Complaint Feedback Mechanism / Protection Officer at Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) - 2 Openings

Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is an Italian humanitarian non-governmental organization founded in Milan in 1965. COOPI aims to help the world’s poorest to improve their access to healthcare, food, and financial security, and to overcome their special vulnerability to wars, civil conflicts, and natural disasters. For 50 years of long-term support and constant presence in the field, COOPI has been engaged in breaking the cycle of poverty and responding to specific emergencies in numerous sectors, including Food Security, Humanitarian Aid, Health, Socio-Economical Services, Water and Sanitation, Human Rights, Education and Training, Migrations and Sustainable Energy.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Complaint Feedback Mechanism / Protection Officer

Locations: Geidam, Jakusko, Bade, Damaturu, Yunusari and Yusufari LGA, Yobe
Employment Type: Full-time
Slot: 2
Project / Programme: Programs (all projects)
Reports to: Project Manager and indirectly to the program manager
Duration of the Project: 8 Months
Donors: Various
Duration of the contract: 7 months
Starting Date: As Soon As Possible

Overall Responsibilities

• The protection & AAP officer/focal point is responsible for supporting the implementation of the minimum measures for mainstreaming protection as outlined by the Humanitarian Principles, the SPHERE Standards, WFP Policy on Protection, and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines.
• The Protection/AAP Officer is mainly responsible for mainstreaming gender and protection across the various components and activities of the SAMs Project in Yobe State.
• He/She will create and develop protection and Gender integration activities in line with the priorities determined by COOPI.
• He/She will ensure performance tools are available for local staff, in order to guarantee smooth implementation of the programs while taking into consideration the local cultural context.
• He will be responsible for the implementation, monitoring, and follow-up of the Gender mainstreaming and general protection activities of the project.

Specific Objectives

• Ensure your accountability, communication, and community engagement approaches represent the voices of vulnerable or marginalized groups
• Support the development of communities’ and individuals’ capacities and assist people to claim their rights
• Establish the general characteristics of the relationships among men, women, girls, and boys, as well as the roles and responsibilities of each of these groups in the targeted area and the impact of the crisis on these roles and responsibilities.
• How the proposed market systems development activities may affect or be affected by the different roles and statuses of men, women, girls, and boys within the community, political sphere, workplace, and household;
• Make recommendations on how you can undertake the activities to create an environment conducive to improving gender equality and equitable access to basic rights, services, and resources; and how the anticipated results of the activity may affect men, women, girls, and boys differently and how the results could help to reduce existing inequalities and avoid creating new inequalities.

Main Responsibilities and Tasks
Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Project Manager and Project managers, the Protection and AAP Officer will perform the underlisted tasks:

• Conduct gender analysis along the sorghum and millet value chains in the project area and make recommendations for women’s empowerment
• Work closely with the project team and the beneficiaries to ensure activities are being implemented in a gender-sensitive manner.
• Prepare, organize, and conduct the protection-oriented Focus Group Discussions and Gender Discussion Meetings during project implementation
• Ensure equal participation of women and men in the activities and ensure have an appropriate complaint and feedback mechanism to collect the communities’ feedback in a gender-sensitive manner and ensure that the program includes this feedback throughout the project implementation
• Meet regularly with the program team to fine-tune programming, ensuring activities are implemented using a gendered lens
• Support vulnerable individuals identified during project implementation.
• Ensure the Do No Harm approach is applied in all activities conducted with the site and host communities.
• Maintain constant contact with team members and direct and indirect beneficiaries.
• Ensure that the activities are implemented according to the project work plan, on time, and with -quality.
• Supports project staff to mainstream gender in beneficiary identification and verification.
• Ensures gender is mainstreamed in various stakeholder meetings and capacity building.
• Prepares and forwards to the Program Manager and Child Protection Project Manager monthly work plans and progress reports for the entire Child Protection project based on set indicators for the 5W matrix and any other required reporting to partners and donors.
• Identifies program gaps and suggests to the Program Manager FSL mitigating actions in periodic reports.
• Collects and documents success stories and photographs for reports.
• Upholds COOPI’s mission and Charter of Values.
• Follows and enforces all COOPI codes of conduct and policies (globally and in-country); Protection, gender, and AAP are to be integrated into the partner monthly narrative report. Additional reports to be shared include safety audits, protection monitoring scorecards, protection risk assessments, and the outcome of consultation with PMCs and the affected population on the impact of food assistance.
• Submit weekly and monthly work plans along with detailed activity report to the Project Manager.
• Performs any other duties as requested by the supervisor.

