Safeguarding & Protection Officer

Job Description

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future. Mercy Corps has been operating in Nepal since 2005, implementing programs in food security, agriculture, market development, financial services, girl’s education, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. We take a systems-based approach in our programming, with the aim of improving the lives and potential of vulnerable individuals and communities across Nepal.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has launched a new program to enhance food and nutrition security, reduce future humanitarian caseload and improve the resilience of communities to recurrent shocks in the Karnali Province in Nepal. The program will be a Multi-Year Emergency Food Security Activity funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs, and implemented in 6 districts (Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Surkhet, Achham, and Dailekh, with cluster hubs in Surkhet and Jumla) in the Karnali River Basin area. The new program, called “Building Hope Along the Karnali River Basin (Bhakari)”, builds upon many of the successes of the Nepal team’s previous Food for Peace program which ended in January 2020, the PAHAL program, but with some new districts and a much heavier emphasis on emergency response through cash transfer programming. Parallel to the emergency cash programming are emergency-prevention components of agriculture and market systems, disaster risk reduction, water for productive use, natural resources management, and a large emphasis on a gender and social inclusion approach, all with a highly integrated multi-sectoral approach.

General Position Summary

The Safeguarding & Protection Officer will be responsible for promoting safeguarding and protection policies and assist in promoting the prevention of sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation, and abuse (SEA), and also work on protection risk mitigation issues. They will be responsible for facilitating, implementing and monitoring safeguarding and protection related activities targeted to Bhakari program beneficiaries in each thematic sector of the program. They will facilitate capacity building activities for Bhakari Program teams, communities, and Partner’s staff at the district-level on protection standards and safeguarding protocols. They will work under the supervision of the GESI Director and will work closely with GESI Advisors and/or Officers in Program Districts. The Safeguarding & Protection Officer will ensure to apply GESI First Approach to all safeguarding, and protection activities.
They will oversees activities to keep children and adults safe from all forms of abuse and exploitation in all work across the implementing districts of Bhakari. The Safeguarding & Protection Officer works with technical teams to reinforce safeguarding awareness, prevention, reporting and investigation. The role holder ensures that adequate procedures and practices are in place and builds capacity of Bhakari staff and ensures compliance and accountability to management and donors.
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This full-time position will support 75% of the time to support Bhakari Program and 25 % of the time to MC country office programs. The Protection & Safeguarding Officer will be required to attend all the required training courses coordinated by the HQ Safeguarding Team.

Essential Job Responsibilities

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Safeguarding & Protection Officer include, but are not limited to, the following:

Protection & Safeguarding Activities – Design & Implementation

• Provide technical leadership in safeguarding and protection to activities under the Bhakari Program (including cash distributions) and the greater MC portfolio of programs, as required.
• Strengthen Community Feedback and Complaints Mechanisms on safeguarding and raise awareness of these to community members and staff in the program.
• Coordinate the dissemination of safeguarding policies and procedures to the Bhakari Program staff, including those of implementing partners
• Provide checks and balances on all MC’s Communication products to ensure safeguarding protocols are adhered to.
• Work closely with the CARM Officer for Bhakari program to come up with reporting mechanisms on safeguarding & Protection issues.
• Conduct referral mapping for GBV, Safeguarding and mental health, including suicide prevention
• Take overall responsibility in ensuring that safeguarding principles are adhered to in all community participation activities and other program activities, including coming up with tools as required
• Manage cases of poor practice and abuse reported to the organization
• To act as the point of contact for any safeguarding, child and adult protection concerns, providing timely, relevant support and/or referrals
• Ensure safeguarding protocols are observed by visitors to the program area, including other agencies visiting the program.
• Represent the organization in cluster meetings and other external meetings related to safeguarding at National and District Level.
• Play a lead role in maintaining and reviewing the Mercy Corps’ emergency implementation plan for safeguarding and protection of children and adults.
• Prepare monthly reports for submission to the line manager
• Ensure sectors use the necessary Safeguarding systems, approaches and tools to inform and improve each individual program activity, as well as feed into the broader country-level safeguarding system
• Actively participate in meetings to update on implementation of protection and safeguarding standards
• Work with technical managers and cluster coordinators in districts, to prepare integrated work plans, design field specific activities and checklists as required.
• Act as a technical point (safeguarding and protection) for all day-to-day coordination with the partners, following up deadlines, ensuring adherence to donor and Mercy Corps requirements
• Working closely with the GESI Advisors and GESI Officers to implement the community engagement activities, consultation, community training to ensure applying Protection and Safeguarding standards.

