Protection and Referral Specialist

• Job TitleProtection and Referral Specialist
• OrganisationInternational Rescue Committee (IRC)
• ProgrammeReSET Pillar 1 (Lifesaving Assistance)
• Duty StationAdjumani, Uganda, with frequent field travel
• Job TypeFull Time
• ExperienceAt least 7 years (5 in a lead or supervisory role)
• ReferenceJR00005509
• DeadlineWednesday, 28 October 2026 (rolling review)

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 affected by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC works in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities.

IRC and its consortium partners were selected by the British High Commission (BHC) Kampala for the Refugee Support, Empowerment and Transformation (ReSET) Programme. IRC leads Pillar 1 (Lifesaving Assistance) with the Refugee-Led Organisations Network (RELON), TPO Uganda and UGANET, using a cash-first approach linked to protection and referrals across 10 refugee settlements in West Nile, Mid-Western, Northern and South-Western Uganda.

The Protection and Referral Specialist provides technical leadership for ReSET Pillar 1’s integrated protection component and its referral system. The role is accountable for the quality and safety of protection screening, case management (GBV, child protection and general protection), MHPSS and legal referrals, community-based protection, and the transition pathways that move stabilised households to self-reliance while keeping a route back to assistance.

The specialist sits on the Programme Management and Technical Committee, line-manages Protection Officers in Nakivale, Yumbe and Kiryandongo, and works closely with the Cash and Voucher Assistance Specialist, the Disability and Inclusion Specialist and the MEAL Manager.

Technical Leadership

• Lead ReSET Outcome 2 (protection services and closed-loop referrals) and contribute to Outcomes 1, 3 and 4 so cash and protection work as one client journey.
• Develop and roll out protection tools, SOPs and training, including the integrated screening tool, protection override criteria and referral SOPs.
• Act as technical focal point for protection and manage emerging protection risks through adaptive management.
• Contribute to proposals, donor reporting and programme learning.

Protection Screening, Targeting and Protection-Centred Cash

• Design the dual-entry client journey (cash pathway and protection pathway) on a no-wrong-door basis.
• Represent protection on the targeting panel and in reviews of scoring, thresholds and package rules.
• Ensure case management runs alongside, and is never replaced by, multipurpose cash (MPCA).
• Apply Safer Cash tools and protection risk monitoring with the CVA Specialist.
• Ensure confidential appeals processes, with urgent protection appeals triaged the same day.

GBV, Child Protection and MHPSS Case Management

• Lead quality assurance for survivor-centred GBV case management, safety planning and SASA! Together with UGANET and community partners.
• Lead child protection case management, including unaccompanied and separated children, Best Interest Assessments and Determinations, family tracing and alternative care.
• Work with TPO Uganda on community-based MHPSS and clinical referral pathways.
• Work with UGANET on legal aid, civil documentation, Housing, Land and Property support and the Beam of Light legal aid model.
• Oversee case management systems (Primero/CPIMS, GBVIMS, CommCare) and data protection compliance.

Referral Systems, Pillar 2 Interface and Transition

• Design and maintain the ReSET referral system: service directory, referral standards, tracking identifiers, minimum dataset and contingency arrangements.
• Lead protection input into the government-led two-way referral and transition protocol between Pillar 1 and Pillar 2.
• Align recovery-readiness assessments with the Uganda Self-Reliance Index.
• Lead safe case closure and handover of tools and referral arrangements to national partners and government.

Community-Based Protection, Accountability and Inclusion

• Lead community-based protection: risk assessments, safety audits, Targeted Individual Assistance and support to Refugee Welfare Councils, Community Protection Committees and volunteers.
• Work with RELON on mobilisation and community monitoring, ensuring community structures do not select beneficiaries or handle payments or personal data.
• Apply the GEDSI approach with the Disability and Inclusion Specialist.
• Use protection and conflict-sensitivity analysis to inform targeting and support social cohesion.
• Use community feedback and monitoring data to adapt programming.

