Job Description

About Swiss Church Aid/HEKS-EPER

Swiss Church Aid/HEKS is the aid organization of the Protestant Churches of Switzerland and has its headquarters in Zurich/Switzerland. Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS works towards a more humane and more equitable world, assisting people and communities to overcome economic, social or humanitarian disparities in order to gain autonomy and to live with dignity both in Switzerland and abroad. Therefore, Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS engage in development cooperation, humanitarian aid and church cooperation and works in more than 30 countries and runs around 200 projects world-wide. Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS is a member of the ACT Alliance.

In Ethiopia, Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS has country programmes with focus on Natural Resource Management, WASH, and Inclusive Markets for Smallholder Pastoralists & Farmers and Humanitarian Assistance for drought and conflict affected communities. Swiss Church Aid/HEKS Ethiopia is looking for qualified and committed Protection Officer for its integrated emergency responses project in Guji zone of Oromia region.

Job Description

Key areas of responsibilities are:

•       Responsible for overseeing implementation of protection activities according to work plan and allocated budget in accordance with protection standards.

•       Support establishment/strengthening of locally appropriate Women and Girl Friendly Spaces (WGFS) at target IDP sites to create a safe place where women and girls are supported through processes of empowerment, based on context and needs of community.

•        Supervise and support Community Protection workers to ensure that WGFS are managed properly.

•       With support of Community protection workers, provide activities and services at WGFS such as psychosocial support (support groups, individual counseling etc.), based on context and needs of community.

•      With support of Community protection workers, establish and support Committee responsible for PSEAH case management and referral in their localities etc.

•       Support the Committee in individual GBV case management process including identification, documentation and referrals.

•        Provide specific services (help desk) in each WGFS on a weekly basis.

•       Follow all protection guidelines and SoPs, including appropriate tools based on the job responsibilities, and provide regular feedbacks.

•        Ensure the adherence to ethical data collection and data protection and data sharing protocols throughout protection activities.

•        Support provision of regular updates on project implementation, including weekly reports, monthly PIM products, and M&E reporting, including early identification of any challenges or barriers to implementation.

•         Conduct daily/weekly protection monitoring through standard checklists and tools and prepare and submit periodic reports to supervisor.

•         Collect, verify, and analyze protection monitoring information in order to identify violations of rights and protection threats and risks encountered by IDPs, returnees and host communities.

•         Establish and maintain coordination with a governmental focal point in target woredas with IDP populations, including host communities e.g Women and child affairs, Busa Gonofa and  Woreda administration.

•         Familiarize with existing referral pathways or where necessary establish referral pathways in the woredas of operation and refer identified cases in need of protection response.

•        In accordance with HEKS/EPER Ethiopia’s policies support orientation on complaints and feedback mechanism (accountability to affected populations).

•         Register and/or collect any community feedback (complaint, suggestion etc.) from the community protection workers and report it to focal person.

•          Ensure availability and proper functioning of safe and reliable complaint mechanisms for safeguarding, SEA and program-related complaints.

•        Organize trainings on PSEA and GBV for woreda and kebele level officials as well as other key stakeholders in the woreda of operation.

•         Initiate, attend, and conduct local level protection cluster meetings.

•         Ensure that each component of the project is interlinked and comprehensively covered.

•        Participate/Support in planning, implementation and MEL activities of the project under protection interventions.

•        Maintain proper record keeping of the project activities during the implementation of the project at field office.

•         Develop and maintain relationships with relevant stakeholders and represent HEKS at various meetings such as at woreda, zone levels.

•         Ensure adequate consultation and participation of woreda and kebele level stakeholders throughout the project cycles such as in project planning, implementation and monitoring of the activities.

•        Support M&E activities including beneficiary verification/validation activity, compliant data collection, interviews, PDMs, etc.

•        Support documentation of best practices and learning of integrated emergency responses   

•       Ensure that all HEKS accountability procedures and tools are applied correctly at all stages of the implementation of interventions.

•        Represent HEKS in multi-agency needs assessment and coordination meetings.

Job Requirements

Education, Qualifications & other knowledge

•        BA degree in psychology, counseling, sociology, or social work from a recognized institution.

•          Demonstrated technical expertise in protection monitoring and responses for IDPs, and host communities.

•          Experience in working with women, children, specific needs groups and case management programs.

•          Expertise in Psychosocial support, child protection & GBV protection principles desirable.

•         A minimum of 3 years working experience in NGO in the area of emergency projects focusing on Protection response

•          Proven record of community engagement and consultation, such as assessments, training, workshops, or awareness sessions

•          Technical understanding of core protection concepts, prevention and response strategies in line with best practices and ethical data collection and data protection protocols.

•          Experience in identifying and responding to needs of particularly vulnerable individuals of people of concern based on protection risks, age, gender, and diversity analysis, and/ or other criteria.

•          Experience and understanding of pastoral areas, context, livelihoods, and culture.

•          Experience of working with IDPs, hosts communities in low land woreda of Guji zone desirable

•         Willingness to works in remote and volatile security contexts, ability to work with minimum supervision.

•        Very good English and Afan Oromo language skills (written and spoken)

•         Full proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word and Excel; proficiency in Kobo and other data collection/analysis tools desirable.

•        Strong sense of integrity and personal commitment to the goals and values of Swiss Church Aid/HEKS

How to Apply

Register using this LINK

Deadline for application: March 05, 2023

Mention current and expected basic salary in your application letter. Your application will not be reviewed if you fail to do so.

Only short-listed applications will be contacted. No phone calls are allowed!

Qualified Female applicants are encouraged to apply.