Country Protection Coordinator

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, working in more than 40 countries to provide adequate assistance and protection to refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees, people on the move and local vulnerable population/host communities. DRC is currently looking for a highly qualified Spanish and English-speaking Country Protection Coordinator for a 12 month contract (renewable depending on funding and performance) based in Caracas, Venezuela. This is an opportunity for an experienced Country Protection Coordinator to support DRC’s emergency response to the current situation in Venezuela.

About the job:

DRC is managing its operations in Venezuela, under the management of DRC Caracas country office and three field offices located in Sucre, Apure, and Zulia states. DRC Venezuela is implementing activities such as protection monitoring, legal aid, Individual protection assistance for PWSN, information sessions for PoC, prevention of human trafficking, Health infrastructure rehabilitation, and food security.

The CPC-V will be in charge of training and capacity building DRC protection staff as well as to manage DRC protection program in the country with the support of three field protection managers/Coordinators. The CPC-V will also oversee all technical reporting and coordinate with relevant inter-agency protection for at national level. The position will be based in Caracas, with travels to field offices as required.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure quality of the protection interventions including protection monitoring, IPA, legal aid, community-based approach, information dissemination, human trafficking prevention, and the coherence between all projects, ongoing and proposed, according to overall DRC country strategy.
• Supervise the implementation of the protection monitoring at country level and develop high quality analytical monthly protection monitoring snapshots and quarterly protection monitoring reports based on protection monitoring data and field reports.
• Lead the development of DRC´s advocacy strategy and ensure advocacy initiatives are based on evidence.
• Develop project-related operational tools and standard operational procedures for all country protection activities and lead capacity building initiatives for DRC protection staff.
• Lead process of mainstreaming protection to all DRC activities in country.
• Provide inputs for donor proposals and reports.

Program development and strategy

• Represent DRC via active participation in protection sector at national level.
• Oversee knowledge sharing across teams ensuring that monitoring and evaluation results are understood and used to improve protection programs.
• Drive the development and growth of the protection programs within the DRC program objectives and feed into country-wide strategy development.
• Ensure close cooperation with donors, government counterparts and coordination mechanisms on-site and in synergy with other DRC´s programming.
• Provide technical guidance, support, and training for all protection staff.
• Develop and/or review all protection indicators.
• Ensure that SOPs for all protection activities align with DRC country strategy and sector best practices.
• Conduct regular field missions to all field offices to provide technical and operational guidance, support, and supervision of the implementation of the protection activities in the field.
• Conduct monthly technical meetings with senior protection field staff for each protection activity to ensure coherence with SOPs and the protection strategy.
• Develop protection mainstreaming plan for all DRC projects and provide technical advice and training as needed.

Accountability and reporting

• Develop and monitor relevant accountability initiatives within the protection program as well as strengthen the effort to document the impact of activities.
• Ensure compliance with internal and external reporting requirements.

People Management.

• Technically supervise all protection Managers and Field Coordinators.
• Lead the recruitment of all field protection senior staff, including coaching and capacity development
• Conduct monthly protection meetings with the protection managers to share best practices between the field offices to ensure the highest quality of the protection response

​​Coordination:

• Ensure the coordination with relevant protection stakeholders at country level.

Experience and technical competencies:

• Minimum 4-6 years of proven protection international experience in humanitarian protection work.
• Proven experience in implementing protection activities in complex emergency contexts.
• At least 4 years’ experience with people management.
• Proven experience in capacity building.
• Fluency in Spanish is compulsory.
• Proficiency in English is an asset.
• Excellent writing and editing skills for external audiences (including governments and donors).
• Experience in producing high-quality technical material (training material, program tools, proposals, strategic documents, etc.).
• Experience in working with Monitoring, Evaluation and learning in protection programs.
• Excellent reporting and protection analysis skills.

Education:

• Master’s degree in Human Rights, Political Science, Refugee Law, or any other relevant field.
• Or Bachelor’s degree in relevant fields with at least 6 years’ working experience in similar protection positions.

Desirable

• Calm and diplomatic in nature.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and to meet deadlines.
• Effective team-player – problem solver.
• Previous experience with DRC in emergency context.

We offer:

• Designation of Duty Station: Caracas, Venezuela (Non-family and non-accompanied Duty Station).
• Start date: April, 2024
• Contract Length: 1 year renewable depending on funding performance.
• Individual Housing allowance.
• Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for expatriate staff. Level: G1 – Non management.

Application process: Applications must be submitted through this page by clicking Apply button. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than two 2 pages) in English. No application sent by email will be accepted. For information about the position, please contact DRC Venezuela Country Director [email protected] or DRC Venezuela HR Team Leader [email protected]

Closing date for applications: February 4th, 2024.