Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) - Technical Specialist

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 devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
The IRC and its consortium partners have been selected by British High Commission (BHC) Kampala for the Refugee Support, Empowerment and Transformation (ReSET) Programme, pillar 1. ReSET programme aims to make Uganda’s refugee response more sustainable and locally owned, while protecting refugees’ rights, delivering lifesaving aid, and supporting self-reliance and resilience.
The IRC leads Pillar 1 (Lifesaving Assistance) through a local consortium of Refugee-Led Organisations Network (RELON), Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Uganda and Uganda Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET). Pillar 1 meets core needs, such as food security and protection, for the most vulnerable refugees (typically new arrivals) and host communities facing acute shocks. It applies a cash-first principle, primarily multipurpose cash linked to protection and referral systems.
ReSET will improve the ability of the most vulnerable refugees and host communities to meet core needs, withstand shocks, and avoid negative coping strategies, along with better community cohesion, more resilient local economies, and a more efficient, effective, and sustainable refugee response. The programme is built on vulnerability-based targeting, a “no wrong door” approach, closed-loop referrals, community-informed accountability, and the progressive transfer of leadership to government, national organizations and refugee-led organizations (RLOs). Stabilized households will be voluntarily connected to ReSET Pillar 2 and other self-reliance opportunities, with a route back to humanitarian assistance if vulnerability re-emerges.
The programme covers 10 refugee settlements across 4 regions (West Nile, Mid-Western, Northern, South-Western), in close coordination with OPM, UN agencies, INGOs, national NGOs and district local governments.
SCOPE OF WORK:
Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) is a key delivery modality under Pillar 1, and will enable households to meet essential needs, make choices according to their priorities, and access goods and services through local markets. Assistance will include multipurpose cash transfers, sector-specific cash or vouchers, and complementary services, referrals, or in-kind assistance.
The CVA Technical Specialist will provide technical leadership to ensure that cash-based assistance under Pillar 1 is feasible, timely, safe, inclusive, cost-effective, and compliant with IRC policies and FCDO requirements. The position will support the design, implementation, monitoring, and adaptation of CVA interventions, working closely with program, protection, operations, finance, supply chain, and Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) teams, as well as implementing partners and relevant coordination mechanisms.
The role will contribute to ReSET's wider objective of strengthening the effectiveness and sustainability of Uganda's refugee response by promoting evidence-based decisions, harmonized approaches, local partner capacity, and accountable delivery of lifesaving assistance.
ROLE PURPOSE:
The Cash and Voucher Assistance Technical Specialist will lead the technical design, quality assurance, and implementation support for CVA interventions under ReSET Pillar 1. The postholder will ensure that CVA is used as a first-line assistance option where appropriate and that transfer modalities, values, delivery mechanisms, targeting criteria, and implementation arrangements are informed by robust needs assessments, market analysis, protection risk assessments, and the preferences of affected populations.
The Specialist will provide expert technical advice to project management, programming teams, consortium and implementing partners, and operational departments to ensure that CVA interventions meet immediate humanitarian needs while upholding dignity, safety, inclusion, accountability, and value for money.
The postholder will support the development and implementation of program tools, standard operating procedures, feasibility assessments, risk mitigation measures, and monitoring systems. They will strengthen the capacity of IRC staff and local partners, contribute to inter-agency coordination and harmonization, and generate evidence and learning to improve program quality and inform adaptive management.
The role will maintain a clear focus on the lifesaving objectives of Pillar 1 while identifying opportunities to coordinate with complementary protection and multisectoral services under pillar 2. Any transition towards longer-term self-reliance interventions will be coordinated with the relevant Reset program components rather than displacing the immediate lifesaving mandate of Pillar 1.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Technical Leadership and Strategic Direction
Provide technical leadership for the design and implementation of CVA interventions under ReSET Pillar 1, ensuring alignment with the project results framework, IRC's Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) strategy, relevant global standards, and FCDO requirements.
Promote the cash-first principle by ensuring that cash and voucher modalities are systematically considered during response planning and program design, with modality selection informed by market functionality, feasibility, protection risks, accessibility, operational capacity, and affected people's preferences.
Lead or support CVA feasibility assessments, market assessments, response analysis, delivery mechanism assessments, and risk analyses to determine the appropriateness of cash, vouchers, in-kind assistance, or a combination of modalities.
Provide technical recommendations on transfer values, transfer frequency and duration, targeting approaches, delivery mechanisms, and complementary assistance, using relevant evidence such as the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB), sector-specific needs, market prices, and applicable inter-agency guidance.
Support the development, review, and updating of CVA strategies, implementation plans, technical guidance, standard operating procedures, and contingency plans for emergency response and changing humanitarian needs.
Ensure that CVA interventions are informed by vulnerability and protection analyses and are responsive to the differentiated needs of women, girls, men, boys, older people, persons with disabilities, new arrivals, and other groups facing heightened barriers or risks.
Identify emerging technical and operational challenges and recommend practical solutions relating to targeting, registration, identification, payment delivery, data management, market access, fraud prevention, and operational efficiency.
Maintain awareness of developments in CVA policy, digital payment systems, humanitarian response standards, and emerging good practices, and translate relevant learning into program improvements.
Program Design, Implementation and Quality Assurance
Provide technical input into project work plans, program designs, budgets, implementation schedules, procurement plans, and resource requirements to ensure that CVA activities are feasible and aligned with approved project objectives and deliverables.
Work with program teams and relevant technical specialists to design and implement appropriate CVA interventions, including multipurpose cash assistance and sector-specific cash or voucher support, based on assessed needs and the approved Pillar 1 response model.
Support the development and application of transparent, context-appropriate targeting and beneficiary selection criteria, ensuring that selection processes are consistent, inclusive, documented, and protected against discrimination, exploitation, and undue influence.
Provide technical oversight throughout the CVA program cycle, including assessment, response analysis, targeting, registration, verification, transfer delivery, post-distribution monitoring, complaints handling, and program closure.
Work closely with finance, operations, supply chain, information management, and security teams to establish effective delivery arrangements and internal controls, including segregation of duties, reconciliation, exception management, audit trails, and fraud risk mitigation.
Ensure that payment delivery mechanisms are appropriate to the context and accessible to intended recipients, considering options such as mobile money, bank transfers, payment cards, regulated financial service providers, vouchers, and other approved mechanisms.
Promote coordination between CVA and complementary protection