Position Summary
The Child Protection Officer will be responsible for the effective planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring, and reporting of Child Protection (CP) activities under OAWCK's program.
The position holder will work closely with the Project Manager, CP/GBV team, MEAL team, community structures, service providers, local authorities, and relevant coordination mechanisms to ensure that children affected by conflict, displacement, poverty, emergencies, and other protection risks have access to safe, inclusive, timely, quality, and child-centered protection services.
The Child Protection Officer will ensure that program activities are implemented in accordance with OAWCK policies, donor requirements, CP minimum standards, safeguarding principles, and relevant humanitarian principles.
Key Responsibilities
1. Program Planning and Implementation
- Support the Project Manager in planning and implementing Child Protection activities in accordance with the approved project proposal, work plan, budget, and logframe.
- Ensure timely and quality implementation of CP activities at community and field level.
- Conduct regular field visits to monitor program implementation and identify operational or protection concerns.
- Support the development of detailed activity plans, implementation schedules, and field-level workplans.
- Ensure that all CP interventions are child-centred, age-appropriate, gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive, and conflict-sensitive.
- Support the establishment and strengthening of safe spaces, child-friendly spaces, community-based CP mechanisms, and other relevant services where applicable.
- Facilitate community awareness and sensitization sessions on child protection risks, children's rights, safe referral mechanisms, and available services.
- Ensure meaningful participation of children, caregivers, and communities in program activities while maintaining appropriate safeguarding measures.
2. Child Protection Case Management
- Support the identification and safe referral of children at risk or in need of protection services.
- Ensure that CP cases are handled according to approved case management procedures and standards.
- Support case workers in conducting safe identification, assessment, case planning, referrals, follow-up, and case closure.
- Ensure confidentiality and secure management of child protection information.
- Ensure that the best interests of the child remain central to all case management decisions.
- Coordinate referrals with appropriate specialized service providers.
- Follow up on referrals to ensure that children receive appropriate and timely services.
- Ensure that no child is exposed to additional risks through program activities or referrals.
3. Community-Based Child Protection
- Support the establishment and strengthening of Community-Based Child Protection Committees and other community protection structures.
- Build the capacity of community volunteers, teachers, caregivers, religious/community leaders, and other relevant stakeholders on child protection.
- Identify major child protection risks and harmful practices within target communities.
- Support community-based prevention and response mechanisms.
- Promote positive parenting and safe caregiving practices.
- Support community awareness on child safeguarding, child rights, prevention of violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, and harmful practices.
4. Prevention and Awareness
- Conduct awareness sessions on key child protection concerns, including:
- Child abuse and neglect
- Child labour
- Violence against children
- Family separation
- Child marriage
- Exploitation and abuse
- Risks related to displacement and emergencies
- Safe referral pathways
- Child rights and safeguarding
- Develop or adapt awareness materials in consultation with the Project Manager and relevant technical staff.
- Ensure that awareness activities are culturally appropriate, accessible, and understandable to the target population.
5. Coordination and Referral
- Coordinate with relevant government departments, UN agencies, humanitarian partners, service providers, community structures, and CP actors.
- Participate in relevant Child Protection coordination meetings and technical working groups when assigned.
- Maintain an updated mapping of available child protection and referral services.
- Establish and maintain effective referral pathways with relevant service providers.
- Coordinate with GBV, Education, Health, MHPSS, WASH, and other sectors where integrated protection responses are required.
- Promote a survivor-/child-centred and do-no-harm approach in all referrals.
6. Monitoring, Reporting and Documentation
- Monitor progress against project indicators, targets, and workplans.
- Collect accurate program data in coordination with the MEAL team.
- Prepare regular activity reports, success stories, case studies, and field updates.
- Document lessons learned, challenges, good practices, and recommendations.
- Ensure that program documentation is complete, accurate, and securely maintained.
- Support donor reporting by providing timely and accurate technical information.
- Participate in assessments, monitoring visits, post-distribution monitoring, and other program reviews as required.
7. Capacity Building
- Identify capacity-building needs of CP staff, volunteers, community structures, and partners.
- Conduct or support training and coaching on child protection topics.
- Provide technical guidance and day-to-day support to CP staff and community volunteers.
- Promote adherence to relevant Child Protection Minimum Standards and organizational procedures.
8. Safeguarding, PSEA and Accountability
- Strictly comply with OAWCK's safeguarding, PSEA, Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding, and other relevant policies.
- Immediately report safeguarding, exploitation, abuse, or misconduct concerns through established reporting mechanisms.
- Ensure that children and communities understand their rights and available complaint and feedback mechanisms.
- Promote safe, confidential, accessible, and child-friendly feedback and complaints mechanisms.
- Ensure that program activities do not expose children or communities to additional protection risks.
