Senior Child Protection Technical Advisor

Child Protection Technical Advisor

ROLE PURPOSE:

The overall aim of the Child Protection Adviser will be to work alongside the Ukraine CP TA to assess, design and guide staff – and line manage for the manager role – to initiate interventions to address violations of children’s rights to protection from abuse, exploitation, violence and neglect. The post holder is responsible for ensuring that quality programmes are initiated and capacities developed to provide these kinds of protection to children in a range of Save the Children’s emergency responses world-wide. The post holder will be expected, with limited support, to lead on sectoral assessment, programme design and master budgeting, coordination, and support fundraising, recruitment and procurement. The main responsibilities of this post will vary according to the terms of reference for each assignment.

Reports to: Programme Quality and Development Director

Initial Key Deliverables:

• Lead on child protection assessments using SC and inter-agency assessment processes and tools, or guide child protection components of inter-agency assessment and monitoring processes. Coordinate with other SC thematic areas and/or the Child Protection Sub-cluster or other external sector agencies, ensuring assessment findings are documented and that all assessments include a disaggregated analysis of children’s needs.

• Work with Team Leader to develop child protection response plans and master budgets and contribute to Save the Children’s overall response strategy

• From the strategy initiate programming in the following areas as appropriate:

• Support to the psychosocial wellbeing of children and their families, including Psychological First Aid.

• Emergency family tracing and reunification interventions and alternative care options for unaccompanied and separated children,

• Prevention of recruitment of children into armed force/groups, including advocacy, and release and reintegration initiatives

• Prevention and response to sexual violence including child trafficking

• Prevention and response to the main risks for children’s exposure to physical violence and harm.

• Prevention and response to all forms of exploitation including harmful child labour and child trafficking o Integration of child protection with other core sectors

• Working closely with senior staff, support fundraising for child protection, including development of high quality concept notes and proposals, and engagement with donors’ technical advisers.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Lead on child protection assessments using SC and inter-agency assessment processes and tools and the, or guide child protection components of inter-agency assessments. Coordinate with other SC thematic areas and/or the Child Protection Sub-cluster or other external sector agencies, ensuring assessment findings are documented and that all assessments include a disaggregated analysis of children’s needs.

• Work with the Ukraine CO PDQ, Ukraine CO CP TA, Deputy Team Leader – Programmes and Team Leader to develop child protection response plans and master budgets and contribute to Save the Children’s overall response strategy.

• From the strategy initiate programming in the following areas as appropriate:

• Support to the psychosocial wellbeing of children and their families, including Psychological First Aid.

• Emergency family tracing and reunification interventions and alternative are options for unaccompanied and separated children, utilising tools within the Inter-Agency Child Protection Information Management System

• Prevention of recruitment of children into armed force/groups, including advocacy, and release and reintegration initiatives

• Prevention and response to sexual violence including child trafficking

• Prevention and response to the main risks for children’s exposure to physical violence and harm

• Prevention and response to all forms of exploitation including harmful child labour and child trafficking

• Integration of child protection with other core sectors including CVA

• Working closely with senior staff, support fundraising for child protection, including development of high quality concept notes and proposals, and engagement with donors’ technical advisers.

• Prepare and oversee programme implementation to ensure timely delivery of programme activities (for example, monitoring against log frames, individual performance management work plans). In the Manager role, ensure effective management of the Child Protection emergency programme, including budget management, developing and monitoring of the Child Protection programme work plan, and line-management management of Child Protection team as relevant.

• Prepare timely programme and donor reports on child protection project activities in compliance with internal SC requirements and any relevant external donor requirements.

• Working closely with the HR team, identify child protection staffing needs (both national and international) for emergency programmes, and ensure rapid recruitment, induction and training of new staff.

• Identify child protection programme supplies needs and coordinate with the logistics team to put in place a sensible phased procurement plan.

• Working closely with the Monitoring & Evaluation team put in place a child protection M & E plan, ensuring this links to reporting requirements, and capacity build child protection and M&E field staff in carrying out the work.

