Context:

Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) by aid workers is a violation of human rights and IOM is committed to combat any kind of SEA by its staff related personnel and partners.

IOM’s zero tolerance policy not only applies to IOM staff but also extends to IOM third party contracted staff, suppliers, service providers and implementing partners. With over 16,000 staff and over 6,000 related personnel, operating in 450 Offices, and 165 countries throughout the world, the impact of SEA on victims and within IOM’s operating environments, and the reputational risk it poses for the Organization needs to be addressed and remains a key priority.

The protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), including the prevention of and response to SEA, continues to gain momentum not only within the United Nations (UN) and Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) common systems but also amongst governments, institutional partners, media and the general public.

Over the past decade, IOM has increasingly been seen as a strong player supporting the prevention and response to SEA and Sexual Harassment within the UN, IASC, and amongst the humanitarian community. While significant progress has been made to prevent and respond to SEA within the Organization such as through the development of innovative PSEA trainings, the development of a misconduct platform to report SEA, and extensive interagency collaboration on PSEA, more needs to be done within country and at the programmatic level and the PSEA Officer will support these efforts.

In 2021, IOM developed its strategic approach toward the prevention of and response to SEA and sexual harassment focusing on five priority areas: 1) Leadership and Organizational Culture; 2) Institutional Accountability and Transparency; 3) Capacity-Development, Training, and Communication; 4) Quality and Accessible Victim Assistance; 5) Partnership and Coordination.

With more than 1,800 staff/related personnel and main offices in Baghdad, Erbil, and Basra and 16 sub-offices in key locations, IOM uses a whole-of-government and whole-of-society-approach, leveraging partnerships at institutional and community levels to co-design strategies tailored to local needs and priorities. For its wide range of programmes and activities that aim to promote resilience, address migration drivers and enhance governance, IOM Iraq is committed to making its intervention safe and respectful for people of all genders and ages. Especially, PSEA has been at the centre of its protection mainstreaming approach with established Action Plan arching from prevention, response to partnership.

Under the overall guidance of the IOM Chief of Mission, the direct supervision of the Protection Coordinator (Mainstreaming), the incumbent will be responsible for supporting the management IOM Iraq’s prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) activities as part of broader protection mainstreaming approach as well as initiatives to build respectful working environment. As the supporting staff member to the Protection Coordinator who is the technical PSEA Focal Point in Iraq, the successful candidate will need to implement PSEA activities in close coordination with internal and external stakeholders.

Core Functions / Responsibilities:

PSEA COORDINATION:

• Support the development of an operational PSEAH Action Plan for IOM Iraq, in line with IOM’s PSEA Strategy, the IASC’s PSEA Minimum Operating Standards (MOS), and the UNCT country level framework and work plan, through strategic workshops with IOM Heads of Divisions and other senior management at the country and programmatic levels;
• Support the inclusion of PSEA within IOM Country Office Strategy, programming, risk mitigation and management, planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation and budgeting;
• In support of PSEAH Focal Point (Protection Coordinator), contribute to ensuring that IOM Iraq’s prevention, mitigation and response mechanisms are in line with IOM’s global PSEA Strategy;
• Support PSEAH Focal Point to ensure the mitigation of SEA risks are developed, embedded and strengthened within all IOM programming and within HR practices; and,
• At all possible opportunities (during relevant training, in staff and programme meetings, through newsletters, in email messages, etc) continually share key messages on PSEA, including mandatory reporting requirements within the country office and programming, in coordination with relevant colleagues.

PREVENTION:

• Support a Country-wide SEA risk assessment to identify locations and programmes with the highest SEA risk; ensure appropriate mitigation and response strategies within IOM programming and operations;
• Participate in the development of a training plan and coordinate the delivery and organization of PSEA trainings for IOM staff and related personnel, implementing partners , key institutional stakeholders;
• On a yearly basis, provide an update on the number of staff, non-staff trained, contractors, implementing partners, and service providers trained in the mission on PSEA, in an effort to track compliance and facilitate the management of training delivery and refresher courses, in coordination with HR. Support the registration of all participants (staff and non-staff) within the IOM system and the delivery of certificates;
• Support the development of a communication and awareness-raising strategies and tools to ensure appropriate PSEA messaging and knowledge on prohibited behaviours as well as how to report allegations of misconduct, including SEA within communities and amongst beneficiaries; ensure localization of SEA messaging; and,
• Map existing community engagement projects in [Organization] and work with project leads to insert PSEA messages and/or gather community input where appropriate.
• Support in conducting PSEA Capacity assessment of implementing partners and contribute to capacity development of partners.

RESPONSE:

• Participate and support the development of PSEA proposals and ensure the mainstreaming of PSEA within IOM programming; coordinate closely with institutional partners, governments, donors, and communities on PSEA needs and responses.
• Support the development and contribute to reporting on PSEA and communication to highlight IOM’s PSEA work within programming;
• Support the development and mapping of Country-specific interagency victim assistance pathways and/or existing IOM programmes to refer victims for assistance and other support services.
• Review and assess referrals for victim assistance in coordination with gender-based violence and/or protection colleagues and support the strengthening of victim services within country and/or programming;
• Support in communication with victims of SEA and sexual harassment at the request of PSEAH Focal Point (Protection Coordinator).

