other grant deliverables, ensuring accurate results, clear analysis, consistent figures and timely submission to the WPE Coordinator and Grants team.
• Review inputs from regional teams and partners, validate reported achievements with MEAL, and explain progress, variance from targets, challenges and corrective actions.
• Maintain a reporting calendar and follow up on outstanding inputs, ensuring consistency between narrative reports, indicator trackers, workplans and financial information.
• Work with Grants and Partnerships to monitor programme compliance with approved scopes, donor conditions and reporting requirements, and identify issues requiring timely escalation.
• Prepare programme updates, evidence and responses to donor queries for review by the WPE Coordinator; contribute to donor meetings and monitoring visits when delegated.
• Prepare and regularly update WPE spending plans, expenditure forecasts and budget inputs with regional teams, Finance and Partnerships, aligning planned expenditure with implementation schedules and targets.
• Review budget versus actual expenditure and spending trends for assigned grants; identify underspending, overspending, coding issues and commitments that may affect delivery.
• Lead programme follow-up on budget review actions, agree adjustments within delegated authority and submit proposed reallocations or revisions through the required approval processes.
• Coordinate procurement and staffing forecasts with relevant teams to ensure resources are available when needed and costs remain within approved budgets.
• Review partner implementation progress alongside financial performance with Partnerships and Finance; follow up on programme implications of spending variances and delayed expenditure.
• Provide accurate programme inputs for financial forecasting, grant reviews and close-out, ensuring that budget decisions support safe and effective service delivery.
• Coordinate WPE technical and programme management support to local partners with the Partnerships team and regional WPE colleagues, based on jointly identified priorities and partner-led delivery plans.
• Review partner scopes of work, workplans, indicators, reports and programme deliverables to ensure alignment with agreed objectives, technical standards and donor requirements.
• Participate in partner technical assessments and jointly develop capacity strengthening plans covering service quality, monitoring, reporting and programme management.
• Conduct joint monitoring and programme review visits, document agreed actions and follow up on quality, target achievement and implementation risks.
• Coordinate training, mentoring and exchange of learning and support partners’ ownership of their programmes.
• Consolidate learning from quality reviews, assessments, programme results and partner feedback and recommend improvements to the WPE Coordinator.
• Contribute practical implementation evidence, activity plans, targets and budget inputs to proposals.
• Coordinate with CP, PRoL, Health, ERD and other relevant teams to strengthen safe referral pathways and integrated support within approved project designs.
• Support development and adaptation of technical tools and guidance through the central team, obtaining technical review and approval as required.
• Participate in external technical meetings or represent WPE and within an agreed mandate.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work, psychology, law, human rights, gender studies, social sciences.
• Specialized training and certifications in Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Protection, Case Management, Psychosocial Support (PSS), and/or humanitarian programming are considered a strong asset.
• Minimum five years of relevant experience in GBV or WPE programming, including substantial responsibility for programme management and team supervision.
• Demonstrated experience assessing programme quality and translating monitoring, outcome evidence and client feedback into improvements.
• Experience managing donor-funded projects, monitoring targets, preparing donor reports, reviewing budgets and maintaining spending plans.
• Experience supporting national or local partners, monitoring implementation and coordinating capacity strengthening.
• Experience working across multiple locations and within matrix management arrangements; knowledge of the humanitarian and GBV service context in Ukraine.
• Strong knowledge of survivor-centred GBV programming, safe referrals, confidentiality and safeguarding.
• Strong people management, supportive supervision, planning and follow-up skills.
• Ability to analyse programme results and financial information, identify gaps and develop practical corrective actions.
• Strong report writing, coordination, facilitation and communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel, and experience using digital monitoring and reporting tools.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, support field and partner teams, and exercise sound judgement within delegated authority.
• Ukrainian – Native.
• English – Upper-Intermediate to Advanced (B2–C1).

Skills

• Gender-Based Violence Programming
• Women’s Protection and Empowerment
• Programme Management
• Team Supervision
• Case Management
• Psychosocial Support
• Humanitarian Programming
• Programme Quality Assurance
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Donor-funded Project Management
• Budget Review
• Spending Plan Management
• Partner Capacity Building
• Matrix Management
• Survivor-Centered Programming
• Safe Referrals
• Confidentiality Safeguarding
• People Management
• Supportive Supervision
• Planning and Follow-up
• Programme Results Analysis
• Financial Analysis
• Report Writing
• Coordination
• Facilitation
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Excel
• Digital Monitoring Solutions
• Digital Tools for Reporting

Languages

Ukrainian, English