Child Safeguarding Manager

The FCDO funded Syria Education Programme II (SEP-II) will deliver on the UK’s commitment to girls’ education and aims to enhance equitability of education for girls and boys by strengthening the quality and inclusivity of formal primary education in Northwest Syria. SEP-II will aim to directly impact 150,000 girls and boys per year in formal primary education through evidence-based and data-driven education programming and will positively impact the entire primary school-aged population. The project will focus on four key outcomes: (1) Enhancing school level capacity to deliver inclusive, gender responsive and quality learning, (2) Developing effective systems to support inclusion, mental health and child protection, (3) Strengthening local education systems so that they are accountable, effective, and responsive, and (4) Generating more predictable financing for sector implementation, including teacher salaries.

Job Overview/Summary:

Under the supervision of the Child Protection Strategic Advisor, the Child Safeguarding Manager will be responsible for the adaptation and implementation of all Safeguarding protocols under SEP II, under Outcome 2: Effective systems to support inclusion, mental health, and child protection. The Child Safeguarding Manager will supervise a team of field staff based in Northwest Syria, and support project partners to ensure safeguarding protocols and referral systems are in place and in line with global standards. This position is contingent on IRC being awarded funding.

Main Responsibilities:

• Technical oversight and support to field level implementation of SEP II for IRC’s and partners’ safeguarding activities in Northwest Syria.

• Train school personnel in schools, as well as staff in the directorates of education on child protection policies and global principles.

• Lead and support the preparation of tools for managing child safeguarding cases.

• Adapt and develop a Code of Conduct for adults and children inside schools.

• Prepare reports on child safeguarding cases as requested by supervisor.

• Support Outcome 2 Safeguarding staff to undertake SEP II activities, ensuring that they are aligned with the project strategies.

• Report and follow up on any breach of the established Code of Conduct inside schools to the Child Protection Strategic Advisor.

• Develop and implement training and technical support related to child safeguarding standards across SEP II outcomes.

• Contribute to any report, data gathering, and analysis required by the supervisor.

• Work with the MEAL team to develop M&E tools, ensuring frequent data collection and reporting.

• Recruit child safeguarding staff members as needed.

• Coach, train and supervise staff inside Northwest Syria, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.

• Support with technical capacity building IRC’s staff and partners, to build the strengths of the team in technical areas and soft skills.

• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.

• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least bi-weekly.

• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.

• Develop and maintain an appropriate archiving system / database in order to track activity progress and quality.

• Ensure that all internal and external reporting requirements are met and that reports are of a high quality and submitted on time.

• Lead the development of referral mechanisms in collaboration with IRC Child Protection Manager and other key staff under Education Outcomes.

• Work closely with the Leadership Team to support work based on evidence of good practice combined with the specific requirements of Northwest Syria and ensure these are communicated clearly and effectively in discussions with the Education Directorates.

• Work with senior officials in the relevant departments in the Education Directorates, providing leadership, focus and technical advice, particularly in the areas of child safeguarding.

• Support the supervisor on technical discussions and briefings with FCDO.

• Ensure girls’ needs are prioritized throughout the project, through training to staff and the implementation of best practices approaches (i.e., GBV principles, caring for child survivors’ principles).

• Support the review and adaptation of program-specific tools/resources/curricula for the implementation of Safeguarding in schools.

• In collaboration with local authorities and directorates, support in identifying child safeguarding gaps and needs within the system and identify ways to improve accordingly.

Required qualification and skill:

• Master’s/post-graduate degree in social science, social work, international development, child rights or relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• A minimum of 3 to 5 years of experience working on Child Safeguarding projects and related Child Protection programs.

• Experience in technical tools and materials development, monitoring and evaluation, and research in relation to Child Protection/Safeguarding.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Experience in continuous quality improvement and/or Improvement Science in Child Protection contexts.

• Candidates must be fully professionally proficient in English and Arabic.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.