Job Description:

Child Protection Specialist

Number of positions: 1

Duration: One year

Location:  Duhok Governate and Zakho ID

Deadline of submission:  4th December 2022

About Us:

The Lotus Flower is a non-governmental organization which empowers vulnerable women and girls so that they are safe, have opportunities to learn, the tools to become financially independent and the freedom to lead change. We provide safe social spaces inside refugee camps and implement projects to help them rebuild their lives and earn a living. We run four women’s centers for the IDP, refugee and host community in Kurdistan 

Our programs are based around pillars from the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals:

·       Health & Safety

·       Education & Livelihoods

·       Peace building & Human Rights

Our centers implement much-needed livelihood training, language courses, computer training, mental health support, fitness and health training, and awareness sessions and advocacy on women's rights and gender-based violence. 

We aim to provide the foundation for women to rebuild themselves, their families, and their futures. As local implementers, we work at the grassroots level to get right into the heart of communities, listening to local needs and employing local women to implement the programs. Our fundamental belief is that women and girls are powerful drivers of change, and we provide the support they need to reach their full potential and rebuild their futures. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

·       Supervise the work of the field staff assuring the quality of the CP services provided.

·       Provide technical support, including training and on-the-job mentoring.

·       Support the project manager to ensure quality child protection within the project activities (community-based activities, PSS etc).

·       Conduct regular field visits to project locations to monitor the activities and identify any gap in terms of knowledge.

·       Develop guidelines and training materials to strengthen the child protection capacity of all the field staff, according with their role and position;

·       Revise the materials used by the field staff to conduct community mobilizations, trainings for community members, etc.

·       Support the project manager and supervisor to draft relevant tools to monitor the quality of the activities conducted and collect feedbacks from the beneficiaries.

·       Supervise the PSS activities, assuring quality. Verify that the facilitators and the team leaders are following all the guidelines in terms of activities development, monitoring and reporting.

·       Support the facilitators and the team leaders with mentoring and training. If needed, conduct training on the curriculum.

·       Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.

·       Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with relevant government counterparts, national stakeholders and global partners/allies/donors/academia through active networking, advocacy and effective communication to build capacity, exchange knowledge/expertise and to reinforce cooperation to achieve sustainable and broad results in child protection.

·       Prepare communication and information materials for CP program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for child protection programs and emergency interventions.

·       Introduce innovative approaches and good practice to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable program results.

·       Keep abreast of, research, benchmark and implement best practices in child protection management and information systems. Assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.

Qualifications & Preferred Skills:

·       Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, psychology or similar;

·       At least 5 years of experience as child protection officer/technical advisor/specialist, with NGOs

·       Very strong knowledge of child protection and child safeguarding policies

·      Previous experience in PSS services for children;

·       Previous experience in CP interventions funded by UN or other donors;

·       Previous experience working with Refugees children is an asset;

·       Consolidated experience as a trainer;

·       Fluency in English and Kurdish, Arabic knowledge is required.

·       Superb Microsoft Office skills (e.g. Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint), and other software applicable to the area of work.

·       Personal Competencies: Collaborative spirit and ability to work independently as well as in a team; commitment to knowledge sharing and teamwork; positive attitude and ability to see through challenges to find solutions; and strong interpersonal skills and an ability to clearly communicate, including complex concepts into layperson language.

How to apply:

·       Please send your updated CV and cover letter to careers@thelotusflower.org while mentioning “Child Protection Specialist” as the subject of your email.

·       CVs and cover letters that are in the form of pictures, and screen-shots will not be accepted.

·       CVs that do not include the subject line will not be considered.

·       Due to the volume of applications only successful candidates will be contacted.