Save the Children recruits a Child Protection in Emergency Specialist – (200003CP)

The Opportunity

The Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist is responsible for the design and development of high quality emergency proposals and programs; as well as supporting quality programs implementation and monitoring along the whole program cycle.  S/he is responsible for providing technical support to child protection in emergencies program managers/coordinators based in Gambella to ensure quality program implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as reporting.  The Specialist is also responsible for contributing to strong Monitoring and Evaluations systems (M&E) to measure the impact of the programmes, for the capture and documentation of program lessons, as well as capacity development to staff in the field to ensure the child protection work in Gambella is of high quality and achieves the programme objectives.  The Specialist is also responsible for ensuring that lessons derived through implementation of projects are well articulated, documented and disseminated both internally and externally; and that engagement with policymakers and key stakeholders achieves advocacy objectives to realise greater change for children affected by emergencies.

The position holder is accountable for emanating project ideas, budget management of all awards for which he/she is the designated budget holder.  Moreover, the magnitude of his/her duty has extended to undertake sector strategic planning, program development and provide technical supports to project implementers in collaboration other Child Protection team; with budget holder responsibilities giver overall leadership and coordination of budget utilization and monitoring for all awards that includes Child Protection and Youth Components in refugee and host communities.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Programme oversight and management

  • In close coordination with the CO Child Protection & Youth team, participate in sector/sub-sector strategic planning proposal development, as well as providing expertise on programme implementation best practices.
  • Working with the Child Protection team, participate in conceptualizing and designing cost effective, innovative and high quality programs in Child protection and youth
  • Develops feasible project implementation plans, including project budget.
  • Ensure Child Protection programmes are implemented in ways that are responsive to the refugee community and children, in line with Save the Children principles, values and strategic plan and Save the Children compliance procedures. This includes working with the refugee committee, clusters / sub-clusters and coordination as well as government and non-governmental organizations that are legally operating in the refugee camp Identify critical issues in the Child Protection sector and initiates actions to address them.
  • Initiate and facilitate changes and improvements on implementation approaches and strategies for Child Protection and Youth programmes
  • Develop Child Protection project/program concept notes, proposals, log frames, budget and DIP and

send them to CO Child Protection team for final review.

  • Provide technical assistance to satellite offices/camps in collaboration with the CO team, including building

capacity of staff.

  • Maintain good working relationship with awards, finance, PDU and his/her line manager

Budget management

  • Serve as overall programmatic budget holder for designated projects/programmes
  • Prepare and compile annual plans, budgets, quarterly and annual reports for Child Protection programmes based on donors and partner’s requirement. Follow up on the efficient and effective programme budget utilization and expenditure of the Child Protection programmes
  • Make periodic programme and budget revisions as required for assigned Child Protection and Youth projects / programmes
  • Review and verify financial reports
  • Ensure effective and efficient utilization of project budget and other resources for intended purpose; follow up on budget utilization and project expenditure.
  • Ensure that plans are implemented as per agreed and approved budgets,

Monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance

  • Develop quality benchmarks for projects in consultation with CO Child Protection team
  • In coordination with Child Protection team, design results based monitoring and evaluation process for projects under supervision
  • Monitor and systematically document project results
  • Plan and facilitate regularly schedule reviews of projects with partners and stakeholders
  • In coordination with MEAL team facilitate baseline assessments, midterm and terminal evaluations.
  • Ensure the proper utilization and use of monitoring and evaluation(MEAL) systems put in place
  • Regularly follow-up and monitor Child protection and Youth programmes to ensure proper and efficient implementation
  • Prepare and compile quarterly and annual reports for Child Protection and Youth programmes based on donors and partner’s requirement
  • Monitor outcomes and compile challenges and lessons learned from the implementation of Child Protection and Youth programmes, developing strategic insights to enable leadership decisions 

 

Strategic Programme Development

  • Be responsible for leading the development of child protection in emergency technical strategies and projects/programs, and jointly plan and implement advocacy activities.
  • Through external contact with relevant counterparts across agencies, identify new potential partners for strategic engagement and negotiate strategic priorities.
  • Document content of internal/external technical meetings and disseminate to relevant staff.
  • Support the development of the child protection in emergencies projects annual operational plans in coordination with the field team; and the regular internal programme planning and review meetings for the Child Protection theme, as well as related inputs to quarterly and annual reports.

Strategic Fundraising

  • Build on technical knowledge, research and current/previous emergency programming to lead development of proposals for new programme initiatives in close coordination with the relevant staff.  This includes all aspects of proposal development, such as concept notes, grant amendments, etc.  In developing new proposals, close consultation with programme staff in the field, other technical advisors and senior managers is essential. Identify and integrate innovative and high impact approaches in new proposals.
  • Through external contact with relevant counterparts in donor/research agencies, identify new potential funding sources and share with managers.
  • Ensure that proposal and annual implementation plan contains a (funded) research and policy dimension to it that directly feeds into the agreed Thematic Advocacy Plan and lead the implementation of research necessary for evidence based advocacy.
  • Ensure key crosscutting issues are catered for in strategies and new programs.
  • Work closely with the program development and budget development teams to ensure new proposals include LOEs for required staffs to implement and support the project.
  • Accompany and facilitate donor visits and provide relevant background materials.