Safeguarding and Risk Management

• Embed PSEAH, child safeguarding and fraud controls in protection, referral and cash processes, with FCDO-aligned PSEAH training for all staff, partners and volunteers.
• Contribute to the risk register and quarterly Programme Steering Committee risk reviews.

Localisation and Capacity Strengthening

• Implement capacity-sharing plans with TPO Uganda, UGANET and RELON through mentoring and joint field visits.
• Support Partnership Progression Reviews and the transfer of protection responsibilities to national and refugee-led partners.
• Harmonise protection tools, SOPs, referral templates and information systems across the consortium.
• Help national partners and refugee-led organisations access funding and strengthen their systems.

Staff Management

• Line-manage, coach and appraise Protection Officers in Nakivale, Yumbe and Kiryandongo.
• Provide technical oversight to partner protection staff.
• Train staff, partners, volunteers and community structures on protection, case management, referral and safeguarding.
• Monitor protection budget lines with the Senior Finance Manager.

Reporting, MEAL and Coordination

• Prepare weekly, monthly and quarterly protection reports and inputs to FCDO reports, learning briefs and value-for-money analyses.
• Develop protection indicators with the MEAL Manager, disaggregated by sex, age, disability and displacement status, and lead the protection learning agenda.
• Support quality assurance visits, data quality assessments, baselines and evaluations.
• Represent IRC in the National Refugee Protection Working Group, settlement coordination groups and GBV, child protection, cash and AAP working groups.
• Build relationships with OPM, UNHCR, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, district governments, police and health authorities.
• Complete the protection working group 4W matrix and perform other duties assigned.

Education

• University degree in social work, sociology, law, human rights, public health or a related field.
• A postgraduate qualification is desirable.

Experience

• At least 7 years of progressive protection experience (GBV, child protection or protection monitoring) in humanitarian or displacement settings, including at least 5 years in a technical lead or supervisory role.
• Strong expertise in protection case management and supervising case workers; training in GBV or child protection case management or MHPSS referral is expected.
• Experience setting up referral systems, service mapping and closed-loop referral tracking.
• Experience integrating protection into cash or cash-plus programming is strongly preferred.
• Community-based protection and social norms approaches; SASA! knowledge is an asset.
• Experience with Primero/CPIMS, GBVIMS, CommCare and Kobo.
• Knowledge of Uganda’s refugee framework (OPM, UNHCR, CRRF, district systems).
• Experience partnering with national NGOs and refugee-led organisations.

Technical Skills

• Case management: Survivor-centred GBV and child protection practice.
• Referral systems: Service mapping and closed-loop tracking.
• Protection information systems: Primero/CPIMS, GBVIMS, CommCare and Kobo.
• Safeguarding and PSEAH: Do No Harm, conflict sensitivity and GEDSI.
• Budget monitoring: Expenditure tracking.
• Writing: Strong reports and proposals in fluent English.

Soft Skills

• Leadership: People-centred management of field teams.
• Representation: Engaging authorities, donors and partners.
• Judgement: Sound independent decisions.
• Communication: Clear and respectful with all audiences.
• Mobility: Willing to travel often to field sites.

Salary and benefits are not stated in the advert.

• Lead protection for an FCDO-funded programme across 10 settlements.
• Manage a team of Protection Officers in three locations.
• Build Uganda’s referral link between humanitarian aid and self-reliance.
• Strengthen national and refugee-led partners.
• Senior role among international development jobs in Uganda.

Apply online through the IRC careers portal (JR00005509) by Wednesday, 28 October 2026. IRC reviews applications on a rolling basis, so early applications are encouraged. See more NGO jobs in Uganda, international development jobs in Uganda and jobs in Adjumani.

• Apply early: IRC reviews applications as they arrive.
• Make your supervisory years clear: you need at least five.
• Show a referral system you built and how you tracked closed loops.
• Name the case management systems you have used.
• Mention any cash-plus or Safer Cash experience.