Protection and Referral Specialist

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC and its consortium partners have been selected by British High Commission (BHC) Kampala for the Refugee Support, Empowerment and Transformation (ReSET) Programme, pillar 1. ReSET programme aims to make Uganda's refugee response more sustainable and locally owned, while protecting refugees' rights, delivering lifesaving aid, and supporting self-reliance and resilience.

The IRC leads Pillar 1 (Lifesaving Assistance) through a local consortium of Refugee-Led Organisations Network (RELON), Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Uganda and Uganda Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET). Pillar 1 meets core needs, such as food security and protection, for the most vulnerable refugees (typically new arrivals) and host communities facing acute shocks. It applies a cash-first principle, primarily multipurpose cash linked to protection and referral systems.

ReSET will improve the ability of the most vulnerable refugees and host communities to meet core needs, withstand shocks, and avoid negative coping strategies, along with better community cohesion, more resilient local economies, and a more efficient, effective, and sustainable refugee response. The programme is built on vulnerability-based targeting, a "no wrong door" approach, closed-loop referrals, community-informed accountability, and the progressive transfer of leadership to government, national organizations and refugee-led organizations (RLOs). Stabilized households will be voluntarily connected to ReSET Pillar 2 and other self-reliance opportunities, with a route back to humanitarian assistance if vulnerability re-emerges.

The programme covers 10 refugee settlements across 4 regions (West Nile, Mid-Western, Northern, South-Western), in close coordination with OPM, UN agencies, INGOs, national NGOs and district local governments.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Protection and Referral Specialist provides technical leadership for the integrated protection component of ReSET Pillar One and for the referral system that connects cash, protection, essential services and Pillar Two. The role is accountable for the quality, safety and coherence of protection screening, protection case management (GBV, child protection and general protection), MHPSS and legal assistance referrals, community-based protection, and the closed-loop referral and transition pathways that move stabilized households to self-reliance opportunities while retaining a route back to humanitarian assistance.

Based in Adjumani, the Specialist line-manages the Protection Officers in Nakivale, Yumbe and Kiryandongo, leads IRC's protection work in Adjumani and the wider West Nile area, and provides technical oversight to consortium protection partners (TPO Uganda, UGANET and RELON) in line with ReSET's localization approach, including capacity sharing and Partnership Progression Reviews. The Specialist is a member of the Programme Management and Technical Committee and works closely with the Cash and Voucher Assistance Specialist, the Disability and Inclusion Specialist and the MEAL Manager.

In close cooperation with the Team Lead, he/she will:

• Lead the design, delivery and quality of ReSET protection and referral activities across all target settlements;
• Provide technical leadership, supervision and guidance to Protection Officers and technical oversight to partner protection teams;
• Ensure that integrated protection screening, protection overrides, case management, MHPSS, legal aid, community-based protection and referral systems meet global and national standards and the ReSET SOPs;
• Ensure protection principles are mainstreamed into targeting, MPCA delivery, accountability and adaptive management;
• Build and maintain strong relationships with OPM, UNHCR, district authorities, national partners, refugee-led organizations and humanitarian actors to strengthen a locally led, government-aligned protection response.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide overall technical leadership of ReSET Outcome 2 (protection services and closed-loop referrals) and contribute to Outcomes 1, 3 and 4, ensuring cash and protection operate as one integrated client journey.
• Lead the development, validation and roll-out of the protection tools, SOPs and training for the program (including the integrated protection screening tool, protection override criteria, case management and referral SOPs) during mobilization and throughout implementation.
• Ensure the quality of the planning, implementation and follow-up of all technical aspects of protection activities, and act as technical focal point for protection issues.
• Anticipate and manage protection risks emerging from program delivery and lead the protection input to adaptive management decisions when operational triggers are reached.
• Contribute to proposal development, donor reporting and program learning to ensure continuity and innovation.

Integrated protection screening, targeting and protection-centred cash

• Lead the protection design of the dual-entry client journey: the cash pathway (protection-sensitive vulnerability assessment) and the protection pathway (protection screening with household vulnerability and cash-eligibility screening), following a "no wrong door" approach.
• Represent protection on the multidisciplinary targeting panel and in the review of scoring domains, thresholds, package rules and reassessment
• Ensure protection case management proceeds in parallel with, and is never replaced by, MPCA (Package B – Protection and Protection Plus, and across all packages).
• Work with the Cash and Voucher Assistance Specialist to apply Safer Cash tools and protection risk monitoring to MPCA, including post-distribution monitoring on safety, intra-household decision-making, unintended protection risks and access barriers.
• Ensure independent, accessible and confidential appeals processes are linked to protection services, with urgent protection-related appeals triaged the same day.

