Safeguarding Coordinator

The role of the Safeguarding Coordinator is to support the Emergency Response team with child safeguarding expertise and guidance, proactively work to reduce child safeguarding risk, and respond robustly, effectively and in a child-centred way to any suspected violations. He/she will ensure that child safeguarding is embedded in every stage of the response cycle, from assessment and response strategy development, through to exit strategy planning.

Reporting to the Area Director, but working all deployed sector leads (Child Protection, Education, Shelter, WASH, CVA, NFI) the Safeguarding Coordinator will map and help the team to respond to the major safeguarding risks to children in our response, including (but not limited to) the risks of sexual abuse and exploitation by Save the Children staff, volunteers and other INGO workers and partners, and the risks of unsafe programming. There will be a substantial reactive element, as this role will manage the response to safeguarding violation reports and concerns, working closely with, and building the capacity of, the existing focal points among the national staff.

The Safeguarding Coordinator will develop a plan to mitigate the key risks, likely to include building the capacity of rapidly recruited staff and new partners, identifying and ensuring integration with other programme sectors, ensuring that Safeguarding issues are raised and addressed in real-time, and work with MEAL to develop an effective child-friendly reporting mechanism. The plan will be aligned with Save the Children’s overall Safeguarding strategy and will ensure any reports of violations are reported and responded to correctly, via Datix. This role will also work closely with the Media/Comms team members to ensure full consent processes are followed, and child participants for media/comms work are adequately protected, and will provide regular updates on child safeguarding issues to the SMT. He/she will also input into key funding proposals to ensure that Safeguarding risk mitigations are in place, and activities appropriately resourced.

The Safeguarding Coordinator will provide guidance and on the job child safeguarding coaching and mentoring for national and international staff, partners and volunteers, and link with Child Protection within Save the Children and other NGOs, to ensure a coherent child-centred response to any child safeguarding concerns. The Safeguarding Coordinator will receive support from the Country Safeguarding Director. He/she and will also provide capacity building support to the existing CSG focal points on the ground and take part in multi-agency groups such as the PSEA taskforce, where active, relevant clusters, and work proactively with other active NGOs, especially regarding any joint reporting mechanisms or referral pathways.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (SCI 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, providing the necessary development to improve performance and implementation of programme activities

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Support Area Director in ensuring minimum standards of SG are met and mitigated.
• Ensure that the S G FP responds in real-time to safeguarding violations in an effective, robust and child-centred way
• Ensure that case information is kept confidential, documented and filed/stored appropriately
• Provide expertise to humanitarian colleagues and local staff to identify, analyse and act to mitigate key safeguarding risks to children in our programmes and programme areas, identifying groups who may be at higher risk (e.g. adolescent girls, disabled children, children without appropriate care)
• Identify and ensure integration with other programme sectors, ensuring that SG issues are raised and addressed in real-time – e.g. in the CFS’s and Adolescent Friendly Spaces, and Digital Learning Centres
• Provide (or support the emergency response team to provide) child-friendly information to children and families at programme sites around humanitarian principles, unacceptable behaviour, ways to report concerns
• Provide expertise to funding proposals, ensuring that proposals include an amount for effective child safeguarding (e.g. cost of printed materials, set up of complaints mechanisms in a large programme) and that they support Save the Children’s commitment to Safe Programming
• Deliver Safeguarding training to emergency response team members who have not recently received it.
• Deliver Safeguarding training along with S G FP to partners and local support staff who may be in a position to report safeguarding violations among staff – especially (but not limited to) drivers, cleaners and cooks
• Work closely with MEAL to develop (or strengthen) adequate reporting mechanisms
• Participate in relevant coordination mechanisms, including Clusters and PSEA networks and support the coordination of Safeguarding activities
• Support the CP to set-up referral mechanisms that work for both CP and Child Safeguarding concerns
• Ensure that lessons learned are captured and shared with the global Safeguarding team on a regular basis
• Ensure key safeguarding risks are recorded (without confidential data) on the regular situation reports
• Provide expertise to local focal points to develop a fully costed emergency response Safeguarding action plan, to eventually merge with the CO Safeguarding annual action plan.
• Elaborate CS report for emergency with key actions and validate with Team leader, RCSD and CS

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• University degree in social sciences (psychology, social work…), preferably in a subject related to child rights
• 2-4 years progressively advanced management experience in child protection including at least experience in emergencies setting.
• Experience of case management and investigations
• Proven ability to work in culturally diverse and challenging environments including first hand emergencies response.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and team management skills
• Proficient in MS Excel, MS Word, Outlook
• Ability to learn the Safeguarding policy and best practice at Save the Children
• Good team member skills, including the ability to be part of and organise, support, manage and develop a small team;
• Experience in designing and delivering trainings, including strengthening the capacity of key stakeholders
• Experience of working with partners and of using a participatory approach as well as of coordinating responses with a range of actors, including Government authorities, national/local organisations, NGOs, UN;
• Ability to achieve results and maintain consistent high standards of professional behaviour and achievement, including when working alone;
• Ability to manage stress, be flexible and accommodating in difficult and frustrating working circumstance;
• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Commitment to and understanding of child rights, as well as of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles.

Desirable

• Fluency in English and Ukrainian
• Good knowledge of and experience in using established inter-agency standards and guidelines in child protection, such as the Inter-agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children, IA Case Management Guidelines and others
• Budget development and financial monitoring skills;

Equal Opportunities

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Health and Safety

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Code of Conduct

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Code of Conduct.

Child Safeguarding Policy

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Child Safeguarding Policy, Social media Policy, Information Technology Policy