Child Protection in Emergencies Officer at Save the Children Nigeria Full Time

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Child Protection in Emergencies Officer

Reference ID: 210005UE
Location: Ogoja / Adikpo, Cross River
Employee Status: Fixed Term
Team / Programme: BPRM
Grade: 4
Reports to: CPIE Coordinator
Staff Directly Reporting to this Post: None
Post Type: National

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3 – The responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have occasional  contact with or access to children or young people

Role Purpose

• The Child Protection Officer is responsible for ensuring that quality child protection  services are provided to the population served by the project (mostly vulnerable children and their families).
• They will have their capacities developed to provide these kinds of protection to children in a range of Save the Children’s emergency responses world-wide.
• The   Child Protection Officer 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 case workers  community volunteers, PSS facilitators and animators on the field.

Key Areas of Accountability:

• Support the Sector Lead to conduct child protection assessments using SC assessment processes and tools and the Inter-agency Child Protection Assessment Resource Toolkit. Adapt the Assessment Tool as necessary. Coordinate with other SC thematic areas, the national/district Child Protection Working Group and/or other external sector agencies, ensuring assessment findings are documented and that all assessments include a specific, disaggregated analysis of children’s needs.
• With support from the lead Child Protection Coordinator, 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.
  • Emergency family tracing interventions and alternative care options for unaccompanied and separated children, utilising tools within the Inter-Agency Child Protection Information Management System
  • 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 case management into CFS and PSS
  • Support the integration of child protection in to other SC emergencies core sectors on the field
  • Coordinate with the Case workers and other relevant technical sectors, to ensure a rapid, proportionate and effective response;
• With support from the Child Protection Coordinator, 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 Coordinator, prepare and review timely monthly reports submitted by Volunteers.
• With support from the Child Protection Coordinator, identify project supplies specific to the programme needs and coordinate with the logistics team to put in place a phased procurement plan.
• 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
• Coordinate monthly meetings including, foster parent’s forum, CRC meetings and child protection committee
• 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
• Responsible for technical supervision and training of all case workers working with the UASC.
• Daily supervision of the Child protection case workers.
• Ensure that case workers are trained on case management and use of the IA CPIMS forms.
• Ensure the quality of the registration forms.
• Make referrals of the registered children to the Ministry of women and social development.
• Ensure that children are followed up and receiving proper case management.
• Ensure that cases are prepared for case discussions/ case management meetings
• Ensure Volunteers and Case Workers are well supported to implement the entire project
• In collaboration with the CP coordinator, conduct trainings for the Volunteers and Case Workers, the ministry staff and other stake holders.
• Ensure that all activities under his/her supervision are conducted so as to comply with the obligations of the SC beneficiaries, staff and other stakeholders under his/her jurisdiction, in accordance system of quality supervision, including the CPiE minimum standard and SPHERE standards.

Capacity Building:

• Provide capacity to implementing partners that have less CPiE experience
• Provide technical support/capacity building to other CP staffs in the absence of the senior child protection adviser

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 coordinator 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.

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.
• Other ad hoc tasks as requested by Line Manager.

Qualifications and Experience
Essential Criteria:

• University Degree or equivalent in Social Work, Social Science, Development Studies or equivalent combination of relevant training and experience
• Minimum of four years of work experience in Protection work, supervision, community mobilisation and distributions and solid understanding of the actual Nigeria Emergency context.
• Proven ability to supervise a CP project with holistic approach and integrated to child protection right
• Speaking fluent English, and Pidgin English 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.

Skills and Behaviours (Our 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 others to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically.

Collaboration:

• Actively listens to different perspectives and experiences of stakeholders
• Actively participates in networks to access and contribute to good practice
• Establishes and maintains clear communication and dialogue with disaster and conflict-affected people and other stakeholders
• Establishes clear objectives with partners.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency
• Commitment to Save the Children Values.

Understanding humanitarian contexts and application of humanitarian principles:

• Ensure that programme goals and activities uphold the principles of the key national and international humanitarian frameworks, codes and commitments
• Integrates beneficiary accountability principles into the approach
• Participates in disaster coordination mechanisms and interagency cooperation mechanisms.

Leadership: Action; Thinking; Self; Inspiring; Developing Others:

• Demonstrates approachability and trust by listening carefully to others and valuing their contribution, and making others feel comfortable by being open and honest about their thoughts and feelings
• Demonstrates self-development and management by taking responsibility for own development, and actively seeking out feedback to better understand their own strengths and weaknesses
• Makes positive statements about work
• Effectively influences others by understanding their interests and showing how they will be met by own preferred solution
• Gives constructive feedback to enhance capabilities and responsibilities to partners and others.

Application Closing Date
27th August, 2021.