Child Protection Officer

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.
 

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND 
The IRC established programs in Iraq in 2003 to address the overwhelming needs of displaced people in Iraq and the neighboring countries. Since re-establishing its presence in Iraq in November 2007, the IRC has been assisting thousands of internally displaced families in the northern, central and southern governorates in the sectors of protection, gender-based violence (GBV), education, economic recovery, child Protection and emergency humanitarian assistance. Working in coordination with the humanitarian community in Iraq, the IRC's assistance and emergency programs address the needs of war-affected Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Syrian refugees from several operational bases in the country, and include both camp-based and urban-based assistance. IRC operates throughout Iraq, with the main office in Erbil and field offices in, Baghdad, SAD, Anbar and Mosul. 
 

Job Overview/Summary: 
Under the guidance of the CP Manager and the Senior Child Protection Officer, the Child Protection Officer will support vulnerable children and their families with psychosocial and recreational activities and through supporting the set-up of community-based child protection mechanisms in Anbar both above mentioned locations. 
 

Responsibilities:
Psychosocial Activities

• With support from the Senior Officer and according to detailed work plans deliver psychosocial and recreational activities for children. Activities will be conducted in accordance with the IRC developed activities for children on which the Officer will be trained and supervised.

• With the support of the Senior Officer and according to the detailed work plans the Officer will deliver parenting skills training to parents of vulnerable children. Activities will be conducted with in accordance with the IRC developed training materials in which the officer will be trained and supervised.

• The Officer supervise Child Protection outreach who will support psychosocial activities.

Case Management:

• Where children who are participating in psychosocial activities are identified as being in need of additional case management support the Officer will ensure that appropriate referrals are made to the Child Protection Case Management Focal Point.

• The Officer will collaborate with the Child Protection Mobilisers who will support psychosocial activities to identify and refer vulnerable children and their families to the IRC.

• Community Based Child Protection

• The Officer will support training and capacity building activities to Child Protection Committees and/or Child Protection Outreach Workers.

• The Officer will work with Child Protection Committees and/or Child Protection Outreach Workers to develop and implement their assessments, safety maps and action plans.

• Build the capacity and support the Child Protection Committee in safely identify and refer cases to the Case Management team.

• Documentation, Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation

• Ensure all referrals are tracked are recorded as necessary

• Ensure all activities are documented as required and that the data for every activity is accurately collected and appropriately stored. 

• Provide Senior Officer with input into monitoring and evaluation system on a regular basis.

• S/he will support the Senior Officer with reporting (weekly/monthly/quarterly) on the activities.

Other:

• Collaborate with the Child Protection Senior Officer to ensure that supplies are available for child protection activities in a timely manner and resources are available to support events, training, workshops conducted by outside consultants/experts.

• Provide continuous feedback to the CP Manager and Senior Officer on any challenges in the work implementation to be addressed directly with corrective steps/measures if needed.

• Ensure compliance with IRC policies and protocols of confidentiality, respect and safety.

• Perform other duties, as needed or requested by the supervisor

Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Senior Child Protection Officer / case management senior officer  
Technical Support: CP Manager
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Internal: All staff and departments 
 

Job Requirements/Experience Required: 

• Bachelor degree & 2 years work experience in relevant field. 

• Prior professional experience in a similar post.

• Previous work with children. 

• Arabic & Kurdish language are required. English is an asset. 

• Ability to work independently in a rapidly changing professional environment with a view towards establishing administrative procedures and protocol that will ensure optimal functioning of the Operation.

• Good interpersonal, organizational, and time management skills.

• Ability to maintain the highest degree of discretion.

Working Environment: 
These two positions will be based in Ana child protection community center with regular daily field visit. The position will have access to internet connections, electricity and all other office shared resources.  
Standards of Professional Conduct:  
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.
 

Gender Equality
IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including maternity leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Attention Returning National Candidates:
IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs. We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a national of the country in which this position is based and are currently located outside of your home country and possess over two years of international work experience, IRC has introduced an attractive remuneration package. The package includes competitive compensation, return flight to post, shipping allowance, temporary housing and a relocation allowance. Certain restrictions may apply.