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 has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting refugees, vulnerable host communities, and various institutions in the country notably the government, community-based organizations, civil society, and the private sector. Currently, the IRC in Uganda has a presence across five sub-regions and six refugee settlements, implementing programming in the sectors of health, protection and rule of law (PRoL), women’s protection and empowerment (WPE), economic recovery and development (ERD), and education. IRC Uganda also implements cross-cutting programming focused on systems strengthening and accountability to affected persons.

Job Overview/ Summary:

PlayMatters (PM) phase 3 is a 4-year education initiative (2026-2030) with a goal of improving the well-being and holistic learning outcomes of pre-primary and primary school aged children (ages 3-12+), including those who are affected by conflict and crisis, in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda by strengthening education systems to deliver quality education services using active teaching and learning through play. PM prioritizes strengthening education systems to be resilient and scaling impact by working with and through existing systems rather than establishing parallel systems. PM has three main outcomes: Outcome 1: Education systems have increased capacity, uptake, and coordination of Learning through Play (LtP) as a teaching method; Outcome 2: School-aged children in refugee hosting and post-crisis recovery zones have increased access to quality learning opportunities in safe environments; Outcome 3: School-aged children’s holistic development is protected in times of acute crisis.

Under the supervision of the Deputy Project Director – Technical, PlayMatters and with technical support from the IRC Global Practice Lead for Foundational Learning and the Senior Technical Advisor for Education in Emergencies, the Regional EiE Advisor for PlayMatters will oversee the PM Crisis Modifier (CM) and EiE strategy. This will be done in collaboration with PM Country Project Management Committees (PMCs) – comprised of the project coordinators from appropriate PM consortium partner organizations. The Regional EiE Advisor will lead the development of the Crisis Modifier strategy, capacity strengthening, technical quality assurance, and learning from the implementation of the CM in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda. The PM CM will include preparedness activities, anticipatory action, rapid multisectoral response, and transition activities to ensure humanitarian-development coherence, ensuring that children’s continued access to quality education and holistic development is protected in times of acute crisis.

The Regional EiE Advisor will be part of the PM Regional Technical & Evidence Team, comprising technical experts from across the PM Consortium (led by the IRC in partnership with Plan International and War Child Alliance) to provide a coherent strategy, technical support, and quality implementation across PM implementation countries. The Regional EiE Advisor will also be involved in overall technical quality assurance of the broader project, including the project’s education systems resilience approaches, coordinating go/no go crisis activation decision, and adaptation of diverse EiE delivery modalities.

Major Responsibilities: 

Program Strategy

• Develop and execute the PM CM strategy, including crisis response activation and implementation, that includes guidance on quality and monitoring, and update as needs evolve. This strategy should integrate Disaster Risk Reduction, Preparedness, Anticipatory Action, Multisectoral Rapid Response, Humanitarian-Development Coherence, and Sustainability.
• Develop and execute a context-appropriate, outcome-focused EiE strategy for PlayMatters that includes guidance on quality and monitoring, and update as needs evolve.
• Sit on each PM CM Steering Committee (one per country) to ensure proper implementation of the CM.
• Advise and assist in designing preparedness plans and rapid response plans, including identifying co-funding opportunities, supporting the conceptualization/design of program activities, drafting or providing substantial input into technical response plans, designing M&E systems, partner capacity assessments and budgets, and responding to any requests for additional information as needed.
• Assist in adapting teacher education and training materials for EiE contexts
• Liaising with and tracking IRC global, regional and national Climate System Monitoring (CSM) mechanisms

