Protection Manager / Officer

Chemonics seeks a Protection Manager / Officer for the ongoing FCDO Manahel project under the Syria Education programme (SEP). The project aims to provide children living in northwest Syria with safe, inclusive, and quality education that meets their specialized learning, psychosocial, and protection needs. The Protection Manager / Officer will work closely with the Programme team to ensure the integration and streamlining of child protection principles as part of the Manahel education quality interventions. This position will be based in Gaziantep, Turkey. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Background :

More than 2 million Syrian children are out of school, and more are at risk of dropping out; more than 90 percent of Grade 3 children are not reading at grade level, and numeracy rates are similarly low. Nearly 6 million Syrian children need educational assistance. Helping communities, education authorities, and other service providers determine what quality and relevant education entails, and how to monitor and evaluate key learning outcomes, is a challenge in non-regime-controlled areas. Moreover, rebuilding and operating successful education systems is an ongoing and long-term challenge. While maintaining a humanitarian dimension to the education response, in opposition areas, a strategic shift is occurring toward a longer-term approach toward quality learning outcomes. This requires continued strengthening of systems and policy promotion frameworks. It also requires deliberate and specific planning to scale up access and adopt a strong focus on quality, inclusion, equity, and child protection.

Manahel will focus on establishing strong, measurable results that maximize the programme’s resources. To do this, the programme is designed to realize cross-cutting outcomes that lead to 300,000 children (50 percent girls) including those marginalized gaining access to safe and inclusive education, and up to 50 percent of children achieving basic learning outcomes. Those four outcomes are : Access, Quality, Psychosocial, and Capacity.

Position description :

The Protection Manager / Officer will be part of the Manahel Programme team who will develop, design, and plan Manahel’s integrated interventions to enhance access and quality of education for all children. S / he will identify, develop, and monitor the implementation of Manahel’s psychosocial and inclusive education training modules to strengthen psychosocial support and improve the learning environment as well as the protection and psychosocial well-being of learners, teachers, and other education personnel.

The Protection Manager / Officer will adhere to and act in accordance with Chemonics’ and ISD’s professional code of ethics, “Living Our Values,” and will make the principles of the code a part of the programme’s culture and operating procedures. S / he will uphold Manahel’s safeguarding standards at all times and will promote a safeguarding culture among partners, beneficiaries, and staff. S / he will also foster and maintain good relationships with potential and actual grantees, will disclose any affiliations that could be perceived as a conflict of interest, and will maintain confidentiality regarding program activities.

Responsibilities include :

• Contribute to the development of Manahel’s psychosocial and inclusive education training modules to strengthen psychosocial support and inclusion in the learning environment as well as the protection and psychosocial well-being of learners, teachers and other education personnel
• Work closely with Manahel’s Programme team to develop and plan an integrated approach to deliver Manahel’s protection interventions in all provinces targeted by Manahel
• Liaise with education actors to facilitate the integration of child protection practices and protocols at both school and directorate levels
• Supports the scale-up of complaints mechanisms and a child protection allegation reporting system
• Assist with arrangements for PSS / Inclusion conferences for stakeholders and beneficiaries
• Ensures the technical quality of the design and delivery of psychosocial training modules, continually incorporating feedback from the field and MEL activities
• Oversee the technical implementation of the training modules by local partner(s) or staff
• Work closely with the MEL team to develop monitoring and evaluation tools and plans related to child protection interventions
• Actively contribute to the project’s strategic analysis to ensure alignment of programme objectives with the evolving conflict, political and security situation in Syria
• Contribute to a wide range of project communication products, leveraging the full spectrum of available programmatic and researched-based data to create, in coordination with the programme team and FCDO products that demonstrate the programme’s strategy, impact, presence and preparedness for rapid risk mitigation
• Supervise the protection team at the field level, build their capacities and provide technical support to ensure the quality of implementation of the work plan
• Hold regular meetings with the partner CP focal points to ensure proper and timely implementation
• Act as the main focal point for Safeguarding reporting, orientation and capacity building for relevant staff
• Produce draft monthly and Quarterly reports with high quality in a timely manner
• Support in the lessons learned session and follow up on the action points
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor

Qualifications :

Period of Performance :

The assignment is long-term through the life of the programme.

Location of the assignment :

The assignment will be conducted in Gaziantep with intermittent travel.

Supervision and reporting :

The Protection Manager / Officer will report to Manahel’s Programme lead / Technical Director.