Regional Safeguarding Advisor - East Africa at International Rescue Committee

Job Overview:

The Regional Safeguarding Advisor is the focal point for staff and client facing aspects of safeguarding in IRC’s East Africa Region.

Major Responsibilities: Ensuring effective implementation of safeguarding strategy in IRC’s East Africa offices:

• Lead country level action planning to ensure progress on IRC’s safeguarding strategy in the region
• In close partnership with Leadership, Development, & Learning team and HR, ensure that basic staff trainings about safeguarding are developed, rolled out, and tracked within all IRC offices in the region
• Work with Leadership, Development, & Learning team and Employee Relations teams to develop a pipeline of new training on general SG prevention for different audiences (Ex: Leaders, S&S, Suppliers, etc.).
• Support VPRU-based Senior Safeguarding Advisor and local staff to ensure that the site level service mappings are completed for all East Africa offices and that contact details for the site level responder are accessible to all staff and appropriately marketed
• Partner with operational and programmatic departments in region to ensure SG elements integrated into documents and processes (Ex: HR- recruitment process; MEAL, GSC, etc)
• Ensure that any “headquarters” offices located in the region have complete and updated service referral mappings and have appointed and trained responders
• Ensure excellence in knowledge management related to East Africa offices’ implementation of IRC’s safeguarding strategy

Supporting technical units and program delivery teams to sustainably lead on program safeguarding by FY24:

• Support and advise country teams in East Africa region on client engagement, reporting, and awareness raising activities
• Support and advise country teams in East Africa region on partner engagement to ensure effective safeguarding policies practices are coordinated into partner-led programming
• Support country teams in East Africa region to mitigate safeguarding-related risks in program design and delivery
• Support country teams in East Africa region to deliver a survivor-centered response for staff and clients who experience safeguarding violations using established SOP and service referral pathways.

Contributing To Organization-wide Safeguarding Strategy Management

• Work collaboratively with peers in the Safeguarding unit to update safeguarding tools, communications tools, and templates
• Support unit level planning, budgeting, communications, reporting
• Regularly collect data from offices in region on progress against safeguarding indicator
• Support global projects where SG advocacy and content is crucial to success (Ex: IRC Way; global GEDI projects; Culture & Values work; etc.)
• Partner with colleagues in Awards Management Unit to ensure organizational compliance with donor requirements

Governance of Safeguarding as a Cross-Cutting Program:

• Participate in quarterly Global Support Functions community of practice
• Convene regional safeguarding strategy review meetings for region.
• Collect data on work plan implementation and regular reporting metrics
• Support collaborators to succeed by linking resources, problem solving, and facilitating solutions.
• Convene practical coordination meetings across regional and country level collaborators vital to ensure coordinated progress of the safeguarding strategy across offices
• Lead inter-agency representation for the region

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, protection, program management, adult education or related field of study preferred.

Work Experience:

• Relevant professional experience in humanitarian settings required; at lest 5 years of experience strongly preferred.

Demonstrated Skills & Proficiencies

• Proven expertise in cross-cutting program management
• Excellence in training development, facilitation, and learning management
• Experience in safeguarding in humanitarian settings
• Experience in technical tools development, monitoring & evaluation.
• Positive relationship building, tact, and networking skills; ability to optimally build internal and external relationships.
• Fluent in written and spoken English. Proficiency in Arabic or other regional languages an asset.
• Proven success working and communicating optimally in a multi-cultural environment.