Child Protection Coordinator at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Requisition ID: req12617

Sector: Child Protection

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Maiduguri, Nigeria

Job Description

Background/IRC Summary: The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation, and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disasters, oppression, and violent conflict in over 40 countries.

The IRC entered Nigeria in October 2012 in response to a widespread flood disaster. Since then, the IRC has expanded its scope and size of the programs as new areas became accessible after prolonged conflict and insecurity in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states. The IRC’s response to the humanitarian situation includes integrated health and nutrition services, reproductive health care and Women Protection services, Environmental Health, Child Protection, Economic Recovery and Development (ERD), Education, Governance, and General Protection. The country program has a five-year strategic action plan, 2015 to 2020, that is reviewed annually. Over 700 staff support the IRC’s programming in Northeast Nigeria. 

Job Overview/Summary: The CYPD Coordinator will be responsible for providing strategic direction and vision to the IRC’s Child Protection programming in Northeast Nigeria. The Child Protection Coordinator will be responsible for the overall management and quality implementation of all aspects of the child protection program, including the integrated Health and Nutrition response, Families Make the Difference, SAFE, case management and community-based child protection. The Child Protection Coordinator will oversee the Child Protection Senior Manager, and other child protection staff, based on the revised staffing structure. The Child Protection Coordinator will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the program, focused on safe spaces for children and adolescents, a parenting intervention and provision of information and case management for children. The Child Protection Coordinator will work extensively with other sectors to ensure that protection principles are being incorporated into the emergency programs.

The CYPD Coordinator will work from Maiduguri, Borno State supporting the teams in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. S/he will be the central interface between IRC senior management and the field team, administrators, vendors, and partners. As the focal person of the CYPD sector, the CYPD Coordinator’s first responsibility is overseeing the day-to-day implementation of ERD programming and managing staff working with communities and beneficiaries in the field. S/he is expected to travel to the field sites frequently for coordination, implementation support, program monitoring, higher level, and field-level decision making particularly during the often-challenging stages of community sensitization, project selection, and dispute resolution.

Major Responsibilities:

Technical Quality:

• Provides technical and management leadership to the Child Protection program in accordance with best practice and IRC policy
• Leads, or contributes to, development of country sector strategic direction and plans, in consultation with the Violence Prevention and Response Technical Unit (VPRU) Child Protection team
• Provides technical guidance and training on confidential and safe data collection, case identification and referral mechanisms in line with sector-based global best practices.
• Provides technical guidance and training on the implementation of safe space programming for adolescents and children, including the caregiving component

Staff Supervision & Development

• Directly supervises the CYPD Mangers, CPIMS Officer and other positions as determined by the DDP and Child Protection Technical Advisor, providing quality oversight to and mentoring of the CYPD teams in the field
• Maintains open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions
• Ensures timely completion and submission of monthly timesheets, probations reviews and annual performance reviews
• Overall responsible for staff work plans, work and vacation schedules, and staff training/development activities
• If/as required identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies

Grant Planning & Implementation

• Leads the overall implementation of the CYPD program and provides guidance to staff to ensure that stated goals and objectives are met, that the projects are appropriately monitored and evaluated, and that project reports are written and submitted in a timely manner
• Prepares program work plans that meet the program objectives and prepares appropriate operational guidelines for project staff
• Ensures that project activities are implemented within the assigned budget parameters, management of all financial aspects of the programs, approve relevant expenses and review expenditures, in consultation with the Finance Team
• Analyzes child protection concerns and needs in Northeast Nigeria and proposes new areas of work in line with the strategy 
• Leads proposal development and design for CYPD

Grant Monitoring & Reporting

• Development/ maintenance of effective and efficient oversight, support, quality control and reporting systems and processes for the CYPD program
• Ensures regular field monitoring and technical support to projects and program staff
• Ensures IRC and donor reports are completed on grant activities and indicators as per set schedules (monthly, quarterly and annually)

Coordination & Representation

• Develops and maintains effective coordination and long-term relationships with external stakeholders, representing IRC’s position, promoting long-term strategy and resolving problems/conflicts
• Works closely and coordinates with IRC logistics, finance and grant staff to ensure timely and compliant program activities and expenditures; including active participation in grant opening/closing and review meetings
• Effectively represents IRC and actively participates at Child Protection coordination forums, like the SAG, CP Sub-Sector, etc.
• Negotiates and maintains appropriate information sharing protocols within IRC programs and with external actors
• Maintains effective and safe referral pathways for child protection concerns and other vulnerable cases

Other

• Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team; promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with community leaders and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs, including development of SOPs, technical tools, etc.

Professional Standards

All IRC staff are required to adhere to THE IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct and the IRC country employment policies, as well as IRC’s Child Safeguarding Policy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or MA/MSc equivalent in health (MPH), MSW Social Work, social science, law, humanities or other related degree.
• Minimum of 5 years professional experience in managing child protection projects in complex environments.
• Prior experience working in emergency settings or insecure environments.
• Strong program/technical and budget management skills, planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external parties  
• INGO experience required.
• Demonstrated experience in capacity building and mentoring of program staff.
• Must be capable of applying their skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct implementation, advisory functions, decision making, training and the transfer of technical knowledge and management skills to others.
• Personal qualities: works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure well

Working Environment: The position will be based in Maiduguri, Nigeria. This position will require travel within Nigeria, including Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:  the Senior Program Coordinator for Education, Safety and Economic Wellbeing Outcomes
Position directly supervises:  CYPD Managers, CPIMS Officer and the entire CYPD team as necessary

Indirect Reporting: Deputy Director Programs

Other Internal and/or external contacts: CYPD Technical Advisors, Other IRC Technical Coordinators and Sector Leads

Internal: All IRC sectors and Operations teams

External:  Working group, partners and donors

Language Skills:

Fluency in English Language both written and spoken is required.

Standards for Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way-Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  Per these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.