Protection Team Leader at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Background

• Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015. DRC Nigeria is the largest DRC country mission in the West Africa region and one of the largest DRC country missions globally.
• Currently, DRC delivers life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in the areas of armed violence reduction, humanitarian mine action, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in 30+ Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in northeast Nigeria.

Purpose

• The Protection Team Leader (General Protection) has the overall responsibility for managing, supervising and coordinating DRC Protection activities in Adamawa.
• The Protection Team Leader (TL) will be responsible for the day-to-day staff management and the management of the protection programming while ensuring quality implementation and donor compliance

Key Responsibilities
Programming and Operations:

• Ensure timely implementation of project activities at the field level, including appropriate documentation and management of protection cases (recorded incidents), protection concern and case management forms, IPA, and activity reports.
• Follow up on Identified protection risk, through protection monitoring, PSS and case management by ensuring appropriates responses.
• In collaboration with the Protection Manager, provide technical support, supervision and guidance to the protection team;
• Ensure that staff adhere to best-practices, professional standards and principles, and relevant SOPs and guidelines through capacity-building and on-the-job coaching;
• Develop comprehensive and tailored capacity building plans for protection staff and implementing partners based on respective needs and ensuring quality services;
• Hold monthly meetings with the protection team and with the officers individually to share updates, discuss challenges and successes. Provide constructive feedback and discuss opportunities for improvement;
• Monitor the efficient and accurate updating of all relevant protection data, including referral data. Regularly compile relevant program data and make note of trends observed
• Develop and maintain effective working relationship with relevant stakeholders including partner agencies, implementing partners, community leaders and service providers;
• Contribute to the maintenance of an up-to-date service mapping of service providers operating in the area and ensure that protection staff are informed about the available services
• Work closely with DRC local capacities (CBGs and Social workers) and provide the needed field level support, including capacity-building and trainings;
• Remain abreast of SOPs and best practices at the field, on the national and global level
• Identify technical gaps in the program and identify/implement solutions to address these gaps;
• Coordinate proactively logistics and movements of staff from and to different operational areas and Initiate procurements and ensure their execution.

Staff management:

• Supervise protection team in Adamawa .
• Manage and motivate a team of protection staff
• Improve the overall protection performance and look for any possible innovations to the process
• Set performance objectives and annual appraisal for protection unit staff.
• Maintain updated job descriptions, conduct interviews, orient new staff to the DRC and the General Protection program;
• Review developed weekly and monthly work plans in a timely manner;
• Build the capacity of Protection Officers and Assistants to improve their range of capabilities related to the protection program;
• Maintain positive work relationship within the team, and promote team-building efforts;
• Monitor staff working hours, complete performance review with staff, and ensure respect of DRC Code of Conduct;
• Ensure with the Protection Manager Protection Specialist, and Area managers that protection activities are organized in a way that guarantees safety of beneficiary families, partners and DRC staff involved (i.e. confidentiality);
• Provide recommendations to the protection sector and program design based on evolving needs and field experience.

Grant Implementation and Reporting:

• Ensure the implementation of protection programming and protection-related grants, including appropriate and timely spending plans of grants to achieve program goals, grants reporting contributions, use and distribution of supplies and resources;
• Understand and follow up on activities and assess progress of implementation, provide solutions and report issues when needed;
• Produce monthly reports and support the Protection Specialist in the submission of timely, accurate and well-written donor reports and other reporting requirements of protection programming (including Donor reports and Activity info);
• Support the implementation of monitoring and evaluation tools and report on problems in the implementation of the program;
• With the support of Protection Manager and Protection specialist at country level, contribute to and provide field-related inputs for protection proposals during the proposal development process;
• Remain abreast of ongoing trends in Adamawa as related to protection programming, and provide regular updates on these trends and how they affect programming.

Sector Coordination and representation:

• Actively participate in relevant field-working groups and co-chair the relevant working groups where relevant, and participate in other coordination meetings as relevant;
• Represent DRC Protection sector before relevant donors at field level

Monitoring & Evaluation:

• Support the Protection Specialist in overseeing and ensuring achievements of project targets according to DRC and donors’ requirements through overall management of the protection programming (through the use of indicators performance trackers and project MEL tools).
• Ensure implementation of monitoring and evaluation tools and report on problems in the implementation of the program;
• Oversee and ensure analysis of results and guide Protection staff to use these results to enhance program effectiveness and quality.
• The responsibilities listed in the JD are not exhaustive and may be readjusted according to operational needs but will remain in line with the overall purpose of the role.

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Law, Psychology, Social work, Social Sciences, Counselling, Education, Human Rights, Development Studies or relevant equivalent disciplines.
• Excellent organizational skills, self-motivated, proactive and able to accomplish set deadlines.
• Willing to meet deadlines with minimum supervision.

Experience and Technical Competencies:
Essential:

• At least 4 years experience in Humanitarian protection, focusing on displacement and community based programming.
• Knowledge of protection monitoring, protection analytical framework and psychosocial support
• Excellent communication skills (oral and writing)
• Professional fluency in English and Hausa.

Desirable:

• Ability and willingness to maintain regular presence at project sites (remote / field sites).
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills – self-motivated individuals, able to take initiative and propose solutions, resilient, positive, and able to work independently.
• Skills and experience in Assessment, delivery, monitoring, review and evaluation, working with returnees, host residents and IDPs.
• Good facilitation/training skills; experience designing and delivering training curricula, preferably focused on adult learning.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and spoken English. Fluency in local spoken languages.

Required Skills & Qualities:

• Core Competencies of DRC:
  • Striving for excellence
  • Collaboration
  • Taking the lead
  • Communication
  • Demonstrating Integrity
• Ability to work in a multinational and multicultural environment
• Proactivity, with a sound commitment to teamwork and with a spirit of genuine collaboration
• Excellent communication skills, as well as patience and politeness, are required
• Multi-tasking and Organizational skills is a must
• Adaptable and Flexible
• Proven analytical and critical thinking skills
• Exemplary sense of ethics in the workplace
• Team-oriented & good sense of humor.

Salary and Conditions

• Salary & Benefits: M-G.
• In accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment.
• The income will be subject to statutory deductions as per applicable Nigeria laws. The employee is responsible for the tax returns.