Safeguarding Coordinator 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: Safeguarding Coordinator

Ref No: 220002WL
Location: Abuja
Employee Status: Fixed Term
Contract Lenght: Permanent
Team / Programme: Nigeria Country Office
Grade: 3
Reports to: Human Resources and Administartion Director
Staff reporting to this post: Safeguarding Officers and Assistants
Budget Responsibilities: N/A

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.

Role Purpose

• Save the Children International is committed to strengthening our Child/Adult Safeguarding work in development and humanitarian settings - with robust mechanisms for awareness, prevention, reporting, responding and offering support to survivors, promoting a child and adult safe environment, and holding those responsible for abuses to account.
• Reporting and responding to concerns forms the cornerstone of the safeguarding mechanism, for which the Country Offices are the primary leads.
• The Safeguarding Coordinator play’s a key role by providing oversight, quality control, coaching to Safeguarding Focal Points in field offices and ensuring effective response and communication with the Senior Management and Regional Safeguarding team on all cases of safeguarding incident or concerns in the Nigeria Country Office.
• The Safeguarding Coordinator will provide capacity building support to the country programmes to strengthened the survivor support mechanisms, implement lessons learned from cases, and strengthen field office systems to prevent future incidents, address gaps in safeguarding system and feed to Thematic Leads and Programme Development teams to improve program design.
• This role will liaise regularly with staff across the organisation including, country and field office programme and support staff.
• The post holder may also represent Save the Children at external fora, including on relevant UN sector and cluster teams, PSEAH taskforce groups and other inter-agency meetings specific to a humanitarian response.
• We are looking for an ambitious, social and talented colleague with eye for detail, a drive to learn and passion for safeguarding children/adults from sexual explaoitation, abuse, and harrssment.

Scope of the Role

• Raise awareness on SC zero tolerance to child abuse by working with HR to conduct briefing & inductions for new hires, train staff, volunteers and partners on SC’s Child Safeguarding policy, Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harrasemnt (PSEA)H),  Code of Conduct, and Anti- Harassment, Bullying and Intimidation to help minimiSe the risks of abuse and exploitation of child and adult beneficiaries.
• Promote safe programming concept of all SC’s programs by ensuring child safeguarding risk assessment is conducted by all programs and work with the Director PDQ to integrate safeguarding in proposals.
• Lead on investigation of cases of SEA linked to staff, partners and representatives.
• Coordinate, support and identify capacity gaps of the Safeguarding Focal Points across the partner organisations.
• Develop and support the implementation of capacity development trainings, coaching and mentoring for Safeguarding Officers, Safeguarding Assistants and nominated Safeguarding Focal Points in field offices.
• Ensure quality and robust case management (quality reports and documentation of decision-making process and actions).
• Lead on the development and implementation of the Annual Safeguarding Action Plans and following up from country safeguarding self-assessment reviews and audits relating to safeguarding.
• Update the SCI safeguarding case management database system (DATIX) and promote the popularisation of the use of the system for staff reporting.
• Review and update referral pathway on an annual baisis that will feed into SCI’s Letter of Assurance (LoA) and local safeguarding procedures.
• Maintain, update and disseminate induction and training materials to field offices, implementing partners and and implementation sites.
• Work with HR to strengthen the recruitment processes in terms of safeguarding communities and colleagues from potential abusers/exploiters.
• Build the capacity of programme thematic teams to work with different stakeholders, in particular, children’s parliaments, adolescent/child friendly space and advocacy team to develop key success indicators to ‘safeguard children and vulnerable adults’, which will be used in monitoring and evaluation.
• Work with MEAL unit to establish child-freindly feedback reporting mechanism as well as tools to evaluate the impact of the Safeguarding Protocol’s on programmes.
• Lead the review of safeguarding incidents and concerns with progarmm teams and consolidate Lessons Learned to improve programme quality.
• Lead in the organisation of annual safeguarding and code of conduct induction/sensitisation and in-service re-fresher trainings for staff, partners and key stakeholders, including beneficiaries.
• Ensure compliance and minimum standards are met in Safeguarding and Safe Programming.
• Promote best practice, and adherence to the Child Safeguarding policy, PSEAH policy and CoC.
• Organise and faciliatate SG Focal Points training of trainers and annual Focal Points workshop.
• Ensure annual refresher training is carried out and support senior leadership to create space for staff to discuss issues around safeguarding and include sessions during team meetings.
• Represent the agency at inter agency forums within the Country and the region
• Keep up to date on trends and new safeguarding approaches and share knowledge.
• Participate at the Annual Safeguarding Regional Workshops, webinars and other events.
• Provide any other adhoc functions as required.

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.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate or Master's in Gender, Child Protection, Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, International Development, International Relations, Law, Public Administration, Public Policy, Advocacy or related degree.

Skills and Experience:

Essential:

• Degree or higher Diploma level qualification in social work or equivalent, legal/human rights, education or other relevant professional qualification and working experience.
• Significant direct experience in safeguarding or protection sector.
• Up to date working knowledge of Child Right Act, sexual harassment, child protection policies and practice and current issues in relation to safeguarding children and adult within Nigeria as well as relevant international polices and protocols such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
• Firm and confident personality - able to stand up against more experienced and senior collegues
• Excellent communication and listening skills in English with proven writing and numerical experience in writing/editing, e.g. for briefing documents, monitoring reports and investigation reports.
• Proven attention for detail and ability to effectively manage a high volume of data and information.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills in order to deal tactfully and sensitively with a wide range of people in a large organisation, very often at a distance.
• Good team member skills, including the ability to be part of and organise, support, manage and develop a small team;
• Experience in designing and delivering training or workshops to diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to manage stress, be flexible and accommodating in difficult and frustrating working circumstance.
• Commitment to and understanding of child rights, as well as of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles.
• Ability to take a proactive approach to problem solving, to recommend and implement continuous improvement initiatives.
• Willingness and ability to travel abroad at short notice.
• Ability and willingness to change work practices and hours in the event of major emergencies including travelling at short notice and for extended periods of time
• Ability to critically analyse written material including evidence, reports, policies
• Strong organisational skills and ability to meet regular and recurring deadlines

Desirable:

• Significant experience in CSG/PSEAH including investigation/case management and sector best practice
• Strategic and analytical approach to Child/Adult Safeguarding
• Substantial experience of safeguarding, child protection, PSEAH, SGBV or MEAL issues and practice, within humanitarian or insecure settings, including leading or participating in investigations.
• Experience living or working in a development context, emergency response contexts or fragile states.
• Experience living or working overseas in insecure locations.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and/or Learning (MEAL) experience.
• Knowledge of Save the Children’s key sectors
• Legal expertise
• Strong presentation skills.
• Commitment to Save the Children values.
• Knowledge of international humanitarian systems, institutions and donors.
• Understanding local context of ESA

Behaviours (Values in Practice)
Accountability:

• Holds self accountable for completing tasks on time, 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 colleagues, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their colleagues to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future oriented, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with 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.

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.

Safeguarding our Staff:

• The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety:

• The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Application Closing Date
28th April, 2022.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online