Protection case management: GBV, child protection and MHPSS

• Provide technical leadership and quality assurance for survivor-centered GBV case management, safety planning and GBV prevention and response, including implementation of SASA! Together with UGANET and community partners.
• Provide technical leadership for child protection case management, including identification and assessment of unaccompanied and separated children, Best Interest Assessments and Determinations, family tracing and alternative care where relevant, and child-headed households.
• Work with TPO Uganda to ensure access to community-based MHPSS and clear clinical referral pathways for severe cases.
• Work with UGANET to ensure access to legal assistance, representation, civil documentation and Housing, Land and Property support, and the Beam of Light legal aid model including community paralegals and mobile legal services.
• Oversee the use of case management information systems (Primero/CPIMS, GBVIMS and CommCare as applicable), ensure compliance with sector information-sharing protocols and data protection standards.

Referral systems, Pillar Two interface and transition

• Lead the design and maintenance of the ReSET referral system, including the joint service directory, referral acceptance standards, referral tracking identifiers, minimum referral dataset, and contingency arrangements for provider delays, capacity constraints and geographic gaps.
• With the Team Lead, lead the protection and referral input into the partner-agnostic, government-led two-way referral and transition protocol between Pillar One and Pillar Two (and other self-reliance programs.
• Ensure recovery-readiness assessments are aligned with the Self-Reliance Measurement Framework/Uganda Self-Reliance Index.
• Lead the protection and referral aspects of program closure and transition safe case closure and transfer, handover of tools, SOPs and referral arrangements to national partners and government structures, and continuation of safeguarding and reporting mechanisms through national systems.

Community-based protection, accountability and inclusion

• Provide technical leadership for community-based protection approaches, including protection risk assessments, safety audits, Targeted Individual Assistance, responsive information and strengthening of RWCs, Community Protection Committees, women's and girls' groups, youth groups, para-social workers and community volunteers.
• Work with RELON to ensure community mobilization, refugee-led targeting validation and community monitoring complement protection services, and that community structures do not select or approve beneficiaries or handle payments or personal data.
• Work with the Disability and Inclusion Specialist to apply the program's GEDSI approach, including the Washington Group Questions, accessibility audits, and the twin-track approach with organizations of persons with disabilities.
• Ensure protection and conflict-sensitivity analysis informs targeting and delivery, and support social cohesion and peaceful coexistence activities.
• Ensure protection data from community feedback, AAP and monitoring is used to adapt programming; support refugees and host community participation in decisions.

Safeguarding and risk management

• Work with the Safeguarding Lead to ensure PSEAH, child safeguarding and fraud controls are embedded in protection, referral and cash delivery processes, and that all staff, partners and volunteers receive FCDO-aligned PSEAH training before implementation.
• Contribute to the program risk register and to quarterly Programme Steering Committee risk reviews, including protection, safeguarding, data protection and conflict-sensitivity risks.

Localization, partnership and capacity strengthening

• Work with TPO Uganda, UGANET and RELON to implement partner-specific capacity-sharing plans in protection, case management, referral and safeguarding, through mentoring, coaching, joint implementation and joint field visits.
• Provide technical input with Partnership Progression Reviews and the capability-gated transfer of protection and referral responsibilities to national and refugee-led partners, ensuring quality, safeguarding and accountability standards are met.
• Work with partner protection leads to harmonizing protection tools, SOPs, referral templates and information systems across the consortium.
• Support national partners and RLOs to access complementary funding and strengthen their protection technical capacity and organizational systems.

Staff development and management

• Line-manage, coach and appraise Protection Officers (Nakivale, Yumbe and Kiryandongo) and other assigned staff; ensure clear work plans, supportive supervision and access to staff care.
• Provide technical and programmatic leadership in protection for IRC staff and technical oversight to partner protection staff.
• Design and deliver training for staff, partners, volunteers and community structures on protection, case management, referral, safeguarding and protection mainstreaming.
• Monitor budget lines for the protection component with the Senior Finance Manager and flag variances early.
• Uphold the IRC's Way and principles of accountability.

Communication/Reporting

• Prepare and review quality, timely weekly, monthly and quarterly protection reports, and provide protection inputs to consolidate quarterly reports to FCDO, learning briefs and VFM analyses.
• Prepare protection updates, risk briefs and ad hoc briefs on emerging protection concerns and safeguarding issues for the Team Lead and governance structures.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Work with the MEAL Manager to develop and review protection indicators, performance indicator reference sheets, tools and targets, and to ensure data is disaggregated by sex, age, disability and displacement status.
• Lead the protection contribution to the ReSET learning agenda, including learning questions on vulnerability-based targeting, protection-centred cash and cash-plus programming, sequencing and transition pathways, and localization.
• Support quarterly technical quality assurance, joint monitoring visits, data quality assessments and baselines, midline and endline evaluations.
• Identify, document and disseminate good practices, case studies and lessons learned

Coordination and representation

• Represent IRC and the consortium in the National Refugee Protection Working Group, Settlement Coordination Working Groups, protection sub-working groups (child protection, GBV), and the Cash, Nutrition and Accountability to Affected Populations working groups as required.
• Build and maintain relationships with