VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Job title: Child & Youth Safeguarding Officer
Location / Office: SOS Children’s Village Buchanan
Direct supervisor Program Location supervisor
Receives additional guidance from: National Child Safeguarding Coordinator

Job summary:

The Child and Youth Safeguarding Officer is responsible to ensure proper implementation of the child and youth safeguarding policy and related regulations, procedures, and practices at programme level, in close collaboration with the national child and youth safeguarding team. Develop awareness, prevention, reporting and response strategies in order to effectively deal with any situation of vulnerability of children and young people in the location. Promote the development of appropriate conditions, tools and procedures through the establishment of networks/partnerships with local representation of duty bearer, child protection actors and leading strategic actions at programme levels that promote the creation of safe and protective environment for children and young people.

Main tasks and responsibilities

• 
  Implementation and monitoring of child safeguarding policies, procedures and standards
• Coordinate the development and implementation of location child and youth safeguarding action plans.
• Ensures that the minimum requirements of the child and youth safeguarding policy and related regulations (Misconduct Incident Management, Investigation,
• Sexual-Misconduct, and Code of Conduct) are met by the location and all its programs and partners.
• Coordinate and provide capacity building support to location children and youth safeguarding teams.
• Support the establishment and operation of bodies (children’s clubs, youth groups, etc.) for the participation of children and young people.
• Act in support of the programme location in responding effectively and appropriately to any child and youth safeguarding concerns.
• Conducts annual child safeguarding risk assessment at the location in coordination with the National CYS Coordinator;
• Ensure children, adolescents or young people are aware of their rights, and how they can prevent, report and respond to situations of violence, abuse, and exploitation.
• Raise awareness on the SOS Child and Youth Safeguarding Policy and related regulations amongst staff, programme participants, associates, and local communities;
• Follows up on reported CS concerns and incidents together with the location CYS team.
• Sensitize staff, associates, partners, etc. on procedures and processes of reporting and responding to child safeguarding and protection concerns/incidents.
• Prepares half-year child and youth safeguarding and protection report and submits to the National Child Safeguarding Coordinator.
• Maintains the Location Child Safeguarding Incident Register.
• Collects lessons learnt as well as identified challenges to ensure that relevant preventive, awareness raising, and capacity building measures are planned and further implemented.
• Ensure that all child and youth safeguarding incidents raised in the location are regularly reported according to the organization’s reporting tools.
• Represents the organization in programme location at Child Protection/Child Safeguarding, and advocacy network meetings, and liaise with external stakeholders at county level.
• Provides weekly and other periodic briefings to the National CYS Coordinator and the National CYS Team as required.
• Identifies capacity building needs on child and youth safeguarding at location level and, in coordination with the National CYS Coordinator and HR, supports the development and implementation as necessary training tools and processes.
• Coordinate and ensure the existence of tools and content on child safeguarding/child protection that can be implemented by local child protection/safeguarding teams.
• Support family strengthening teams and other community child protection interventions.
• Train peer educators in each location to have child-friendly communication skills.
  Child and Youth Safeguarding

The post holder may be required 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 by ensuring that you:

• Protect children and young people from all forms of abuse, abandonment, exploitation, violence and discrimination.
• Report any CS suspicion, concern, allegation or incident immediately:

• IF IN DOUBT, SPEAK OUT!
• Act without delay: Failure to act may place the child or young person in further danger.
• Involve the right people at the right time: CS reports should be made to the CS team at programme level and/or to the respective line manager.
• For better support, kindly familiarize yourself with the Child Safeguarding Team.
• The post holder should report and respond to interventions as determined by position related responsibilities identified in the Child and Youth Safeguarding Team
• 
  POSITION REQUIREMENT

  University degree or professional or post-graduate qualification in a relevant area (e.g development studies, community development, social sciences, social work, etc.) or any related fields
  • Minimum 3-5 years’ working experience as a social worker in child protection and/or development
  • Good working knowledge of both spoken and written French & English, is an added advantage.
  • Extensive leadership experience in Leading group processes, well-developed facilitation and
  presentation skills
  • Computer Literate (MS Word; Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc.)
  • Ability to travel extensively to program locations in and out of the Country.
  • Knowledge of social development issues affecting children, such as child rights, alternative care
  system, HIV/Aids, gender issues, etc.
  • Strong planning, organizing and problem-solving skills.

This position involves working with an INGO committed to children and human rights and is subject to strict safer recruitment checks. The successful candidate will be required to complete safer recruitment checks including police and reference checks to help verify their suitability to work for SOS CV. In addition to the candidates’ ability to perform the duties of the post, in the selection process, we will also explore the motivation and approach of the candidate to safeguarding.

SOS Children´s Villages have zero-tolerance neither on sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse nor fraud and corruption, amongst other safeguarding aspects. We also provide equal employment opportunities to all employees & qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or class. SOS Children´s Villages complies with all applicable laws governing non-discrimination in employment.”