JOB TITLE: Child Protection Officer
TEAM: Operations – Global Partnership in Education (GPE) Funded refugees and host communities. education project LOCATION: Cross River
GRADE: 4 POST TYPE: National
CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 months (renewable)
Fixed Term
CHILD SAFEGUARDING
Level 3:
The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.
As part of these responsibilities the post holder will support the establishment of child safeguarding systems, promote a culture of keeping children safe, and ensure that potential harm to children (by our own staff and/or as a result of how we do our work) is identified and addressed on an ongoing basis.
The post holder should report and respond to interventions as determined by position-related responsibilities identified in the Child Safeguarding Policy.
ROLE PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION:
Save the Children with GPE fund to integrate child protection in education to provide refugee girls and boys, including adolescents, with high-quality psychosocial support, adolescent sexual reproductive health services, life skills training, and livelihood opportunities to strengthen their resilience and promote successful reintegration into their communities in Adamawa, Taraba, Akwa Ibom, Benue, and Cross River states.
The Job holder will support the education team to improve the physical and emotional safety of children, supporting safe learning environments and ensuring that schools and learning spaces are free from violence, abuse, and exploitation.
The Job holder will equip adolescent refugee girls and boys in the mentioned state with the skills and experiences vital to make balanced, strategic life choices as well as promote the safety, prevention of and response to violence against children in schools and communities.
The Job Holder will be responsible for ensuring that quality child protection services are provided to the population served by the project (mostly vulnerable children and their families).
In addition, will have their capacities developed to provide these kinds of protection to children in a range of Save the Children’s emergency responses worldwide; and will be expected to support on sectoral assessment, project planning and coordination.
In most circumstances, the post holder will be expected to mentor and/or build capacity of Youth mentors, community volunteers, and animators on the field.
The job holder provides coordination and engagement with relevant Protection stakeholders including Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Ministry of Humanity and Social Welfare, and other relevant State Ministries.
The job holder will also be working closely with community leaders, religious leaders as well as community members.
In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Programme Coordinator with Technical support from the Child Protection Specialist
Staff directly reporting to this post: N/A
Budget Responsibilities: N/A
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Coordinate with Social workers when there is a need to provide case management services for adolescent boys and girls.
Participate in assessments and give to the overall intervention strategy based on feedback received from adolescent boys and girls throughout the programming.
Strictly adhere to GBV guiding principle while engaging with Adolescent boys and girls and their parents/care givers.
Supervise and capacitate the community-based child protection system and the youth mentors formally to provide quality life skill sessions through training, daily mentoring, weekly meeting, and applying regular knowledge and skills assessment tools.
With support from the Child Protection Specialist, develop monthly and quarterly plans and costed plans, contributing towards an overall thematic programme plan. From the strategy initiate programming in the following areas as appropriate:
Support to the psychosocial (physical, social, emotional) wellbeing of children and their families.
Prevention and response to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and gender-based violence (GBV) in project communities.
Prevention and response to the main risks for children’s exposure to physical harm.
Prevention and response to all forms of exploitation including harmful child labour and child trafficking.
Support the integration of cases into CFS and PSS in schools.
Coordinate with the Youth Mentors and other relevant technical sectors, to ensure a rapid, proportionate and effective response.
With support from the Child Protection Specialist, In collaboration with implementing partners and community leaders, develop a selection criterion of adolescent boys and girls to engage them in life skill sessions.
Directly engage with adolescent boys and girls and parents as required, and work with mentors to ensure the quality of the program.
With support from the CP Specialist, mainstream Healing and Learning through ART into schools.
Supervise project implementation to ensure timely delivery of project activities (for example, monitoring against individual performance management work plans).
With support from the Child Protection Specialist, prepare and review timely monthly reports submitted by Volunteers.
With support from the Child Protection Specialist, identify project supplies specific to the programme needs and coordinate with the logistics team to put in place a phased procurement plan.
Assist in response related IEC materials, coordination GBV team, ensuring messages are appropriate for the community and conduct pre-testing before dissemination.
Work with the M & E plan to ensure links to reporting requirements where possible, refer the M&E framework to build an evidence-base for child protection programming interventions.
With support from the MEAL Officer put in place accountability activities for the project, ensuring that feedback from children and their families are considered in project design.
Ensure that the minimum standards of humanitarian relief are maintained in accordance with the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Settings and the Sphere standard.
Ensure appropriate child-friendly spaces time schedules are tailored to the physical and mental needs of the children based on age group and gender in the school.
Coordinate monthly meetings with child protection committee and SBMC.
Provide essential psychosocial first aid support to children and adults when needed.
Ensure Volunteers are supervised regularly to ensure activities are carried out in line with minimum standard guidelines.
Consistently maintain referral pathway of project locations.
Provide technical support to youth mentors on ASRHR and safe families.
Maintain a database for all CP activities and update it weekly.
Capacity Building:
Provide capacity building to implementing partners that have less CPiE experience.
Provide technical support/capacity building to other CP staffs in the absence of CP Specialist.
Representation & Advocacy & Organisational Learning:
Ensure that Save the Children's work is coordinated with efforts of other agencies and Government and support Interagency Coordination forums including the State Child Protection Sub Working Group, advocating for the specific needs of children. This may involve supporting the coordination of working groups and sub-working groups.
With support from the CP Specialist and/or other senior programme staff, assist in advocacy activities that target decision-makers in-country.
In collaboration with the Child Protection team, feed in learning, experiences and evidence to relevant global advocacy objectives.
Contribute to communications and media work as required.
Safeguarding
Ensure that all child protection activities comply with Save the Children’s safeguarding policies.
Work with the project safeguarding officer to ensure that all protection activities have a safeguarding risk assessment and mitigation measure in place.
General:
Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
Carry out other assigned tasks as requested by Line Manager.
BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)
Accountability:
holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.
Ambition:
sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.
Collaboration:
builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.
Creativity:
develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.
willing to take disciplined risks.
Integrity:
honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity
QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
University Degree or equivalent in Social Work, Social Science, Development Studies or equivalent combination of relevant training and experience
Minimum of three years of work experience in Protection work and solid understanding refugee and or humanitarian response.
Proven ability to supervise a CP project with a holistic approach and integrated to child protection right
Speaking fluent English, Pidgin English and local language of the location is an advantage.
Computer literate.
Desirable Criteria:
High level of personal integrity, commitment and professional responsibility
Excellent communication skills,
Team player with strong leadership skills
Mature personality with life experience is an advantage.
Able to be a self-started and work in challenging contexts and fragile environment.
Additional job responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
Equal Opportunities
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.
Child Safeguarding:
We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
Health and Safety
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.