Child Protection Officer at Save the Children Nigeria

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 below:

Job Title: Child Protection Officer (National position)

Job ID: 190001VA
Location: Damaturu
Employee Status: Permanent

Key Areas of Accountability

• Support the Coordinator 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 CP Coordinator and / or other senior programme staff, 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
• 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 and/or other senior programme staff, prepare and review timely monthly reports submitted by partners
• 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 sensible 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 CRM / Accountability Officer put in place accountability activities for your project, ensuring that feedback from children and their families is 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, parents forum and child protection committee
• Provide essential psychosocial first aid support to children and adults when needed.
• Ensure partner staff are supervised regularly to ensure activities are carried out in line with minimum standard guidelines.
• Consistently maintain referral pathway of project locations

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 officer / 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 Lead Child Protection Adviser and/or other senior programme staff, assist in advocacy activities that target decision-makers in-country.
• In collaboration with the Humanitarian Technical Unit and 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 2 years post NYSC 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 other languages of Northern Nigeria  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
18th February, 2020.