Capacity Strengthening:

• Build the capacity of all FSL staff on Protection and GBV-related issues, in order to enhance internal knowledge and expertise and provide qualitative delivery of activities with high protection standards and enhance protection-sensitive approach within the targeted communities.
• Translate protection mainstreaming into concrete, practical actions (awareness-raising, training, and on-the-job mentoring) of food security colleagues.
• Lead the delivery of the protection and gender components of the social behaviour change communication.
• Conduct training and/or awareness raising for food security teams on mainstreaming protection and integrating gender.
• Support for implementation of good practices in data protection and privacy.
• Support awareness-raising of the food security team and the affected population on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Protection Analysis:

• Conducting joint protection risk and gender analysis with Donors and Internally as required.
• Conduct safety audits of the site of operation.
• Accountability to Affected Populations (consultation, information provision and complaints, and feedback mechanism management)
• Contribute to the design and implementation of approaches related to information provision, community consultation, feedback, and complaints mechanisms.
• Establish and consult Project Management Committees.

Networking and partnerships:

• Establish and maintain collaborative relations with relevant donors, partners, project stakeholders, and other organizations
• Maintain effective relationships with Protection, GBV, and CP clusters, and related working groups at the national level
• Ensure that main protection concerns are brought to relevant stakeholders to advocate for the respect of human rights and minimum protection standards.

Protection Monitoring:

• Monitoring and communicating to the Program Manager changes in the protection environment; Document barriers faced by certain groups in accessing safe and meaningful assistance (child-headed households, people with disabilities, separated and unaccompanied minors, women-headed households) and provide the Program Manager with appropriate adjustments to ensure inclusion of most vulnerable and at-risk categories.
• Mapping and communicating protection (including gender-based violence and child protection) referral pathways to the Program Manager and on-site help and feedback desk.
• Ensure safe and confidential referrals of protection cases for the provision of food assistance to COOPI Programmes.
• Assist in monitoring protection needs and service provision in sites according to agreed-upon guidelines, standards, and indicators.

Profile of the Candidate (Education, Training, Competences, Skills)
Minimum Requirements:

• Degree in Law, International Law, Political Sciences or related fields. 

Job Experience: 

• Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience with a graduate degree (the equivalent of a Master’s), 3 years with an undergraduate degree (the equivalent of a BA/BS). 

Languages: 

• Proficiency in English is required.Degree/Diploma in Agricultural, Nutrition, Economics, Rural Development, Development Studies, or related academic disciplines, with previous experience working in developmental and emergency projects
• Previous experience in the association strengthening, commodity marketing, market linkages, and or food distribution supervisory field is preferable.
• Ability to write reports.
• Able to work outside of regular working hours as required, including evenings and weekends if required.
• A good experience in supervision is required.
• Experience with survey methodologies, nutrition assessment, and relevant data analysis
• Previous experience working with an INGO or a Development organization.

Skills & Experience:
Essential:

• Knowledge of INGO policies and procedures
• Field experience
• Commitment to help persons of concern and willingness to cooperate with counterparts.
• Good analytical skills
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills in a multi-cultural setting
• Experience in working with persons of concern desirable
• The ability to live and work in the difficult and harsh conditions of developing countries is essential. Be professional, motivated, flexible, and culturally sensitive
• Be resident and familiar with the terrain in Northeast Nigeria.
• Experience designing and leading capacity building and training for national teams.
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office programming (Access, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word).
• Experience designing and leading capacity building and training for national teams
• Perform any other related duties or responsibilities that may be assigned by the supervisor
• Given the stressful nature of the Yobe security situation, which remains fluid and unpredictable, and its high interpersonal and communication skills demands, the CRM/Protection officer will need to be able to fit easily into a complex and operative team of various cultural backgrounds.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of the local language (Hausa and Kanuri).
• Willing and able to be based and travel regularly within remote areas, where services are limited.
• Strong level of autonomy to provide independent follow-through on processing issues and concerns
• Excellent planning, organizational, and time management skills
• This ToR shall be inclusive of any other task specifically assigned by the Project Manager and direct supervisor that concerns the implementation of the program activities.

Basic Salary

• COOPI Salary grid (according to experience).

Application Closing Date
28th July, 2022.