Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive, while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Child Protection (CP) / Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Officer, IHA MAPLE
Location: Adamawa
Employment Type: Full Time
Team / Programme: IHA – MAPLE
Reports to: Child Protection Coordinator
Staff reporting to this post: None
Child Safeguarding
- Level 3 – The responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.
- As part of these responsibilities, the post holder will support the establishment of child safeguarding systems, promote a culture of keeping children safe, and ensure that potential harm to children (by our own staff and/or because of how we do our work) is identified and addressed on an ongoing basis. Â
- The post holder should report and respond to interventions as determined by position-related responsibilities identified in the Child Safeguarding Policy.
Role Purpose
- With Funding from GAC, the CP/GBV Officer will provide support to the Nutrition and Child Protection project in Adamawa and is responsible for ensuring that quality mental health and psychosocial support services and case management for children experiencing or at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence, including GBV survivors, are provided.
- Build the staff capacity to provide direct meaningful support to children at risk and GBV survivors, mentor, supervise and monitor team activities and ensure effective coordination and networking system establishment to the rest of the child protection team.
- The CP/GBV Officer will be expected to support on child protection sectoral assessment, project planning and coordination with other actors and clusters.
- In most circumstances, the post holder will be expected to mentor and/or build the capacity of implementing partners in the field.
Key Areas of Accountability
- Coordinate with other Save the Children thematic areas, the national Child Protection Working Group and/or other external sector agencies of GBV, ensuring assessment findings are documented and that all assessments include a specific, disaggregated data analysis of survivors’ needs.
- Develop monthly and quarterly plans and costed plans, contributing towards an overall thematic programme plan.Â
- Support for the psychosocial (physical, social, emotional) well-being of children, including GBV survivors and their families.
- Strengthen the partner capacity to provide direct and appropriate support services to children at risk.Â
- Prevention and response to all forms of exploitation, including harmful child labour and child traffickingÂ
- Oversee and coordinate the development and maintenance of data collection and analysis mechanisms and share timely quality information with the relevant sector management. Â Â
- Support the integration of child protection activities into other sectors.
- Supervise project implementation to ensure the timely delivery of project activities
- Prepare and review timely monthly reports submitted by partners and SCI Staff.Â
- Identify project supplies specific to the programme needs and coordinate with the logistics team to put in place a sensible phased procurement plan.
- Work with the MEAL plan to ensure links to reporting requirements where possible, refer to the MEAL framework to build an evidence base for child protection programming interventions, including GBV survivors.
- With support from the CRM/Accountability Officer, put in place accountability activities for your project, ensuring that feedback from children and their families is considered in project design.
- Ensure that the minimum standards of humanitarian relief are maintained in accordance with the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Settings and the Sphere standardÂ
- Ensure children at risk and survivors of gender-based violence are timely identified and provided counselling and other appropriate response services.
- Ensure relevant referral forms are in place and implemented accordingly.Â
- Coordinate monthly meetings including parents’ forum and child protection committee
- Provide essential psychosocial first aid support to children and adults when needed.
- Ensure partner staff are supervised regularly to ensure activities are carried out in line with the minimum standard guidelines.
- Consistently maintain the referral pathway of project locations
- Ensuring assistance is provided to children affected by the conflict in a dignified, respectful, equitable and inclusive manner that supports their resilience
- Assisting children in acute distress and alleviating their stress, for instance, ensuring that all staff/partners are trained on PFA and feel confident to use it
- The mainstreaming of inter-agency guidelines (e.g. IASC MHPSS guidelines) and standards (e.g. CPMS) across the different sectors of programme activities delivered by SC and its partners
- The use of structured and manualized MHPSS techniques
- The participation of parents and caregivers in MHPSS activities Â
- Support structured MHPSS activities for groups of boys and girls of different age groups, with particular attention to survivors of SGBV, unaccompanied children and other children who present with signs of poor mental health and distress
- Identify MHPSS service providers and agree on referral pathways for children with severe mental disorders
Capacity Building:
- Provide capacity to implementing partners that have less CPiE experienceÂ
Representation & Advocacy & Organizational Learning:
- Ensure that Save the Children’s work is coordinated with the efforts of other agencies and the Government, and support Interagency Coordination forums, including the State Child Protection Sub-Working Group, advocating for the specific needs of children. This may involve supporting the coordination of working groups and sub-working groups. Â
- With support from the Lead Child Protection Coordinator and/or other senior programme staff, assist in advocacy activities that target decision-makers in-country.
- In collaboration with the Humanitarian Technical Unit and Child Protection team, feed in learning, experiences and evidence to relevant global advocacy objectives.
- Contribute to communications and media work as required.
General:
- Comply with Save the Children policies and practices with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
- Other ad hoc tasks as requested by the Line Manager.
Additional job responsibilities:
- The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within the reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential Criteria:
- University Degree or equivalent in social work, Social Science, development studies or equivalent combination of relevant training and experience
- Minimum 3 years post-NYSC work experience in GBV and child Protection work, supervision, community mobilization and distributions and solid understanding of the actual Nigerian emergency context.Â
- Proven ability to supervise a CP project with a holistic approach and integrated with child protection rights
- Fluent in English
- Working knowledge of Hausa
- Computer literate
Behaviours (Our Values in Practice)
Accountability:
- Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
- Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved
Ambition:
- Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
- Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
- Future-oriented, thinks strategically.
Collaboration:
- Actively listens to different perspectives and experiences of stakeholders
- Actively participates in networks to access and contribute to good practice
- Establishes and maintains clear communication and dialogue with disaster and conflict-affected people and other stakeholders
- Establishes clear objectives with partners
Creativity:
- Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
- Willing to take disciplined risks
- Levels of integrity
Integrity:
- Honesty encourages openness and transparency
- Commitment to Save the Children Values
Understanding humanitarian contexts and application of humanitarian principles:
- Ensure that programme goals and activities uphold the principles of the key national and international humanitarian frameworks, codes and commitments
- Integrates beneficiary accountability principles into the approach
- Participates in disaster coordination mechanisms and interagency cooperation mechanisms
Leadership: Action; Thinking; Self; Inspiring; Developing Others:
- Demonstrates approachability and trust by listening carefully to others and valuing their contribution, and making others feel comfortable by being open and honest about their thoughts and feelings
- Demonstrates self-development and management by taking responsibility for their own development, and actively seeking out feedback to better understand their own strengths and weaknesses
- Makes positive statements about work
- Effectively influences others by understanding their interests and showing how they will be met by their own preferred solution
- Gives constructive feedback to enhance capabilities and responsibilities to partners and others
Desirable Criteria:
- Excellent communication skills,Â
- Team player with strong leadership skills
- A mature personality with life experience is an advantage
- Able to be a self-starter and work in challenging contexts and fragile environments.
Skills:
- Previous experience in similar responsibilities, preferably with an NGO and/or UN agency.
- Highly flexible and ability to work in a team.
- Communication & Interpersonal Skill Level – Excellent
- Language Requirements – English and Hausa – Excellent
- Level of IT literacy required – (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Email system, Internet browsing) excellent.
Remuneration
Grade: 4.
Application Closing Date
8th July, 2025; 12:59 AM.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Equal Opportunities
- The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive, and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within the reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
Child Safeguarding:
- 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.
Health and Safety:
- The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.