Program Lead, Ebola Response – IRC RDC

Contexte

The Ministry of Public Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, 2026, following laboratory confirmation of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) in Ituri Province. On May 17, 2026, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and it has since become the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in DRC and the fastest-expanding on record. The outbreak is unfolding in a highly complex humanitarian and security context marked by chronic insecurity, armed group activity, repeated population displacement, and high levels of cross-border movement, particularly with Uganda and South Sudan.

The IRC is supporting containment of the outbreak in Ituri and North Kivu. IRC’s primary focus is to support existing primary health care (PHC) facilities to ensure safe continuity of services, strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC) practices and infrastructure, raise community awareness of behaviors that limit further spread, and reinforce the protective environment, including through MHPSS support.

Répondant aux pires crises humanitaires du monde, le personnel de l’International Rescue Committee est une force pour l’humanité et l’espoir. Si vous êtes compétent(e) et passionné(e), nous aimerions ajouter votre énergie à la nôtre.

Par le biais de son Unité d’urgence (EmU), l’IRC est l’une des plus grandes agences humanitaires au monde, menant des interventions d’urgence rapides qui apportent une assistance vitale, un rétablissement précoce et un soutien à la stabilisation

Missions et responsabilités

• Lead the operationalization of IRC’s current Ebola Response strategy and actively engage in strategic planning processes to shape the response’s longer-term direction.
• Perform regular analysis of the outbreak and ensure IRC’s strategy and operational presence is responsive to those needs and highly mobile program models.
• Work closely with Coordinators and HQ-based Emergency Unit and Technical Unit staff to ensure that project design reflects IRC’s program quality standards and adheres to industry best practices.
• Lead efforts to achieve sustainable program growth, proactively identifying opportunities for new programming initiatives and placing particular emphasis on securing multi-year funding to sustain them.
• Provide leadership and strategic support to program and grants teams as they develop competitive, evidence-based, and cost-effective funding applications.
• Provide guidance, strategies, and tools to ensure that program choices are grounded in the findings of needs assessments (drawing on both primary and secondary data), rigorous analysis, meaningful input from affected communities, a thorough understanding of context, technical best practices, and operational viability.
• Formulate integrated program initiatives that allow technical sectors to complement one another, while promoting the mainstreaming of protection principles and gender-responsive approaches throughout programming.
• Provide overall leadership of IRC’s Ebola Response program portfolio, ensuring strategic coherence, well-managed growth, and full compliance with IRC and donor regulations.
• Build the capacity of program team members, both individually and as a team.
• Work with Program Coordinators and the Operations team to develop and adapt detailed, realistic, and feasible implementation plans.
• Collaborate with the Senior Management Team to uphold management, compliance, and performance standards, and to maintain effective systems for budget, knowledge, and risk management.
• Support program staff in capturing, documenting, and disseminating lessons learned and best practices, feeding them into future project design.
• Work with program staff to develop robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plans, including methodologies and tools that strengthen data collection, analysis, and reporting quality.
• Review M&E and accountability data with program staff to identify and address gaps in operational performance.
• Champion IRC’s « partner first » approach, building strategic, respectful, and empowering relationships with local organizations, and ensuring partners are actively engaged in decision-making, program design, and service delivery, positioning IRC as a partner of choice.
• Ensure partnership management is high-quality, accountable, and collaborative, including oversight of partner-led delivery, adaptive technical support, and consistent application of IRC’s partnership framework and principles.
• Provide strategic leadership in developing and executing a comprehensive funding strategy: expanding and strengthening the donor base, driving excellence in grants management and compliance, strengthening program and grants information systems, and contributing to high-quality proposals and reporting.
• Oversee internal and external reporting in coordination with the Ebola Response Director across programs and finance, ensuring reports are well-written, timely, and meet donor, IRC, and partner requirements; conduct thorough review of all external reports compiled by the Grants Coordinator.
• Ensure Program Coordinators conduct routine monitoring visits to implementation sites to verify donor compliance and program quality.
• Work with Program Coordinators and the Grants and Finance teams to maintain sound budget management, expense control, and timely contractual documentation.
• Support the Grants Coordinator in leading Grant Opening, Monitoring and Closing Meetings with relevant departments, ensuring these occur on schedule, and that programming staff are well equipped to manage project budgets.
• Ensure Program Coordinators review Budget vs. Actual reports regularly, and provide the leadership needed for effective monthly grant review meetings.
• Mitigate financial risk by working with the Finance Department to ensure programming staff fully understand the financial and administrative processes involved across project budget cycles.
• Integrate partnership considerations into program design and Go/No-Go funding decisions, engaging partners proactively throughout program and project development.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of IRC’s programming in the epicenter zones to represent IRC credibly in coordination forums and with implementing partners, authorities, and donors.
• Support the Ebola Response Director in cultivating donor relationships, including donor visits and the development of targeted advocacy.
• Build and sustain strong partnerships with implementing organizations through regular communication, cooperation, and joint decision-making where appropriate.
• Serve as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC’s regional and global country programs.
• Identify and track funding opportunities in collaboration with technical teams.
• Guide programmatic input into advocacy and communications efforts, both in-country and globally.
• Supervise Program Coordinators and program staff, setting clear expectations and objectives, providing proactive wellbeing support, and delivering timely, constructive feedback.
• Foster an inclusive team culture centered on achieving individual and team results, grounded in mutual respect, inclusion, trust, active listening, ownership, learning, accountability, and openness.
• Apply IRC’s performance management system consistently, providing regular, thoughtful coaching, feedback, and professional development to direct reports, and ensuring they do the same for their own teams.
• Strengthen programming staff’s project management skills and ensure new capabilities are applied on the job.
• Lead recruitment, hiring, and development of high-performing staff, preparing them for greater responsibility.
• Provide leadership to ensure successful rollout of and adherence to IRC’s Global People and Culture Operating Policies and Procedures.
• Hold regular, high-quality 1:1s with each direct report (at least biweekly) balancing interpersonal connection with work priorities.
• Model and reinforce healthy work-life balance practices to support staff well-being.

Profil recherché

• Minimum eight years of leadership experience in emergency, conflict and epidemic outbreak settings, including at least five years managing NGO programs. Prior experience in an Ebola outbreak would be an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and prioritize under pressure, with a track record of rapid, sound analysis of complex issues, strong decision-making, and translating strategic priorities into actionable operational plans.
• Proven experience managing protection, WASH, cash, and primary health programs, along with experience partnering with local organizations.
• Track record of delivering programs successfully in rapidly changing, complex security environments.
• Demonstrated experience with mobile program models and remote management.
• Demonstrated success developing winning proposals for public and private-sector donors.
• Proven leadership of multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural teams, with strong mentoring, coaching, motivational, and team-building skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusion and fair treatment of staff, and ability to identify and address barriers to inclusion for marginalized groups in emergency response.
• Prior experience managing programs funded by government agencies, FCDO, ECHO, foundations, and private donors required; experience in competitive funding environments a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to expected results.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities effectively while maintaining high-quality outcomes.
• Experience working in DRC is an advantage.
• Fluency in English and French required.

Conditions et avantages

Position reports to: Ebola Response Director. Position directly supervises: Ebola Response Program Coordinators (5). Internal relations include Ebola Response Senior Management Team members, Emergency Unit, Regional RPAS team, Finance department, Comms & ER, Regional and HQ Support Departments, with close collaboration with P&C on People matters, as well as DRC Country Program leadership and technical teams. External relations include other humanitarian organizations operating in Ebola-impacted areas, authorities, UN agencies, community stakeholders and donors.

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