Deployable Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist at Plan International

Location: Globally, Flexible (Nigeria)
Type of Role: 1 Year Fixed Term Contract

Role Purpose

• The Deployable Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) Specialist provides technical support to Plan International’s country offices and partners responding to medium and large-scale emergencies to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate child protection programmes.

Dimensions of the Role

• The post holder will deploy, sometimes at short notice, to support Plan International’s country offices and partners to respond to specific humanitarian crises for a minimum of 4 up to 12 weeks.
• During deployments up to five staff may report to the post holder and a number of indirect reports.
• Between deployments the post-holder will work on specific desk-based tasks for Global Hub contributing to the global Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) Work plan.
• The post holder is expected to foster relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including CPiE Specialists and Disaster and Risk Management Teams in Plan International National and Country Offices.
• In particular it is expected to support the coordination and be an active member of inter-agency Child Protection coordination mechanisms and the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action.
• In all deployments, the post holder will play a key role in strengthening capacity at field level, and in the effective scale up and management of child protection and integrated programmes to increase impact for children and adolescents.

Accountabilities
Assessment and Programme Design:

• Ensures all child protection work has a strong gender focus in line with Plan International’s Global Strategy.
• Lead on child protection needs assessments coordinating with Plan International’s other programmatic areas and country-based Child Protection Working Groups, ensuring assessment findings are documented and disseminated.
• Ensure that the different capacities, vulnerabilities and coping mechanisms of children and adolescents are considered and analysed.
• Provide technical assistance to country offices in the formulation of child protection in emergencies programme strategies and plans, including approaches for child survivors of SGBV.
• Ensure that humanitarian child protection interventions are linked into longer term programming.
• Support Plan International country offices in the development of preparedness and disaster risk reduction plans for child protection.

Programme Implementation:

• Ensure the effective planning, implementation and coordination of child protection programmes that address the key needs for children and adolescents in all their diversity.
• Contribute to the development of staffing plans to implement child protection programme activities and work with the HR team for the recruitment of key CPiE positions and ensuring long-term support is in place.
• Ensure that child protection interventions are aligned with the Child Protection Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Action.
• Identify CPiE programme supply needs and coordinate with the logistics team to ensure timely procurement and delivery.

Capacity Strengthening:

• Provide in-country technical support and facilitate training of child protection in humanitarian action to different country responses.
• Support global and regional trainings on Child Protection including but not limited to: mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), life skills and parenting, approaches to support child survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
• Develop capacity assessments and capacity development plans and provide training, coaching and mentorship to programme staff and partners.
• Coordinate and/or implement trainings and briefings of Plan International staff, partners and other key stakeholders on child protection and related issues such as gender equality and inclusion, amongst others.
• Promote the application of best programme practices in CPiE including the roll-out and dissemination of global guidance, capacity strengthening and contextualisation, and through engagement in global networks.
• Support assigned in-country CPiE specialists with technical knowledge and capacity building relative to their needs in the response.
• Participate in relevant CPiE networks within the organisation to promote learning, dissemination of toolkits and peer learning within specialists.

Monitoring and Evaluation, Reporting and Accountability:

• Work closely with the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) team develop a context-specific child protection M&E framework and tools for quality programme delivery.
• Strengthen capacity of CP and M&E staff to collect quantitative and qualitative child protection data, ensuring all data is disaggregated by sex, age and disability.
• Document key learning from the child protection response.
• Prepare timely reports on CPiE projects in compliance with internal and donor requirements.
• Establish accountability activities for child protection, ensuring that feedback from all relevant stakeholders is considered throughout all phases of the response.

Coordination and Resource Mobilization:

• Build and maintain relationships with relevant government departments, UN agencies and NGOs.
• Actively contribute to CPiE Coordination Mechanisms in country. Where required, take a co-leadership role in the Child Protection Working Group and/or technical working groups.
• Establish/maintain new/existing relationships with key donors.
• Support Plan International’s country offices to build a diversified portfolio of funding for CPiE.
• Support development and submission of quality proposals in response to identified opportunities.

Influencing:

• Support country offices to develop case studies and reports of program innovation and successes.
• Contribute to relevant global advocacy and policy objectives with documented learning and evidence.
• Participate and present targeted Child Protection in Humanitarian Action key messages, advocacy briefs at global/regional/national fora and technical networks.

Communication:

• Work with Plan’s communication team to support the dissemination of articles, success stories, presentations and media interviews highlighting Plan’s work in CPiE.
• Generate content on child protection in humanitarian action (webinars, podcasts, videos, programme stories etc.) in collaboration with other CPiE members.

Safeguarding:

• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedure

Key Relationships
Key Internal Contacts:

• Plan International Disaster Risk Management team
• Global Child Protection in Emergencies Lead
• Plan International CPiE Network’s members
• Senior Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist
• Plan International Protection from Violence Network’s members

Key External Contacts:

• CP AoR
• The Alliance for CPHA
• Other agencies and actors responding to the emergency, in particular those working in the CPIE sector.

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge
Essential:

• University Degree in Social Work, Psychology or related field.
• At least five years of professional experience in child protection in emergencies work in progressively responsible roles.
• Good knowledge of and experience in applying the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action.
• Knowledge and understanding of key programming approaches and minimum standards for child protection in humanitarian action, including approaches to support child survivors of SGBV.
• Experience of conducting child protection needs assessments.
• Experience providing technical support and oversight to CPiE programmes.
• Experience of capacity strengthening on child protection technical areas with a variety of audiences.
• Experience in programme design and proposal development and ability to secure funding from public and private funding streams
• Understanding of field level representation with key stakeholders and coordination with peer NGOs and UN actors.
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities.
• Excellent negotiation, representation, skills and the ability to work comfortably with an ethnically diverse staff in a very sensitive environment.
• Good attention to detail.
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure.
• Strong communication (written and spoken) skills in English.

Desirable:

• Proficiency in French, Spanish or Arabic, written and spoken.