Background/Context:

The IRC has operated in Syria since 2012, providing protection, health, economic recovery, and early childhood development programs in Idleb, Aleppo, Ar-Raqqa, Hassakeh, and Deir ez-Zor, with new programs expanding into Hama, rural Damascus, and Homs. With a team of over 700 members, the IRC has established trust and strong community relationships, ensuring access and effective service delivery. It plays a significant role in Syria’s NGO, donor, and coordination forums, holding key positions and adapting to the evolving context.

With the new realities under the new government, as of December 2024, the IRC has deployed a team to Damascus to set up operations and engage in coordination structures for newly accessible areas across Syria—including parts of NES, NWS, and other previously unreachable locations in South and Central Syria, adjusting operations to maximize coverage and efficiency.

Protection

The IRC has been delivering protection programs in the northwest since 2013 and in the northeast of Syria since 2014, focusing on Protection/Rule of Law (PRoL), Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE), and Child Protection (CP). These efforts include specialized case management, PSS, protection monitoring, service mapping, and advocacy. Collaborating with partners, IRC improves access to protection services, raises community awareness, and strengthens referral pathways. Protection capacity building, community outreach, and rapid response through mobile protection teams have also been provided since 2017.

Job overview:

Under the direct supervision of the Protection Monitoring Officer (PMO), the Protection Monitoring Assistant will be responsible for conducting humanitarian protection and humanitarian aid assessment among IDPs, refugees, and host communities in and around Hazima in a manner that protects them while ensuring the safety, confidentiality, and dignity of these communities. Such activities will lead to a greater understanding of the protective environment, including basic demographic data, vulnerability maps, available services, and current gaps affecting these populations, as well as the development of reports/initiatives detailing actions needed to address these assistance gaps and contributing to referral mechanisms for specialized services.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct daily monitoring surveys (HH, KII, FGD) in targeted communities using tools such as Commcare to better understand access to humanitarian assistance and identify vulnerable individuals according to the weekly work plan.
• Monitor protection situations and concerns of different communities, such as risks of violence, displacement, and restrictions on access to services.
• Build positive relationships with community leaders, mukhtars, and beneficiaries to ensure their cooperation and the continuity of data collection.
• Communicate with various segments of the community to ensure representation, including women, children, and people with disabilities.
• Facilitate focus group discussions with various groups to discuss protection issues and obtain community perspectives.
• Support data analysis and highlight trends and humanitarian concerns in reporting to the Information Management Officer.
• Document cases and observations accurately and systematically in accordance with IRC guidelines.
• Conduct rapid protection assessments in response to urgent humanitarian issues and concerns.
• Identify and conduct confidential quality referrals and follow up with relevant service providers.
• Ensure strict confidentiality and privacy procedures are adhered to throughout all phases of work.
• Contribute to the preparation of weekly and monthly reports, sharing outputs and data with the supervisor to ensure their inclusion in safeguarding reports and contextual analysis.
• Adhere to IRC policies and safeguarding standards and respect the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) policies and code of professional conduct.
• Relevant higher national diploma or university degree in psychology, classroom education, sociology, social work, or other related fields.
• Approximately two years of experience working in Protection Monitoring.
• Previous experience in community outreach and working with people affected by conflict

Job Requirements:

Education:

Work Experience:

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• A commitment to IRC’s mission, vision, values and IRC Way – Professional Code of Conduct.
• Credible written, presentation and verbal communication skills; ability to convey information effectively and solid experience providing training and staff development.
• Validated sense of professional discretion, integrity, and ability to handle complex situations diplomatically and to effective resolution.
• Excellent management and interpersonal skills and a solid ability to promote harmonious/cohesive teamwork, in a cross-cultural context.
• Validated ability to plan long-term, organize priorities and work under administrative and programmatic pressures with detail orientation and professional patience.
• Highly collaborative and resourceful; ability to establish positive working relationships with senior level management and all other partners to maximize cooperation and productivity.
• Curiosity, a desire to continually learn and develop is a must.
• Analytical ability in creating effective solutions to complex matters while adhering to labor laws and internal policies.

Language/Travel:

• Fluency in Arabic/English will be an advantage.
• Travel: The work is 100% to field sites in and around Hazima as well as attending regional and global workshops and meetings.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Protection Monitoring Officer
Position directly supervises: None

Indirect Reporting: None
Key Internal Contacts: With all departments of the organization serving the beneficiaries

Key External Contacts: With any organization as needed.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Returning National Candidates: We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a citizen of the country where this position is based and are currently residing outside of your home country, you may be eligible for an attractive relocation package. Eligibility is determined based on IRC’s operational needs and specific role requirements. IRC strives to attract, motivate, and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.