PROTECTION MAINSTREAMING:

• Assist in overall implementation of protection mainstreaming activities in accordance with the Mission’s Protection Mainstreaming Workplan
• Prepare and carry out training sessions on different themes under protection mainstreaming.
• Actively participate to training of trainers on subjects related to protection and seek to continuously develop capacity in a self-driven manner.
• Assist in identifying and monitoring gaps in protection mainstreaming and safe programming; suggest context-appropriate solutions to address gaps identified.
• Provide general assistance to develop and disseminate tools, materials, guidelines on protection and protection mainstreaming
• Translate key reference materials into local languages.
• Undertake duty travel as required; and,
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned.

Qualifications.

Education

• University degree in Law, International Relations, Psychology, Social Sciences, Development Studies and Planning or a related field from an accredited academic institution with four years of relevant professional experience; or,
• Completed High School degree from an accredited academic institution, with minimum 6 years of relevant professional experiences as above.

Experience

• Experience in the fields of sexual exploitation and abuse, protection, child protection, gender-based violence, accountability to affected populations (AAP), protection and gender mainstreaming and/or humanitarian affairs;
• Strong coordination experience within the UN system and amongst interagency partners, including governments, NGOs, and communities;
• Experience in developing and facilitating PSEA trainings, in particular capacity-building, and communication materials to promote behavior change;
• Experience undertaking PSEA risk assessments, in coordination with communities, partners, and UN and other key stakeholders;
• Demonstrated ability to work across a wide variety of sectors/teams on cross-cutting themes;
• Good written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external partners;
• Experience in policy and proposal development and the creation of standard operating procedures and tools; and,
• Ability to organize work, work independently and prioritize work under pressure, coordinate multiple tasks, maintain attention to detail, and coordination with a variety of stakeholders.

Skills

 Knowledge and understanding of IOM’s institutional approach on PSEA and related strategies, policies, rules and regulations

• Knowledge of the UN system and architecture;
• Knowledge of mainstreaming best practices and partnership models to ensure coordination of the same across a diversified range of actors; and,
• Ability to work with and maintain strict confidentiality, when necessary.

Languages

• English and Arabic are required.
• Any other language is an advantage.

Required Competencies

The incumbent is expected to demonstrate the following values and competencies:

Values

• Inclusion and respect for diversity: respects and promotes individual and cultural differences; encourages diversity and inclusion wherever possible.
• Integrity and transparency: maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.
• Professionalism: demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.

Core Competencies – behavioural indicators level 2

Teamwork: develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.

• Fosters a sense of team spirit by developing a shared understanding, accountability and enthusiasm for the team’s work.
• Displays a high level of cultural awareness, sensitivity to different ways of working and leverages individual strengths in order to build a better team.
• Shares credit for team accomplishments and ensures that the contribution of others is recognized.
• Helps create a positive team spirit, putting aside personal considerations to help the team achieve its goals.

Delivering results: produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner; is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.

• Produces high-quality results and workable solutions that meet clients’ needs.
• Anticipates constraints, identifies solutions and takes responsibility for addressing critical situations.
• Monitors own and others’ work in a systematic and effective way, ensuring required resources and outputs.
• Aligns projects with Organization’s mission and objectives and demonstrates a good understanding of the impact of team’s and own work on external and internal counterparts.

Managing and sharing knowledge: continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.

• Disseminates and shares knowledge openly and actively contributes to knowledge/network communities for topics relevant to area of expertise.
• Encourages knowledge-sharing across units/departments and ensures that knowledge is captured, recorded and disseminated appropriately.
• Builds networks for the effective communication and exchange of knowledge and ideas and puts others into contact with various sources of knowledge.
• Contributes to an environment that is conducive to innovation and learning.

Accountability: takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own action and delegated work.

• Proactively seeks responsibility in delivering towards the goals of the Organization.
• Plans and organizes work with a clear and deliberate focus, ensuring commitments are easily identified and progress is widely communicated.
• Stands by the actions of team or department, publicly accepting ownership.
• Takes responsibility of own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Communication: encourages and contributes to clear and open communication; explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.

• Speaks and writes clearly and effectively.
• Seeks to share information with others, with due respect for diversity and the confidentiality of specific sensitive information.
• Listens and seeks to understand without bias, and responds appropriately.
•  Shares information and keeps others up to date; actively seeks others' views and ideas and respects their contribution.

IOM IN/234 - Policy and Procedures for Preventing and Responding to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

IOM has a policy of zero tolerance of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by IOM staff members and the employees or any other persons engaged and controlled by IOM Contractors. The staff members and all contract type holders shall protect against and prevent sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA).

Others

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment and verification of residency, visa, and authorizations by the concerned Government, where applicable.

Only candidates residing in either the country of the duty station or from a location in a neighbouring country that is within commuting distance of the duty station will be considered. In all cases, a prerequisite for taking up the position is legal residency in the country of the duty station, or in the neighbouring country located within commuting distance, and work permit, as applicable.

Internals of the Organization and NMS candidates, as well as external female candidates, will be considered as first-tier candidates. This vacancy is also open to second-tier candidates.

The appointment is subject to funding confirmation.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

While this vacancy is open to both Internals and Externals, priority shall be given to qualified Internal applicants.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications via a link:

https://iraqdatacenter.iom.int/Vacancy/Apply/SVN2022IRQ191

For an application to be considered valid, IOM only accepts online profiles duly completed. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.