Global Ombuds (f/m/d)

SOS Children’s Villages, founded in 1949 by Hermann Gmeiner, is the world’s largest non-governmental organization focused on supporting children and young people without parental care, or at risk of losing it.

Child neglect, abuse and abandonment is everywhere. Families are at risk of separation. Locally led, we work in more than 130 countries and territories to strengthen families who are under pressure so they can stay together. When this is not in a child or young person’s best interests, we provide quality care according to their unique needs.

Together with partners, donors, communities, children, young people and families, we enable children to grow up with the bonds they need to develop and become their strongest selves. We speak up for each child’s rights and advocate for change so all children can grow up in a supportive environment.

Location: AT-Innsbruck | AT-Vienna | US- New York | BE- Brussels | CH – Geneva | SN-Dakar | ET-Addis Ababa | IN-Faridabad | BO-La Paz | MK-Skopje |

Duration: until December 2024 (full-time)

Mission:

The Global Ombuds and the rest of the SOS Children’s Villages Ombuds Office (i.e., National Ombuds, Regional Ombuds) align to SOS Children’s Villages International policies and processes but work independently of SOS Children’s Villages. The Global Ombuds position is selected by and accountable to the Ombuds Board.

The Ombuds Office provides checks and balances to SOS Children’s Villages child safeguarding systems at the national, regional, and global levels. The SOS Children’s Villages Ombuds Office operates with a child-centred and rights-based approach in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Developed with input from children and young people, the Ombuds Office functions on the four Ombudsperson principles of independence, impartiality, confidentiality, and informality.

The Global Ombuds oversees the SOS Children’s Villages Ombuds Office at the global level of the federation and manages Regional Ombuds in up to six regions. The Global Ombuds will support the Regional Ombuds as needed in determining solutions at the local level through National Ombuds. In addition, the Global Ombuds is responsible for overseeing the recruitment and training of new Regional Ombuds. Child safeguarding trends will be defined and communicated to the SOS Children’s Villages Senate, National and Regional Directors, National and Regional Child Safeguarding Teams, and the Ombuds Board and member association Boards.

The Global Ombuds represents the SOS Children’s Villages Ombuds Office to SOS Children’s Villages management and Senate, the Ombuds Board, and external stakeholders. The Global Ombuds provides consistent management of the SOS Children’s Villages Ombuds Office and acts independently, providing informal and confidential support to Regional Ombuds who are supporting the National Ombuds in resolving inquiries at the national level.

As such, the Global Ombuds ensures that the SOS Children’s Villages Ombuds Office is consistently identifying and defining gaps in child safeguarding and making recommendations for how SOS Children’s Villages Safeguarding can strengthen its systems.

The goal of all Ombuds within the SOS Children’s Villages Ombuds Office is to promote fairness of process and successful conflict resolution within the SOS Children’s Villages’ federation and member associations.

Main Activities:

• Oversee the operations of the SOS Ombuds Office, which includes Regional Ombuds, National Ombuds, an Ombuds Coordinator, and Ombuds Human Resources personnel.
• Oversee the confidential, secure Virtual Office and database.
• Lead and manage the scale-up of the Ombuds approach.
• Supervise, train, orient, and support Regional Ombuds. Refer Regional Ombuds to appropriate SOS Children’s Villages departments, national agencies, legal advice, mediation, and/or community resources when appropriate.
• Support the Regional Ombuds to train, manage, orient, and support the National Ombuds across the Regions.
• Work with children and young people in SOS member associations to recruit new National and Regional Ombuds for the scale-up of the Ombuds approach.
• Ensure that SOS Children’s Villages procedures and policies are adhered to by SOS Children’s Villages Child Safeguarding at all levels.
• Review Ombuds’ concerns and communication challenges and find solutions in a timely manner with accurate and helpful information.
• Support Regional and National Ombuds to navigate between SOS Children’s Villages policies and processes and external child safeguarding processes and systems as defined by national legislation and policy.
• Oversee the fair and equitable treatment of Ombuds.
• Regularly meet and report to the Ombuds Board to ensure accountability across the Ombuds Office.
• Where inquiries or trends provide evidence that support is needed, give recommendations to SOS Children’s Villages International on how to strengthen safeguarding policies, trainings, and processes within the Federation.
• Produce annual overview of status and operations of Ombuds Office.
• Ensure that the trends identified by the Ombuds Office are communicated to the Ombuds Board and SOS Children’s Villages International Senate, submit recommendations for addressing the trends, and ensure that SOS Children’s Villages communicates both as appropriate across its programmes, services, and personnel.

Requirements:

• A Master’s degree in a relevant area such as law, social work, psychology, sociology, child rights, or child and youth studies. A PhD or advanced degree or diploma is desirable.
• Ten years demonstrated experience as an Ombudsperson or a closely related role in child safeguarding or child rights.
• Full proficiency in English. The ability to speak and work in additional languages (particularly French, Spanish, Arabic or Russian) is strongly desired.
• Experience in management and leadership.
• Highly skilled in managing people and building effective teams, and managing risk across numerous cultural contexts.
• Highly skilled at working within and managing a remote office context with online platforms and applications.
• An open-hearted, honest, and kind person who respects and understands children and young people.
• Educated in children’s rights, safeguarding, and related issues, including international laws, conventions, declarations, and regulations relevant to children and young people.
• Responsible and courageous to defend children and their rights, to offer support, and to be impartial while also advocating for and with children and young people.
• An attentive listener with good observational skills and strong communication skills.
• Strong ability to oversee, develop, and facilitate effective trainings, orientations, and ongoing support workshops for Ombuds Office personnel and the Ombuds scale up programme.
• Committed to sharing information in accessible ways, to seriously consider children and young people’s views and feelings, while also ensuring careful consideration of their best interests, especially when making decisions.
• A problem solver, adviser, and an influential mediator to resolve referrals from the Regional Ombuds promptly and effectively
• Committed to respect confidentiality and to act independently and impartially without bias.
• Calm, patient, humble, flexible, and respectful.

We offer

• Meaningful and stimulating work with the possibility to make a significant, positive contribution to innovating child safeguarding
• Remote and in-person work arrangements
• The opportunity to work for an NGO that is a member of a recognized international network

In accordance with the organisation’s child protection policy, this position will be subject to applicable background checks, including criminal record checks. The successful candidate will be required to understand and sign the SOS Code of Conduct.

What We Stand For: **

SOS Children’s Villages is committed to creating and maintaining a caring and protective environment, which promotes its core values, and prevents and addresses child abuse and exploitation. We strongly condemn all forms of child abuse and exploitation, be it within or outside of our organization, and always respond to any case of proven, alleged or attempted abuse within our sphere of influence according to its nature. Efforts ensure that mechanisms are in place to raise awareness, aid prevention, encourage reporting and ease response. They range from human resource development actions such as training and counselling to measures such as suspension, dismissal, and legal action

SOS Children’s Villages is committed to creating and maintaining a safe working environment for our staff, the children and young people and the communities that we work for. The organization prohibits harassment, exploitation and abuses by or of any employee, supervisor, manager, child, young people, community, contractor, applicant, or other individual with whom SOS Children’s Villages employees come into contact by virtue of their work. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our prevention and protection against Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse policy.

In addition, SOS Children’s Villages apply a zero tolerance concerning any fraud situation. The organization does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.