Role PURPOSE

Plan International is a rights-based development and humanitarian organisation working for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.  We are independent of government and have no political or religious affiliation.  We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

The position exists to lead on providing technical guidance, tools, and support on programme design and delivery of protection from violence (PfV) of children within Plan International’s portfolio of work.  PfV programming must be in line with the theory of change on protection from all forms of violence, covering: strengthening protective family & community environment; responding to children and adolescents exposed to GBV; and ensuring child protection in emergencies.  The post holder will ensure all work is developed and implemented in ways that improve gender equality and empower girls and women.  Promoting youth engagement and active community participation will be key components.

Dimensions of the Role

The postholder has no financial authority and may supervise specialist positions under Child protection in Emergencies or national project manager roles where they exist.  They will ensure strong linkages with Plan International’s safeguarding, influencing and gender, and technical leads for education, youth employment and entrepreneurship, health and sexual & reproductive rights, and disaster risk management.  The incumbent has functional relationships with Project Managers, MERL and the Business Development Unit.

Accountabilities

Programme and Project Design & Implementation

• Lead the identification of critical factors, risks, gaps and actions necessary for the promotion, protection and respect for protection rights of children and young women in development and humanitarian contexts
• Design a quality programme as part of the country strategy (CS) which aligns with the Global Strategy and national plans and priorities
• Develop a detailed inclusive gender and age friendly strategy, especially for adolescents, that unpacks the CS programme
• Lead programme area staff in designing high quality projects and funding proposals
• Provide technical guidance during implementation of projects to achieve the programme objective in ways that challenge gender norms and harmful practices
• Support the development of age and gender appropriate tools and guidance both for development and emergency contexts
• Strengthen awareness of child protection approaches by Plan International

Ensure a robust understanding of Plan International Sudan’s sponsorship vision, Plan commitments, and support the realisation of strategic alignment with programme priorities

Portfolio Management & Monitoring

• Monitor CS programme objective achievements and project implementation milestones
• Track budget utilisation monthly across the portfolio against annual plans and analyse outputs, achievements, and issues
• Monitor national and global developments and trends on child protection (including updates from UNICEF, UNHCR and UNFPA) to ensure alignment with priorities and plans
• Contribute to movement building with other civil society actors to identify areas for influencing to address issues of girls and adolescents
• Prepare corporate global plans and reports such as quarterly and annual reports which showcase progressive achievements across all programme areas
• Provide technical reviews of all donor project reports under the programme

Capacity Building & Organisational Learning

• Ensure common understanding of the programme by all staff in line with the global programming package
• Identify trainings needs and areas of continuous improvement to strengthen the programme
• Upskill staff, partners and key stakeholders in approaches for quality protection from violence interventions
• Facilitate cross & peer learning with government staff working on violence against children and women, and lead in compiling and sharing best practices
• Lead on the development of lessons learned and supporting cross-organisational learning on successful approaches and interventions
• Maintain the end-to-end knowledge management, from knowledge creation or gathering, to knowledge utilisation and application

Representation, Influencing and Networking

• Engage in relevant Plan International working groups at regional and global level
• Represent Plan International in relevant external fora and interagency working groups, particularly child protection and GBV sub-sector meetings
• Position Plan International Sudan as active member of global Protection Network
• Build strategic relationships with government ministries, UN agencies, and the private sector
• Participate in influencing government duty bearers on policies, national budgets to fulfil the protection rights of children and girls in particular
• Enhance collaboration with local CSO’s and Youth-led organisations

Safeguarding, Risk Management, and Gender Equality & Inclusion

• Ensure gender equality is core to all PfV activities, positioning Plan International as the go-to agency for gender responsive programming with specific attention on adolescent girls
• Ensure integration of safeguarding and PSEA into all PfV work
• Ensure that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant implementation standards and guidelines as applicable to area of responsibility. Including, but not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC); relevance to area of work, and concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures

Identify key programme risks and project-specific risks, and put in place appropriate control measures to manage them

Key relationships

Internally: Works closely with

• Technical leads and Specialists, MERL & Country Sponsorship team
• Safeguarding focal point person and Internal Auditor
• Programme Area Managers
• Influencing and Gender team
• Business Development team

Externally:

• Interagency working groups and coordination fora
• Plan International partners including youth groups
• Ministry of Health & Social Welfare officials

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Technical Expertise

• A recognised Social Work degree or similar welfare or behavioural related degree e.g. sociology
• A Master’s Degree or higher in Child Development, Development Studies or project management is added advantage
• At least 7 years working experience in child protection project and programme implementation
• Demonstrable experience of integrating gender, inclusion, and child friendly approaches
• Demonstrable experience of humanitarian standards (Sphere, CHS etc)
• Experience of developing guidance notes and tools
• Experience with an international organisation
• Proven experience in networking and external representation
• Experience of developing and conducting capacity building programmes

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong knowledge of project management within large grant contexts
• Knowledge of rights-based programming, including programming for adolescent, children’s rights, and child protection
• Extensive knowledge of the protection system in Sudan considered an asset
• Broad knowledge of the humanitarian sector
• Must be fluent in English and Arabic
• Experience in implementing PSEA activities and training
• Creative approach to problem solving is central to the job
• Flexibility to adapt plans to a changing environment
• Skills in developing and maintaining collaborative relationships; managing self under pressure; and motivating and influencing others

Strong communication and negotiation skills

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

We create a climate of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent.  We hold ourselves and others to account for the decisions we make and for our impact on others, while doing what we say we will do.

We strive for lasting impact

We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people, and to secure equality for girls.  We challenge ourselves to be bold, courageous, responsive, focused and innovative.

We work well together

We succeed by working effectively with others, inside and outside the organisation, including our sponsors and donors.  We actively support our colleagues, helping them to achieve their goals.  We come together to create and implement solutions in our teams, across Plan International, with children, girls, young people, communities and our partners.

We are inclusive and empowering

We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge inequality in our programmes and our workplace.  We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.  We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential.

Physical Environment

Based at Sudan’s Country Office with significant in-country travel and periodic international travel

Level of contact with children

Medium, occasional interaction with children