The Organisation
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances childrenโs rights and equality for girls. Plan has gained vast experience since 1937 when it was established, and it works in more than 75 countries across the world. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters, partners and host governments. Our work supports marginalised children and youth, especially adolescent girls, to grow up physically and mentally healthy and ready to shape their future. We create an enabling environment and empower girls to be active drivers of change in realising their rights. Plan International has been working in Malawi since 1994 in 14 districts, and its current strategy aims to reach 3.5 million adolescent girls and young women between 2022-2027 through different interventions.
ROLE PURPOSE
This role exists to provide technical and operational support to implement, coordinate, and monitor interventions for safeguarding children and programme participants and for AAP. They will work with Programme Area Focal Points who will take full responsibility for supporting safeguarding issues of children and young people in their Programme areas within projects and support operations. They will lead on approaches and adherence to requirements for all staff and associates to respect childrenโs and programme participants' rights to be protected from harm, and to provide a safe and protective environment when they are involved in any programmes, projects, or events. They will also ensure views, preferences and priorities of affected populations are incorporated into humanitarian response plans and all stages of project cycles.
DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE
The position reports to the MERL Manager with strong accountabilities to the Country Director due to the sensitivities of safeguarding issues should they arise, they gave no direct report, however, they will lead at least 3 Safeguarding Focal Point Persons across programme area offices. They do not have delegated financial and will work closely with the entire Country Leadership Team (CLT) and the Global Safeguarding & PSHEA team.
Accountabilities
1. Safeguarding Leadership &Operations
- Support the leadership team to create environment that demonstrates high commitment to safeguarding children ad project participants
- Support CLT in developing measures and support implementation of procedures
- Facilitate the process to develop internal promotion and socialisation of the policy and management standards among staff, associates, and partners
- Lead in annual reviews of implementation and adherence to management safeguarding standards and make recommendation for remedial actions
- Support People & Culture in ensuring recruitment processes minimise risk of engaging candidates that are unsuitable to work with children, young people and communities
2. Case Management.
- Provide support to ensure a strong child friendly feedback mechanism is in place and meets the needs of children and project participants
- Ensure that vetted referral pathways (internal and external) are included in the CFFM
- Participate and/or facilitate incident reporting, investigations, and case closure, ensuring that responses to incidents are survivor-centred and prioritise the best interests of the child, young person, or adult project participant
- Compile regular reports and analyse trends from evidence-based learning over time to ensure the CLT gleans lessons and strengthens safeguarding and AAP
3. Programming and Influencing
- Participate in proposal development to ensure safeguarding and AAP activities are incorporated with clear deliverables, indicators, timeframes, and adequate budgets
- Facilitate strategy development and reviews for use and adherence to safeguarding and AAP tools and standards in all programming, influencing, communications, & media interventions
- Develop quality controls e.g. checklists and field visits to monitor how strong mainstreaming of safeguarding and AAP is across all stages of project cycle management in humanitarian and development work
- Support humanitarian response interventions to ensure highest standards of safeguarding and AAP
- Support project data collection for reviews, evaluations, and annual Plan or donor reporting
4. Capacity Building and External Representation
- Develop local training packages, new staff orientations, and training plans annually
- Lead internal trainings and refresher activities e.g. drop-in-sessions, and maintain regular engagement with staff, partners, and associates
- Conduct due diligence for partners, contractors, and other associates and provide awareness raising on the policy and procedures
- Hold quarterly learning and review meetings for all safeguarding focal point persons and key project staff
- Support the CLT to ensure quality and timely annual self-assessments and reporting
- Prepare and present briefing notes for visitors and during events
- Represent Plan International Malawi in inter-agency safeguarding and AAP groups
- Lead the safeguarding information management within Plan International Malawi
5. Risk Management and Gender Equality & Inclusion
- Support project teams to assess safeguarding risks from planned delivery of activities and events to minimise risks to girls, boys, children and young people in all their diversity