Accountability

• Support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of Bkarkari program field activities.
• Working closely with Country office Safeguarding Focal Point, collect and review documentary evidence, help draft reports and provide survivor centered support to survivors and witnesses, if requested.
• Help identify lessons learned from Safeguarding investigations for the agency to consider when revising policies, procedures, and training
• Help build trust and confidence in Mercy Corps’ reporting, investigation and follow up systems and foster a climate where team members feel confident and comfortable coming forward with issues
• Help maintain organized and confidential

Capacity Building

• Design and deliver orientation session integrated into GESI trainings, on Protection & Safeguarding to all Bhakari program teams at the National and District levels
• Conduct sessions with community on MC’s protection and safeguarding interventions

Monitoring & Evaluation and Reporting

• Conduct monitoring and support activities as required for safeguarding and protection.
• Monitor community group activities, trainings, consultation, and other community engagement activities
• Work closely with CARM Officer and M&E teams to ensure child friendly M&E and support to develop Community Accountability Reporting Mechanisms (CARM) and to create accountability to affected populations and prevent all forms of exploitation and abuse.

Representation and Coordination

• Liaise and coordinate with the government agencies/departments, partners, and other I/NGOs at National level and in the districts to represent and collaborate on referral pathways, Protection & Safeguarding mechanisms

Other

• Mercy Corps as a humanitarian agency is expected to respond as and when crisis and humanitarian situation engulfs. As an MC employee all staff are expected to be part of humanitarian and emergency response in addition to their regular roles and responsibilities
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence
• Conduct themselves both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and not to jeopardize its humanitarian mission
• Other duties as assigned by their supervisor and/or Chief of Party

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members and community operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Supervisory Responsibility

N/A

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) Director

Works Directly with: GESI Advisors, GESI Officers, Technical Program Managers and Officers, CARM Officer, Partnership Manager, MEL team at National and the district level, MC Nepal Safeguarding Focal Point

Knowledge and Experience

• At least Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, Sociology/Anthropology/ Social Work or any related discipline.
• Understanding of cultural barriers to women and girls and socially excluded groups in Nepali communities
• Demonstrated experience adapting agency-specific safeguarding content including training, policy, awareness raising and communications tools for use by agency partners
• At least 3 years of experience working with I/NGOs, and/or private sector organizations focused on Protection & Safeguarding in food security, disaster risk management, agriculture & livelihood and humanitarian assistance.
• Experience of organizing events, consultation, and trainings
• Aware of the local contexts of relevant districts
• Experiences working in partnerships, coordination among different stakeholders and organizations at National and district level is required.
• Demonstrated ability to work in complex environments under tight deadlines.
• Experience in developing and conducting training on Protection & Safeguarding Principles, Standards and mechanisms
• Fluency in English and Nepali languages required. Knowledge of other local languages is preferred
• Nepali typing skills highly preferred.
• Willingness to travel extensively between program locations
• Good writing and computer skills, including gathering information directly from the community and from secondary sources to prepare reports and presentations
• Negotiation, networking, coordination and representation skills with key local actors is preferred
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
• Proven ability to learn quickly, facilitate program implementation to achieve stated results and objectives
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office

Success Factors

A successful Protection & Safeguarding Officer will combine understanding of Protection principals and safeguarding approaches and strong technical skills to implement and monitor protection and Safeguarding activities, especially in Food Security and DRR activities. They will have proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, with an ability and willingness to remain mobile for field support and activity monitoring based on programmatic needs. They will have experiences in both community mobilization, sensitization and influencing local government on safeguarding & Protection integration. They will have proven experience with diverse teams and capacity building. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail are essential. The most successful staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

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