Program Quality, Management, and Implementation

• Ensure projects and activities are of high technical quality, meet humanitarian standards (INEE Minimum Standards, SPHERE Minimum Standards, Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action), and mainstream protection, align with IRC’s Strategy, and respond to community and monitoring feedback
• Proactively identify, assess, monitor, and implement measures to reduce or control risks that may impact program delivery, quality, or compliance.
• Coordinate the PM CM activation process, including coordinating approvals with the PM Senior Management Team.
• Provide technical leadership and direction for PM CM activities, including Anticipatory Action activities; define and implement context-appropriate activities to achieve the greatest coverage and impact possible for both immediate support to people affected by identified crises.
• Ensure regular communication and collaboration with the, Deputy Project Director, PMCs, Global Practice Leads and EiE Advisors to integrate the latest evidence, and best practices in program design and implementation.
• Advise staff and partners to generate better contextual understanding by conducting required needs, and other sectoral assessments to inform quality activity design and share with other humanitarian actors.
• Actively contribute to the relevant sections of Partner Capacity Analysis (PCA) and the subsequent development of partner support plans.
• Review and provide feedback on partner technical tools, reports, and data as required. Collaborate with partners on recommended adaptations or process improvements.
• Coordinate with the RMEAL team to maintain an effective monitoring, evaluation, and planning system.
• Coordinate reviews to ensure documentation of lessons learned informing reporting and program development, analyzing, and sharing relevant information with the Technical & Evidence Team.

Staff Learning & Development

• Provide technical support to designated PMC Outcome 3 leads, including technical support visits as requested.
• Coach, train, and mentor consortium staff to strengthen their technical capacity, exchange knowledge within the team, and provide professional development guidance on EiE, Anticipatory Action, and other relevant sector expertise.

Coordination & Representation

• Update the IRC’s representative in technical working groups, clusters, and other inter-agency forums with key technical updates.
• Ensure technical coordination and alignment with other LF-funded Rapid Response Mechanisms (namely Save the Children and Norwegian Refugee Council).

Professional Standards

• Ensure that gender, protection, and environmental stewardship are mainstreamed in all programming under direct responsibility.
• Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team; promptly reporting concerns or incidents to senior management, and when liaising with community leaders and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs.
• Other duties assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.
• Adhere to the IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct and the IRC country employment policies as a requirement of the IRC.
• Demonstrated commitment to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in humanitarian settings.
• Ability to identify and address barriers to inclusion for marginalized and underrepresented groups in emergency response.
• Experience working with diverse teams and communities, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other groups at risk of exclusion.
• Commitment to ongoing learning and reflection on personal and organizational biases, and willingness to adapt practices to promote inclusion.

Key Working Relationships: 

• Position Reports to: Deputy Project Director, Technical
• Indirect Reporting: Country Policy and Advocacy coordinators
• Other Internal and/or external contacts:
• Internal:  Headquarters & Global Field Teams – multiple departments- Senior Policy Advisor, Education TU

Education and Technical Competencies:

• Advanced degree in either Education or Social Sciences or equivalent experience
• Minimum of eight years of professional experience in the management of education programs in emergencies

Skills and Competencies

• Strong knowledge of technical tools, resources, and standards related to education in emergencies and post-conflict settings.
• Demonstrated experience developing training materials and facilitating workshops and training for adult learners.
• Excellent budget planning and management skills, previous experience developing and effectively managing multi-million multi-donor grants required.
• Previous experience managing diverse teams to deliver results on short timelines, including the development of spending plans, procurement plans, and work plans.
• Strong verbal communication skills and effectiveness in representation and liaison with external actors
• Proven technical writing ability in English, including skills in proposal and report writing.
• Capable of applying skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct implementation, advisory functions, training, and the transfer of technical knowledge and management skills to others
• Promotes teamwork, is comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible, and able to handle stress and pressure with professional grace.
• Previous experience in an insecure or conflict-affected setting preferred.
• Experience with remote management preferred.
• Excellent English and good writing and editing skills, and strong computer skills required.

Working Environment:

• Standard office working environment.
• Position is based in Kampala, Uganda PlayMatters Regional Office
• Travel: Approximately 30%

NB: This advert will close on 17th June 2026.

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