Head of the Child Protection Sector – Lausanne, Switzerland

Position Start Date : 01.07.2022

Duration : CDI

Working time : 100%

Location : Lausanne HQ, Switzerland

Terre des hommes does not set closing dates for this position; recruitment is on-going until the position is filled

Tdh :

Terre des hommes (Tdh) is Switzerland’s largest child relief organisation. Since 1960, Tdh has been helping to build a better future for disadvantaged children and their communities through innovative and sustainable solutions. Present in 38 countries with an operational budget of over 90 million Swiss francs, Tdh works with local and international partners to develop and implement projects in the field which improve the daily lives of over four million children and their families in the fields of health, protection and emergency.

Context :

Child protection Sector is a core domain of Expertise of Terre des hommes cross-cutting across the three priority Programmes: children and youth in migration, access to justice and child and mother health care. As a center of Expertise, the child protection Sector promotes the fulfilment for the rights of the child, guides and influences on child protection thematic areas, through the production and dissemination of developed expertise and technical know-how. The Protection Sector collaborates with the three Programmes and other Expertises to integrate qualitative child protection interventions that strengthen impact to prevent and address various forms of violence against children. As the Head of the Child Protection Sector in Tdh, you will lead global developments linked to child protection and their implementation, including strategic orientations and approaches, innovations and flagship projects. You are responsible to lead the ambitious plans for high quality, evidence-based knowledge and know-how on child protection adapted to Tdh’s contexts of intervention in order to improve the protection of children’s rights and their right to protection. Tdh core priorities in child protection include strengthening the social participation, empowerment and resilience of children, youth, families, and communities. This is done mainly through mental health and psychosocial approaches, children and youth peer to peer approaches and a systems-approach to child protection with emphasis on capacity development of social actors and other concerned stakeholders. We also focus on strengthening case management processes, digitalization of social services and promoting qualitative and efficient child protection services connected and articulated in the formal and informal systems.

General Responsibilities :

Under the supervision of the Deputy Director of Operations and in coordination with the Head of Operations, he/she ensures the definition of the vision and the programmatic strategy for his/her department, i.e. Transversal Child Protection.

He/she contributes to the development of the overall strategy and oversees and steers the Transversal Child Protection strategy (at global, regional and national level).

He/she ensures the proper implementation, deployment of child protection expertise and consolidation of approaches, as well as their measurement and monitoring.

He/she represents the organisation in global inter-agency forums (such as the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, etc), with donors related to his/her field of expertise, guides advocacy strategies and develops strategic partnerships with institutional stakeholders, other INGOs and civil society networks, UN, academic and private sector partners in his/her field.

He/she defines the principles, standards, methodologies, approaches and modes of action in Child Protection.

He/she is responsible for securing the necessary resources (financial, human and administrative) for the smooth running of operations in conjunction with his/her department, in conjunction with the relevant support services and in agreement with his/her other colleagues in the Operations department.

He/she is in charge of the development, promotion and management of innovation within child protection.

He/she is responsible for the programmatic management of his/her portfolio of Child Protection projects to ensure the analysis, monitoring, learning and capitalisation of knowledge and practices in relation to the programmes in his/her field of Child Protection.

He/she manages his/her team in the Transversal Child Protection sector at global (currently 5 global advisors) and regional (currently 4 regional advisors) level.

He/she feels accountable to beneficiaries, staff and donors.

Specific Responsibilities :

More specifically, he/she is responsible for the following

Strategy and steering

Principles, standards, methodologies

Innovation

Financing

Quality assurance and controĺ

Knowledge management and sharing

Advocacy

Practices and networks

Organisational structures

Management

Profile :

Experience :

At least 10 years of proven experience in an international leadership role in humanitarian and/or development aid, both in headquarters and in the field.

Proven experience as a technical advisor in child protection.

Competencies

Confirmed leadership and ability to share a vision and unite around a common project.

Excellent interpersonal communication and emotional intelligence (active listening skills and diplomacy).

Flexibility, reactivity, adaptability, pragmatism.

Rigor, organisation.

Languages :

Excellent writing and presentation skills in French and English; German is an asset.

IT :

Absolute mastery of the usual office automation tools.

Salary :

Salary between CHF 7’000.-,and CHF 8’000.- gross x 13 depending on the level of experience.

Tdh Global Code of Conduct and Risk Management Policies :

• Fully complies with Tdh’s Global Code of Conduct and systematically reports any breach to the Code through the whistleblowing procedure: raises awareness within the Foundation on abuse and violence and the rights deriving therefrom, respecting the rights and dignity of children, members of the communities and our own Staff
• Commits to respecting Risk Management Policies including: Safeguarding Policies (Child Safeguarding Policy, Policy on the Protection against Sexual Exploitation and the Directive on Staff Misconduct at the Workplace), Safety and Security Policy and Anti-Fraud/Corruption and Prevention of the Financing of Criminal Activities Policies
• Commits to reducing the risk of abuse and harm by developing a culture of open and informed leadership within the organization and in our work with children and the communities in which we intervene in.

We offer an exciting and varied work, useful and meaningful, in a team that wants to make a difference for vulnerable children.

Are you interested? Do you want to face this challenge?