• Working closely with the Accountability lead put in place accountability activities for child protection, ensuring that feedback from all relevant stakeholders is considered in programme design.

• Ensure that the humanitarian minimum standards are maintained in accordance with the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, the Sphere Charter and Minimum Standards and the Core Humanitarian Standards.

Capacity Building:

• Identify learning and training opportunities for Save the Children staff and partners and work as a mentor and role model for less experienced staff. Together with other sectors, identify sector-integrated capacity building opportunities

Representation, Advocacy & Organisational Learning:

• Ensure that Save the Children’s work is coordinated with efforts of other agencies and Government, and take a leadership role within Interagency Coordination forums, ensuring the specific needs of children are being addressed. This may involve taking the lead in the Child Protection Working Group and/or sub-groups.
• Take steps to document lessons learned for wider dissemination.
• In collaboration with senior programme staff, assist in child protection advocacy activities that target decision-makers at all levels.
• In collaboration with SCA Child Protection colleagues, feed in learning, experiences and evidence to relevant global child protection advocacy objectives.
• Identify opportunities and material to contribute to communications and media work, acting as a spokesperson when required.

General:

• Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.

COMPETENCIES FOR THIS ROLE:

1. Applying Technical and Professional Expertise
   Applies the required technical and professional expertise to the highest standards; promotes and shared best practice within and outside the organisation
   Level required: Accomplished
2. Delivering Results
   Takes personal responsibility and holds others accountable for delivering our ambitious goals for children, continually improving their own performance or that of the team / organisation.
   Level required: Accomplished
3. Problem Solving and Decision-Making
   Takes effective, considered and timely decisions by gathering and evaluating relevant information from within or outside the organisation

Level required: Accomplished

1. Leading and Inspiring Others
   Demonstrates leadership in all our work, embodies our values, and articulates a compelling vision to inspire others to achieve our goals for children.

Level required: Skilled

1. Developing Self and Others

Invests time and energy to actively develop self and others to help realist their full potential, and to build the organisation’s capability for the future

Level Required: Skilled

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Significant management or advisor level Child Protection experience working in emergency contexts or fragile states
• Previous first phase emergency response experience is essential
• Education to MSc/MA/MEng level in Social Work, Human rights Law, International Relations, Development Studies or similar, or equivalent field experience.
• Ability to identify the main gaps in child protection in the given context to inform a holistic response for children.
• Good knowledge of and experience in using established inter-agency standards and guidelines in child protection, such as the Inter-Agency Guidelines on Separated and Unaccompanied Children, the Paris Principles, MRM, SC Child Friendly Spaces Handbook, and the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action.
• Previous experience of managing a team and of project management
• Experience of and commitment to working through systems of community participation and accountability
• Experience in monitoring and evaluating child protection programmes in emergency, transition and development contexts
• (For advisor) Ability to work both in an Advisory and (advisor/manager) a hands on implementation capacity
• Experience in capacity building and in strengthening various duty bearers understanding of and response to child protection.
• Experience of representation and ability to represent SC effectively in external forums.
• Experience of working with and supporting local partners
• Experience of preparing successful funding proposals for donors
• Ability to write clear and well-argued assessment and project reports
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong influencing skills and experience in advocacy
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• A high level of written and spoken English
• The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.
• Commitment to and understanding of child rights, the aims and principles of SC, and humanitarian standards such as the Sphere Charter and the Code of Conduct. In particular, a good understanding of the SC mandate and child focus and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support.

Desirable

• Language skills in French, Spanish, and/or Arabic
• Good working knowledge of the Inter-Agency Child Protection Information Management System
• Experience or knowledge of working and living in relevant regions/contexts
• Specific experience of designing and managing DFID, OFDA, ECHO and other major donor projects
• Specific experience of working in interagency projects.

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector. This Role is offered on the basis of International / unaccompanied terms and conditions. Also, interviews will be held on ongoing basis, adverts will be closed once a person is identified.

For non- EU citizens; Visa is to be obtained.

The Organisation

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.