Protection Team Leader, Ukraine Response – Romania

Team Purpose:

The Ukraine Crisis in Romania Response Team is composed of national and international staff with wide experience in developing and implementing WASH, EFSVL, Protection and Gender programmes. The Protection Team Leader will ensure strategic, programme technical support to partners and programme quality assurance. They will work closely with the Protection Coordinator and advocacy lead for the response programme. The Protection Team Leader will work directly with Oxfam partners’ staff and other stakeholders to ensure accountability and demonstrate the impacts of the response interventions.

Job Purpose:

Management, coordination, support and implementation of Protection programme and particularly DEC, SHO and Appeals supported programmes in specific location of Romania. Provide implementation, operational oversight of the programme in Romania.

Dimensions:

The Protection Team leader role is primarily focused on overseeing Oxfam’s protection component and supporting national organizations and authorities carrying out protection activities for refugees and host communities. The role will maintain a protection analysis of the situation which will help inform partner activities, and both partner and Oxfam advocacy and influencing work. The Protection Team Leader will support the Protection Coordinator to identify, monitor and analyses the protection situation and work in designing and execution of the protection component. A core component of the role is to provide protection technical support to partners in line with Oxfam’s feminist approach and goal of transformative partnerships.

Key Responsibilities:

Specific duties include, but not limited to:

• Work together with the Protection Coordinator in supporting the Country Lead in:
• Developing the protection element of the response strategy and design appropriate interventions and approaches to protection in conjunction with partner organizations
• Participating in field assessments in order to include protection issues, and/or carrying out specific protection assessments.
• Supporting the integration of specific protection activities into a humanitarian response (e.g. into advocacy, policy papers, coordination, information dissemination) including establishing internal referral processes
• Managing protection activities/projects where relevant (noting that this is a partner-led response)
• Ensure programmes are safe, are sensitive to gender and other power dynamics and ensure that they are informed by the community to benefit from the work.
• Building the capacity of Oxfam and partner staff on protection including specific issues such as gender-based violence and durable solutions to displacement e.g. through mentoring, coaching, training.
• Support the Protection Coordinator in planning, reporting of the protection component.
• Support the Protection Coordinator in budgeting and ensuring a compliant and timely spending.
• Support protection partner organizations in;
• Carrying out technical capacity assessments on protection and identify capacity-building and technical support requirements and how they can be fulfilled
• Support partners’ protection projects/programmes, including developing programme plans and budgets, managing funding and donor requirements, monitoring and adapting programmes and reporting
• Scenario planning and preparedness including innovation means to build surge capacity
• Delivering high-quality protection responses in line with global standards including ICRC Professional Standards for Protection

Analysis and Problem Solving

• Promote collaborative working relationships with key internal stakeholders
• Promote integrated, gender aware protection responses which demonstrate accountability to beneficiaries and are consistent with Oxfam policies and international quality standards
• Support the protection response by carrying out or contributing to learning processes, studies or research as required including supporting programme policy development ensuring that partner organisations are fully involved in leadership of such work
• Ensure all protection work includes a strong gender analysis and works to promote women’s rights and gender equity as appropriate
• To track humanitarian information, learning and knowledge developed in responses, research and global fora and ensure these are actively shared within Oxfam teams and with partners
• Working with the Ukraine refugee response Policy Lead to provide protection information for international advocacy and campaigning and in joint information gathering processes (e.g. surveys)
• Ensure protection programmes are safe, are sensitive to gender and other power dynamics and ensure that they are informed by the community to benefit from the work. Support Safeguarding and Accountability to Affected Populations within the country humanitarian response programme.

Impact

• Facilitate and support access of partners to global humanitarian bodies, processes and debates, including global partnerships, in coordination meetings and working groups (Protection Cluster or Working Group, Refugee Co-ordination Group), and to donors, UN agencies, government officials, ICRC, national civil society and NGOs;
• Provide guidance to partners on technical elements of protection programming and programme policy relating to protection issues incl. cash and vouchers in protection programming, community-based protection, protection advocacy
• Provide, or facilitate access to, technical support to partners on generic humanitarian standards, requirements, approaches and tools such as safeguarding, safe programming, data rights and ethical use of digital tools, working safely and ethically with volunteers etc as required
• Facilitate access of protection partners to Oxfam’s protection peer groups of Oxfam and partner protection staff and their active participation in the network
• Documenting and sharing good practices and innovations on protection work.
• Foster an appropriate working culture built on Oxfam’s values. (for all) respectful and cognizant of power imbalances internally and between Oxfam, our partners and the communities we serve.

Other

• Eager and required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values (click here) as well as the promotion of gender justice and women’s rights (click here).
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff safety health and wellbeing principles.
• The post holder expected to be familiar with and abide by the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS), NGO/Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid Code, Oxfam International procedures and other regulatory codes (e.g. InterAction Field Co-operation Protocol, including safeguarding.

Minimum requirements all staff are expected to fulfil:

Essential

• Demonstrate Oxfam values and behavioural competencies.
• Behavioural skills; to be able to successfully work with and mentor others often under challenging circumstances and to demonstrate competencies around “listening and creating dialogue” and “working with others” as well as networking skills.
• Essential
• A minimum of 3 years involvement in humanitarian and protection response work, preferably in field-based protection work, technical advisory role in conflict and refugee and IDP setting.
• Knowledge of and demonstrated commitment to Oxfam’s values, mission and work including feminist approach to humanitarian responses, and Oxfam’s partnership principles
• Excellent technical knowledge and understanding of protection including issues relating to displacement, prevention and response to human trafficking and gender-based violence, legal protection
• Understanding of protection services and referral mechanisms. Experience working with and in support of national organisations, including community groups, local and national NGOs and federations, networks and platforms
• Enhanced and demonstrable collaboration and networking skills
• Excellent understanding of gender in conflict and disasters including the ability to analyse gender issues in a protection context and incorporate gender into all key responsibilities.
• Technical knowledge and understanding of protection including relevant international standards (e.g. International Humanitarian Law, Refugee Law)
• Understanding of advocacy, policy, campaigning and influencing for protection
• A proven capacity for mentoring, facilitation, training, capacity building and coaching
• Excellent written and spoken English

Desirable

• Romanian language
• Experience in the European context

Key Attributes

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities.
• Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work.
• Commitment to Oxfam’s safeguarding policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible

Organisational Values:

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions.
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen.
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences.