Gender and Protection Officer at Vision for Inclusive Solutions and Transparency Initiative (VISTA Initiative)

Vision for Inclusive Solutions and Transparency Initiative (VISTA Initiative) is a national non-governmental organization with a strong focus on women and girls, established in response to the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. The organization prioritizes interventions in the Northeast, Northwest, and North Central regions, where communities face the impacts of armed conflict, natural disasters, climate-induced displacement, and deep socio-economic marginalization. VISTA Initiative delivers life-saving humanitarian assistance while advancing sustainable development, climate-resilient programming, and peacebuilding solutions for crisis-affected and underserved populations. The organization places particular emphasis on addressing the needs of women, children, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and the elderly, ensuring that disability inclusion is fully mainstreamed across all programs.

VISTA Initiative thematic areas of intervention include providing equitable access to Education, improving access to safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services, delivering essential Health care and Nutrition support, and ensuring protection for vulnerable populations. VISTA Initiative also strengthens Food Security, facilitates Early Recovery and Livelihoods, and provides critical support in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Shelter, and Non-Food Items (NFI). The organization promotes Governance and Civic Engagement, fosters Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion, and integrates climate change adaptation and mitigation actions into all relevant sectors to strengthen community resilience against climate-induced risks. VISTA Initiative is firmly guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, operating without political or religious bias and upholding a strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and non-discrimination. The organization employs a community-driven, rights-based approach, ensuring programs are informed by local needs, promote inclusive participation, and address barriers faced by marginalized groups. Its work aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reflects the Humanitarian Development Peace Nexus (HDPN) by bridging emergency response with long-term recovery, governance reform, climate resilience, and social cohesion.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Gender and Protection Officer

Location: Maiduguri, Borno (with travel to field locations across Northeast, Northwest, and North Central Nigeria)
Employment Type: Full-time

Purpose of the Position

• The Gender and Protection Officer will strengthen gender- and protection-sensitive programming across sectors, ensuring that all interventions adhere to humanitarian standards, safeguarding policies, and inclusion principles.
• Additionally, the Officer will support proposal and concept note development, donor engagement, and advocacy activities to secure funding, build partnerships, and strengthen organizational capacity for gender and protection programming.

Key Responsibilities
Gender and Protection Mainstreaming;

• Mainstream gender equality, protection, and inclusion across all VISTA Initiative programs.
• Conduct gender and protection risk analyses to inform program design and implementation.
• Ensure programs are gender-responsive, conflict-sensitive, and disability-inclusive.
• Support integration of protection principles (safety, dignity, meaningful access, do-no-harm).

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Child Protection:

• Support implementation of GBV risk mitigation measures across all sectors.
• Strengthen child protection systems, including safe referral pathways.
• Support identification, safe referral, and follow-up of protection cases in line with survivor-centered and child-sensitive approaches.
• Coordinate with GBV and Child Protection service providers and referral partners.

Safeguarding, PSEA, and Accountability:

• Support implementation of PSEA, safeguarding, and Code of Conduct policies.
• Conduct staff and community sensitization on PSEA and reporting mechanisms.
• Support functioning complaints and feedback mechanisms (CFM) that are safe, confidential, and accessible.
• Ensure Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) principles are integrated into programs.

Proposal Development, Donor Engagement, and Advocacy:

• Provide technical inputs for proposals, concept notes, and donor submissions.
• Assist in drafting program descriptions, objectives, and implementation plans for funding applications.
• Support advocacy initiatives with donors, government agencies, and partners to strengthen funding opportunities.
• Maintain relationships with potential and current donors to enhance organizational visibility and resource mobilization.

Capacity Building and Community Engagement:

• Train staff, partners, community volunteers, and committees on gender, protection, safeguarding, and inclusion.
• Support establishment and strengthening of community-based protection mechanisms, including women’s and girls’ groups.
• Promote women’s participation, leadership, and decision-making at community level.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL):

• Support development and tracking of gender and protection indicators.
• Collect and analyze sex, age, and disability-disaggregated data (SADD).
• Contribute to donor reports, protection updates, and learning documentation.
• Document lessons learned, good practices, and case studies.

Coordination and Representation:

• Represent VISTA Initiative in Protection, GBV, Child Protection, and Gender coordination forums and clusters.
• Strengthen collaboration with government ministries, UN agencies, INGOs, CSOs, and community actors.
• Support joint assessments, referrals, and advocacy initiatives.

Risk Management and Compliance:

• Identify protection, gender, and safeguarding risks and recommend mitigation measures.
• Ensure compliance with donor requirements, humanitarian standards, and national policies.
• Support audits, evaluations, and safeguarding reviews.

Key Deliverables

• Gender- and protection-sensitive program implementation across sectors.
• Functioning safeguarding, PSEA, and referral mechanisms.
• Capacity-building sessions delivered to staff and community actors.
• Timely inputs for donor reports and advocacy submissions.
• Successful technical contributions to proposals, concept notes, and funding applications.
• Strengthened community-based protection systems.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies, Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Development Studies, or related field (Master’s degree is an added advantage).
• 3-5 years experience in gender, protection, GBV, or child protection programming.
• Experience working in humanitarian or conflict-affected contexts.
• Knowledge of GBV, Child Protection, PSEA, AAP, and safeguarding standards.
• Experience in proposal writing, donor engagement, and advocacy is highly desirable.
• Experience working with UN agencies and INGOs is an advantage.

Core Competencies and Skills:

• Strong understanding of gender equality, protection principles, and humanitarian standards.
• Excellent facilitation, communication, reporting, and proposal-writing skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive information with confidentiality and professionalism.
• Strong coordination and interpersonal skills.
• Fluency in English; Kanuri, Hausa, or Fulani is an advantage

Safeguarding and Code of Conduct:

• The Gender and Protection Officer must adhere strictly to VISTA Initiative Code of Conduct, Safeguarding Policy, and PSEA Policy. Any form of exploitation, abuse, harassment, or misconduct will not be tolerated.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

• VISTA Initiative is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from women, persons with disabilities, and candidates from diverse backgrounds.

Application Closing Date
10th February, 2026 (12:00 PM).