Policy Analysis, Policy Engagement and Advocacy for Policy Change

  • Be fully aware and keep abreast of national and global policies, strategies and other initiatives and developments by government and other humanitarian stakeholders in the sector or thematic area covered.
  • Represent Save the Children at all relevant technical external task forces, working groups, seminars or other meetings / forums which have been identified and  approved by the Head and use these meetings to negotiate strategic, and advocacy positions.
  • Develop policy and advocacy briefs (or related material) for sharing to senior managers based on technical learning from projects, and the development of best practices; use such briefs for capacity building of program staff in the field as appropriate.
  • Synthesize sector related large humanitarian documents (policies, strategies, research papers, minimum standards, etc) into summary brief communications to share with senior managers and use as learning materials for field staff.
  • In close collaboration with the MEAL team, organize seminars and knowledge sharing sessions to ensure child protection in emergencies is well understood among technical and humanitarian staff so as to facilitate integration /mainstreaming as appropriate.
  • Identify and develop good relations with all key stakeholders in the sector, particularly those government departments and donors identified as key in achieving agreed SC advocacy outcomes.
  • Develop good relations with other NGOs, development and UN agencies etc working in the sector and where possible forge alliances to influence key actors around advocacy objectives.
  • Ensure that the voices of children affected by emergencies guide advocacy and policy change objectives and related activities.

Child Protection Technical Advisory Support and Programme Quality

  • Work closely with colleagues in Programme Operations and Humanitarian Department to identify and provide technical support to ensure quality of specific child protection in emergencies projects, as well as the integration of child protection across other humanitarian projects as appropriate.  This requires joint operational planning with the field team, regular mentoring of field based staff and support to project activities, to monitor progress of project implementation and understand what works well and the gaps, monitor quality, provide support as needed, and also capture lessons for use in new business development.
  • Provide guidance, advice and support to program managers in conducting assessments (both quantitative and qualitative), reviews and evaluations; as well as while conducting workshops or trainings as necessary.
  • Coordinate and review quality child protection in emergencies periodic reports, including reports to donors, working closely with the field and humanitarian team
  • Champion and be an advocate for the integration /mainstreaming of child protection in other humanitarian and DRR projects in Gambella as well as across the organization as appropriate.
  • Contribute to the development of a tool to facilitate integration of child protection in other humanitarian projects in Gambella and across the organization; support the implementation of the same.
  • Support the development and implementation of capacity building activities for staff at the field level, based on identified capacity gaps.
  • Provide technical advice and mentoring to increase use of Child Protection analysis to inform design of child protection emergency projects.
  • In cooperation with PDQ Learning and Knowledge Management, ensure proper documentation of experiences and lessons learned in child protection projects in Gambella
  • In cooperation with Member Service, provide information and inputs to be used for SCI Child Protection information and communication materials

 

External representation

  • Represent SC at all relevant technical external task forces (at Gambella and Federal/Addis level), working groups, seminars or other meetings / forums which have been identified and approved by line manager and the PDQ technical team leader, and use these meetings to position Save the Children’s work, negotiate strategic and advocacy positions.
  • Participate in relevant Save the Children’s national, regional and global CP working groups and learning initiatives

In order to be successful you will bring/have:

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

  • Advanced degree in psychology, social work or child protection related field with a minimum of 5 years related work experience in the area of Child Protection. Experience in child protection in emergencies is an added value.
  • Experience in working with government counterparts and other partners at various levels – federal to district.  This includes technical support, capacity-building and coordination.
  • Excellent understanding of Child Protection issues in Ethiopia at both field and policy levels in general and excellent understanding of child protection in emergencies in particular.
  • Practical understanding of the challenges and opportunities in realising children’s rights in Ethiopia, in relation to thematic area.
  • Experience in designing Child Protection strategies and proposals, including in emergency context.
  • Strong data collection, analysis and report writing skills.
  • Strong analysis of Child Protection data and ability to summarise and communicate this to a range of audiences.
  • Proven advocacy and representation skills
  • Demonstrable experience in M&E
  • Good presentation, training and facilitation skills
  • Proven conceptual skills and an ability to think and plan strategically
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills and an ability to train and mentor staff
  • Proven ability to manage a complex and demanding workload
  • Good spoken and written English, fluency in Amharic
  • Good computer skills (particularly Excel, Word and databases)
  • Commitment to Save the Children child protection policies.

 

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

Apply here