Summary
The child protection team leads Save the Children’s efforts across a range of issues relating to children in adversity including programs for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and children without appropriate care (CWAC), combating child labor and stopping violence against children. We support work across the continuum of development and humanitarian contexts.
The OVC Senior Specialist will provide high level technical support for S ave the Children’s work in Child Protection, focusing on OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) and children without appropriate care (CWAC) programs. The position will contribute to strategic directions and plans, and develop and maintain key external partnerships with the other SC members, donors, and others to advance and expand our work for children without appropriate care, including children affected by AIDS. S/He will provide comprehensive technical assistance to country offices to develop, implement, improve, and evaluate child protection programs, and contribute to program l earning and innovation. The position will support funding strategy development and implementation and proposal development, including leading on new business development opportunities and prov iding quality technical assistance to programs within the portfolio, especially with USAID and PEPFAR.
Essential Duties, Responsibilities and Impact
Provides input to the strategic and operational plan for their functional area. Develops short term plans and establishes priorities affecting own area. Accountable for achieving results in short term plan. Responsible for setting clear objectives and measures for self and others. Exercise independent judgment and discretion on significant matters related to functional area. Objectives and milestones are determined jointly by employee and supervisor and implemented with management support. Functional based policy and practices exist. Incumbent is provided with the “what”, but is most likely to determine the “how.” Provides information to their Manager or to other Senior Managers so that they can make accurate decisions. Builds effective relationships with peers and managers. Relates well to all kinds of people.
T echnical Leadership and Quality Programming (50%)
- Provide advanced technical assistance to country offices in formulating child protection -related programs and country strategies, including large scale Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and systems strengthening programs focus ed on child protection.
- Support Country offices in developing programmatic strategies to support children affected by HIV/AIDS or without appropriate care;
- Develop technical proposal approaches suit able for USG and private donors, including capacity building of staff at the field level.
- Oversee technical output of current OVC and Children without Appropriate Care portfolio.
- Recommend and lead implementation of new technical inputs to improve project outcomes for children and their communities.
*R**esource Mobilization (25%)*
- Lead the design long -term funding strategies for child protection programming priorities, especially with PEPFAR and OVC programming
- Establish/maintain new/existing relationships with key donors (headquarters and regional/country level) and relevant SC colleagues.
- Contribute to agency knowledge and decision -making concerning pursuit of funding opportunities.
- Oversee the technical development and submission of quality proposals and business opportunities.
Program Learning and Innovation (15%)
- Document successful approaches in OVC programs, child protection and systems strengthening, and recommend how to incorporate across current portfolio and incorporate into new projects.
- Monitor new developments in areas of technical specialization as prioritized by the department and seek funding opportunities to scale up be st practices.
- Identify be st practices from field programs, test/evaluate/help to document them, and promote uptake more widely among partners and program community including identifying key resource.
- Participate in efforts to secure resources and identify potential partnerships to support learning and innovation.
Global Program Strategy and Market Position (10%)
- Contribute to vision and goals for SC’s global Child Protection portfolio, liaising with other program colleagues, other departments, and country offices.
- Represent S ave the Children to external audiences and networks, especially those prioritized by the department, and play key role in linking with USG opportunities.
Required Background and Experience, Skills and Behaviors
Professional Level of Technical or Managerial knowledge, skills, and experience to manage the operational activities of a Unit or Team, or provide the technical and management support related to various size programs, grants or projects.
Background and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required in relevant field.
- 5-9 years field -based technical experience in working on child protection program s in development setting s, including orphans and vulnerable children programming, quality improvement, social welfare and child protection systems strengthening, early childhood development and other related fields.
- Experience, implementing and evaluating child protection/ OVC programs with children, youth, and families in difficult circumstances or who are without appropriate car e. Experience designing OVC and Children without Appropriate Care programming a plus.
- Experience in program design, proposal development, and reporting for bilateral donors and private foundations, especially USAID and PEPFAR.
- Experience in identifying, supporting, implementing the transfer of ideas and approaches from one context to another and advancing innovation in the field of child protection.
- Experience in working with communities and partners to facilitate ownership.
Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviors
- Ex cellent writing and communication skills in English essential.
- Demonstrated knowledge in child protection program s
- Ability to analyze situations and offer solutions as well as generate creative recommendations
- Ability and willingness to travel up to 40% of time, often to complex and fragile environments.
- Demonstrates SC core values.
- Uses interpersonal styles to gain acceptance of ideas or plans, modifies behavior to accommodate tasks, situations, and individuals involved.
- Able to give effective presentations to groups and individuals.
- Works well with others and facilitates collaboration and trust. Ability to build/ contribute to effective partnerships.
- Able to establish course of action for self and ensure that work is completed efficiently and effectively.
- Actively identifies area for learning, creates and takes advantage of learning opportunities, uses newly gained skill and knowledge appropriately on the job.
- Ability to manage a changing workload including accountability for providing costed technical support to a portfolio of awards
- Proven ability to motivate others and build and maintain good working relationships with others
- French language skills strongly desired
Employment Type – Regular/ Full-Time
Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we are dedicated to ensuring every child has the best chance for success. Our pioneering programs give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Our advocacy efforts provide a voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. As the leading expert on children, we inspire and achieve lasting impact for millions of the world’s most vulnerable girls and boys. By transforming children’s lives now, we change the course of their future and ours.
Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom Save the Children is in contact. As a humanitarian agency, Save the Children is obliged to create and maintain an environment that aims to prevent the sexual exploitation and abuse of children and promote the implementation of its child safeguarding policy. All representatives of Save the Children – employees, volunteers, interns, consultants, Board members and others who work with children on Save the Children’s behalf – are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.
Save the Children provides an attractive benefits package including competitive salaries, a matching retirement plan, health and welfare benefits, life insurance, an employee assistance program, generous time off and much more. We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.
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