Iraq Country Coordinator
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) seeks to hire a full time Iraq County Coordinator, whose responsibilities focus on working with PHR’s U.S. based team and many local Iraqi partners on its project, Building Forensic Capacity to Document, Analyze and Preserve Evidence of Sexual Violence and Torture in Iraq. The project’s aim is to improve the prospects for justice through strengthening the forensic system and protocols in Iraq and ensure a survivor-centered approach is implemented throughout the forensic documentation process. It is a capacity building effort to support best practices in medico-legal documentation of these crimes, prevent torture of detainees alleged to have committed them, and to spur collaboration across relevant professional sectors in the collection and preservation of evidence for truth and justice.
Reports to: Senior Program Officer, NY
Location: Iraq (Baghdad or Erbil)
Duration of Contract: 12 months (with possibility for extension). This is a grant-funded position and is contingent on grant support for this position throughout the duration of the appointment.
Organizational Overview
For more than 30 years, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has used science and medicine to document and call attention to mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. We investigate and document abuses, give voice to survivors and witnesses, and plant seeds of reconciliation by ensuring that perpetrators can be held accountable for their crimes. PHR uses our core disciplines – science, medicine, forensics, and public health – to inform our research and investigations and to strengthen the skills of frontline human rights defenders. We work closely with hundreds of partners around the world, using facts to wage effective advocacy and campaigning and providing critical scientific evidence so that survivors can seek justice. PHR, which shared in the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for our work to end the scourge of landmines, is poised for even greater growth and impact. As part of that strategy, we are seeking committed activists with a passion for human rights.
Responsibilities
In coordination with PHR US based staff, oversee implementation of PHR’s capacity building program through:
- Build and maintain relationships and serve as a liaison with key stakeholders in Iraq, including non-governmental organizations representatives (including human rights, humanitarian, medical, law enforcement, legal, and local community and survivor groups) to help identify potential partners, collaborators, and participants for trainings.
- Monitor pertinent human rights and justice issues in Iraq and share information to enable US-based team to stay informed about real-time developments, including legal and policy related-issues in addressing torture, sexual violence, and international crimes in Iraq.
- Ensure that monitoring and evaluation systems are effectively implemented and integrated at all stages of the project and that project’s data are captured to optimize program quality.
- Monitor security conditions in coordination with PHR’s Iraq Technical Advisor.
- Assist with the development of training curricula on medical-legal responses to sexual violence and prevention of torture in Iraq.
- Coordinate and oversee the preparation of local logistics for in-person forensic training workshops across Iraq. These tasks include, but are not limited to, arranging accommodation for team members and participants, arranging conference rooms, booking flights, and organizing materials needed for the training.
- Convene periodic network meetings and webinars in Iraq.
- Review translations and perform editing tasks.
- Attend and represent PHR, in consultation with the PHR Iraq team, at local and regional conferences, workshops, lectures and events organized by governmental and non-governmental institutions (national and international) on issues related to human rights, sexual and gender-based violence, and justice and share timely and detailed briefings of these meetings and events with the PHR Iraq team.
- Serve as the focal point for programmatic expense tracking and reporting in Iraq and prepare regular expenditure reports and supporting documentation and submit expenses each month through PHR’s internal budget tracking systems.
- Carry out other duties/functions as requested by the Iraq Team.
- Cultivate and reinforce a culture of kindness, respect, goodwill, non-discrimination, transparency, collaboration, and mentorship at the organization and with externals partners and colleagues.
- Manage the registration process for PHR in Iraq. This may involve coordinating with local authorities, ensuring compliance with regulations, and completing necessary paperwork while managing the timelines and deadlines for registration processes.
Qualifications of the Ideal Candidate
- Bachelor’s degree; advanced degree(s) in law, international relations, public health, human rights, social science, or related field preferred.
- 3 – 5 years’ experience working in human rights, rule of law, capacity building projects, or related area is required.
- Excellent command of written and spoken English and Arabic is required. Ability to communicate in Kurdish is desirable.
- Experience in communicating and working with a wide range of people, including from diverse cultural, linguistic, social and political backgrounds.
- Previous experience in monitoring and evaluation.
- Experience in training methods and training of trainer courses is desirable.
- Ability to work flexible hours given range of staff and consultant time-zones.
- Good knowledge of and interest in the political and human rights situation in Iraq and the region.
- Valid residency and work-permit in Iraq.
- Ability and willingness to travel domestically within Iraq, provided security assessment allows it.
Skills
- Strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
- Demonstrated gender awareness and gender sensitivity.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google applications, including Word, Excel, Power Point, and Google drive.
- Ability to work independently and as a member of a team, with a strong work ethic.
- Strategic, creative, and innovative thinker.
- Adaptable, resourceful, and detailed oriented.
- Ability to proactively develop new ways to resolve problems and actively share relevant information.
- Ability to engage experts, stakeholders, and other partners in a professional and proactive manner.
- Genuine interest in and commitment to human rights, its principles and values, with demonstrated interest particularly in gender-based violence.
How to Apply
Please email cover letter and Curriculum Vitae to resumes@phr.org. Please include the job title of the position you are applying for in the subject line of your email. Kindly indicate where you saw this job posting in your cover letter.
Physicians for Human Rights is an equal opportunity employer. We recruit and hire without regard to race, national origin, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, prior conviction, arrest history, disability, marital status, veteran status, or age.