Child Protection Specialist

Date: 31 Jul 2023

Location: Moldova, Moldova

Company: Plan International

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 80 countries.

What will you bring?

The Child Protection (CP) Specialist is responsible for leading the overall development and technical quality of Plan International’s Moldova child protection response, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), adolescents and youth active engagement. This includes providing technical leadership on assessment, response analysis, design, coordination, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of Plan’s CP, Adolescent and Youth Participation, and MHPSS programming.

The CP Specialist will report to the Head of Program and be expected to work closely with Plan’s partner civil society organizations and other Plan International team members, including those working in Education, Cash and Voucher Assistance, Gender and Inclusion, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL), Partnerships Management, Business Development and Grants, and Programme Managers, to ensure a rapid, proportionate, and effective response.

The role will also have a dotted line reporting to the CPiE Specialist in Plan International’s Ukraine Hub to ensure there is coordination and oversight with Plan’s wider emergency response.

You will be responsible for:

• Assessment and Programme Development
• Technical Support and Programme Implementation
• Capacity-Strengthening and Technical Resources
• Partnerships
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning
• Coordination and External Representation

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures

You will have the following technical expertise and skills: 

Knowledge

• University degree in social work, a social science or another related field.
• Fluency in written and spoken Romanian and English is essential. Knowledge of the Ukrainian and/or Russian language is an asset but not mandatory.
• Excellent knowledge of the Moldova context and national Child Protection System
• Excellent knowledge of the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and inter-agency guidance and tools related to unaccompanied children, alternative care, case management, family strengthening, community-level child protection, MHPSS, and cash and vouchers assistance for child protection. Additional knowledge of Sphere and the Red Cross/ NGO Code of Conduct.
• Requires general finance, administration, information management and telecommunication skills and proficiency in information technology/ computer skills.

Experience

• University degree in social work, psychology or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in child protection work, ideally with experience in refugee contexts.
• Experience successfully developing concept notes and proposals for donors.
• Experience of training on child protection interventions, such as alternative care, case management, community-level child protection, and psychosocial support, with a variety of audiences.
• Experience designing and implementing programs which consider gender and inclusion and utilize cash and voucher assistance.
• Experience of conducting rapid and in-depth child protection needs assessments in emergency contexts using inter-agency tools and guidance.
• Experience in supervision and team management, including remote supervision and capacity-strengthening.

Skills

• Excellent communication skills and ability to develop well-argued plans for response that can be justified and delivered, persuasive of others.
• Excellent ability to build collaborative and respectful relationships with local organizations and government authorities.
• Excellent project design, participatory learning and monitoring and evaluation skills.
• Excellent supervision and team leadership skills, including ability to motivate and support staff from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to work independently and as a team player who demonstrates leadership and is able to support and train local and international staff and also able to work with disaster affected communities in a sensitive and participatory manner.
• Excellent negotiation, representation, skills and the ability to work comfortably with an ethnically diverse staff in a very sensitive environment.
• Ability to operate at advanced levels of authority and manage significant activities, budgets, and resources to produce and take responsibility for results.

Who are we looking for?
  
Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and idea. 
  
This is a national position, and we are accepting applications from Moldova national only.  

Location: Chisinau, Moldova

Type of Role: National; Fixed term

Reports to: Head of Mission

Closing Date: 21 August 2023

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates. 
For applying, please, access the link below: 

https://jobs.plan-international.org/job-invite/47335/