Senior Cash Transfer Officer

BACKGROUND: The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian international NGOs, provides relief, rehabilitation and development support to vulnerable people and communities over 30 countries. We began work in Ethiopia in 2000 in response to severe drought in Ethiopia’s Somali region and are currently providing assistance to Ethiopians and refugees in six regions in Ethiopia, implementing emergency and development programs in health, water and sanitation, economic recovery and development (ERD), women’s protection and empowerment, education, child protection, and multi-sectoral emergency response.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Senior Cash Transfer Programming Officer position is responsible for carrying out all aspects of program delivery with respect to multipurpose cash transfer in the project area. The project is sought at to respond to conflict affected communities in the region and provide the much-needed cash for food and crucial basic needs for the affected households.

Responsibilities: -

• Provide support to the implementation of operational elements of cash transfer programme activities, working closely with the field coordinator and team, and with the assistance of ERD coordinator based in Addis.

• Leads the process of identifying beneficiary communities/targeting based on robust and participatory criteria, assist other CTP staffs, if any and implement cash transfer project at grass root level following IRC SOP for cash

Maintain master beneficiaries’ list/ data base

• Responsible establishing and supervising cash delivery mechanisms for IRC in designated project area
• Work in coordination with financial service delivery (FSP) and Mobile Network Operators.
• Ensure that narratives and financial reporting is delivered in accordance with IRC as well as donor contractual requirements, and within the agreed timescale and budget.

Project Implementation

• Lead community-based targeting and verification of the beneficiary’s program participants
• Maintains and adapts as required a Master database for all beneficiaries of the programs in project location
• Prepare Purchase Requests for program supplies/activities and liaison with field SC and finance team to undertake field procurement as designated and authorized.
• Maintains individual databases for individual transfer programs including Issues verification and payment lists
• Maintains records of payments and follow-up for all beneficiary lists but also for individual beneficiaries
• Develop cash distribution plan, supervise, and evaluate the on-spot cash distribution process
• Set up and strengthen beneficiaries compliant feedback mechanisms with relevant internal partners
• Provide cash transfer sensitization sessions for targeted households and other partners
• Handle field level staff such as cash transfer assistant

External coordination

• Participate in zonal cash coordination and other humanitarian coordination platform at field level
• Work with Safety and Security colleagues to develop and implement effective safety and security procedures for specific cash transfer programming activities, ensuring that these are updated and revised at regular intervals and that new programmes are built around security considerations
• Work with and provide timely technical support to the IRC’s implementing partners; maintain encouraging and constructive relations with partner staff
• Comply with IRC’s Global policies such as, Whistle blowing, Fraud, and Safety and other relevant policies
• In information exchange with the field teams, guides the team regarding data collection and analysis.
• Represents the IRC on Cash coordination meetings at different level like region, zone and woreda level
• Identify and work very closely with Financial Service Providers (FSP).

Internal coordination

• Maintains adequate communication and coordination within team (protection and other team members) and with other Assistance departments (WASH, NFI, nutrition), as well as the Protection team when required, when planning data collection activities,
• Chips into the set-up and conduct of needs assessments involving/focusing on data collection for cash transfer programs in project location
• Updates all direct outstanding on data collection activities in relation to planned and ongoing cash activities of other humanitarian actors in Ethiopia
• Ensure and put in place the vital compliance management and response mechanisms in collaboration with MEAL staff

Project Monitoring and Reporting

• Assist in the collection of data, conduct of assessments (needs, market, risks and security) and provide input for concept note/ proposal development for cash transfer project in collaboration with the local community structures and community members
• Supervise progress against grant work plan; promptly identifying any current or potential delays
• Assist supervisors to ensure all monitoring activities are fully documented, including detailed and timely data collection as required under the grant and for IRC M&E purposes.

Capacity Building and Coaching:

• Awareness creation to the communities, government partner and team members to consider cash response as one modality at appropriate situation.
• Capacitate the community facilitators, staffs under supervisee, and others (if any) on cash Transfer Programming (CTP).
• Support and mentor the FSP to meet the humanitarian principles during Cash Response program/facilitating the payment to the beneficiaries.

Education and experience

·         First degree in social science (Economics, Agriculture Economics or postgraduate degree preferred)

• Minimum 2 years for 1st degree and 1 years for post graduate Degree in Agri-economics, Economics, Marketing, Rural Development, Banking, Project Management or similar with meaningful experience of the position demand.
• Confirmed abilities on cash-based program (specific abilities or skills required)
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in English, Amharic required, and other local languages preferred