ICLA Project Manager South Central Syria

Background

As the Syrian crisis has entered its 14th year, a record-level 16.7 million people, over 71% of the population, needs humanitarian assistance. Almost half are children. The former government's change in December 2024 sparked hope for the country’s future and for those in need of aid. However, ongoing conflict, economic collapse and record-high humanitarian needs persist throughout the country, coinciding with unprecedented cuts to humanitarian aid globally at a time when aid resources for Syria were already stretched thin.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been a leading humanitarian actor in the response to the Syria crisis, in Syria and across the region, since 2012. Against a backdrop of conflict, socioeconomic and environmental deterioration, climate change and natural disasters, we provide emergency, transitional, early recovery and resilience programmes to people in need. We lead advocacy to promote unimpeded and sustained access to assistance for people across Syria and we call for increased humanitarian funding, resilience and early recovery support to alleviate the hardships of the Syrian people.

What we are looking for

NRC Syria looking for an ICLA Project Manager to join the South-Central Area Office. The role holder will be responsible for responsible for managing the overall NRC ICLA project portfolio and staffing in South and Central Syria. They will also contribute to the broader country-level programme development in collaboration with the ICLA Specialist. Additionally, they will contribute to the broader country level programme development in collaboration with the ICLA Specialist.

****Please note for this role, applicants must be legally eligible to work in Syria. We are unable to provide work permits or visa sponsorships for this position. **

What you will do

The role will have some of the following main specific responsibilities:

• Lead strategic planning for the ICLA programme in South and Central Syria, including legal needs assessments, gap analyses, and prioritisation.
• Review referral mechanisms for ICLA interventions in South and Central Syria and propose improvements aligned with area office response priorities.
• In close coordination with the ICLA Specialist, review ICLA field team structures and job descriptions to align with strategic objectives, and lead recruitment processes as needed.
• Ensure consistent quality and legal compliance across all ICLA services (legal counselling, information provision, representation, and referrals).
• Ensure accurate and consistent use of ICLA case management and M&E tools and integrate evidence and learning into programme development.
• Oversee legal accuracy of information and advice provided to project participants.
• Support the ICLA specialist in developing and adapting legal tools, case management systems, and training materials.
• Support the ICLA specialist to guide legal research, analysis, and advocacy messaging in line with field evidence and ICLA’s strategic objectives.
• Actively participate in relevant humanitarian coordination forums, including leading the Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Technical Working Group (where relevant).
• Strengthen collaboration with protection actors, legal aid providers, justice sector stakeholders, and local authorities.
• Promote operational synergies between ICLA and other NRC core competencies/programmes.
• Identify staff training needs and coordinate the delivery of legal and soft skills capacity building.
• Participate in and support project start-up, progress review, and closure meetings with relevant inputs and documentation.
• Coordinate new emergency response in Area, and approve existing ones
• Carry out any other task relevant to the position as requested by the Area Programme Manager or ICLA Specialist.

Please download the complete Job Description here to learn more about the position.

What you will bring

• Relevant university degree, preferably law, human rights or social studies, master’s degree is an added value.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a senior-level legal assistance (or Protection project with significant legal assistance component) project management position in a humanitarian/ recovery context.
• ICLA (Legal) technical expertise, including knowledge of Housing, Land & Property and/or civil documentation issues.
• Experience working in complex and volatile contexts.
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal.
• Knowledge of the displacement context in Syria and the Middle East.
• Experience with Legal programming and Legal case management
• Fluency in Arabic is a MUST.

What we offer:

• Duty station: Homs, Syria.
• ****Please note for this role, applicants must be legally eligible to work in Syria. We are unable to provide work permits or visa sponsorships for this position. **
• Contract: Fixed Term
• Travel: 30-40% within areas of operation
• Salary/benefits: Grade 8 on NRC’s national salary scale
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• Internal candidates: To apply as an internal candidate, log in with your official email or click on Opportunity Marketplace.
• For internal candidates please use your official email address when applying
• Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• We receive many applications for each vacant position and so only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email mero.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

NRC currently has over 3,000 staff across the Middle East dedicated to assisting people affected by conflict in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya and Palestine. Its humanitarian interventions are based upon its programming expertise in the Core Competencies of Shelter, Education, WASH, Livelihoods and Food Security, and Information Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) to vulnerable displaced people that were forced to flee.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

Learn more about NRC's operations in Syria here.

Organization context

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.

Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world's most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.

At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.

Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:

• treat everyone with respect and dignity

• contribute to building a safe environment for all

• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)

• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH