Job Title: Safeguarding and Accountability Advisor

Department: Operations

Division: Quality and Accountability

Duty Station: Juba, South Sudan

Line Manager: Head of Mission

Line Management Responsibility: N/A

Position Type: Full-time

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is a dynamic, international non-governmental organization. We work with people affected by violent conflicts to enhance their security and dignity through Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP). We work to reduce violence, protect civilians in countries affected by violent conflict and its aftermath, and help transform the world’s response to conflict situations.

Overview:

NP has been implementing protection and peace-building projects in South Sudan since 2010. Currently, in South Sudan, NP’s program in South Sudan is comprised of 11 static field teams in six states and one administrative area, providing emergency protection, social cohesion – and violence prevention among communities affected by conflict. NP also operates a mobile response team in Upper Nile and Unity States in response to the April 2023 Sudan crisis.

Job Summary:

The Safeguarding and Accountability Advisor (SAA) will lead efforts to implement and strengthen NP’s safeguarding and accountability approaches across its South Sudan programme (NPSS). The successful candidate will possess technical expertise and understanding related to safeguarding stakeholders, including relevant national and international rules, regulations, and donor requirements concerning safeguarding and accountability. They will translate those standards into day-to-day practices for use by NP staff and build an infrastructure within NPSS to support compliance. The SAA will develop detailed guidance and provide ongoing technical support to field teams and partners across NPSS to strengthen best practices, tools, and implementing strategies for safeguarding and accountability. The scope of work will include ensuring that quality support is provided to persons with protection concerns while working alongside UCP Specialists and Protection Officers, mainly related to case management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and implement strategies to support and guide managers and staff, ensuring that adequate Safeguarding measures are integrated into office operations, processes, and programmes, as outlined by the Safeguarding implementation standards and other core Safeguarding documents.
• Coordinate the implementation of NP’s Safeguarding Policy Implementation standards, ensuring managers know which standards apply to their area of responsibility and facilitating a team of delegate focal points to ensure Safeguarding measures are integrated into activities across all departments.
• Effectively manage an audit programme within NPSS, ensuring compliance with national and international requirements and ensuring that any action plans are fed back to the Global Head of People, Culture, and HR in Geneva Headquarters.
• Undertake clear and robust advocacy on Safeguarding at all levels across the office, acting as an ambassador and role model for Safeguarding implementation at all times. This will involve using appropriate internal platforms and events (e.g. management meetings, staff inductions, etc.) to raise awareness of and increase commitment to the policy.
• Deliver mandatory Safeguarding briefings, inductions and/or workshops to staff, managers and associates, ensuring all know what Safeguarding means for them and how to execute their specific responsibilities under the policy. Deliver ongoing refresher training and induction as necessary.
• Coordinate the annual safeguarding implementation standards self-assessment and incident reporting exercises, providing reports on outcomes and trends to the country management team and Global Head of People, Culture, and HR.
• Be the in-country focal point for “Speak Up”, NP’s formal complaints mechanism for any serious misconduct issues. Ensure that NPSS complies with all aspects of the mechanism to meet donor requirements and our duty of care to the community. Deliver briefings both internally and externally, ensuring that all staff and those we engage with within the community are briefed on the mechanism and know how to use it.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, International Development, Psychology, Sociology, International Law, or equivalent experience in a field related to humanitarian assistance and international development
• Relevant certifications in safeguarding, PSEAH and Investigations
• Demonstrated experience in the application of Safeguarding and Accountability Policies, Protection programming and rights-based approaches to development, with at least five years’ experience in protection and safeguarding programme design and implementation in fragile context settings
• Practical and theoretical expertise in designing and managing protection programmes in at least one of NP’s areas of programme.
• Proven experience responding to and managing sensitive protection / safeguarding matters in a confidential manner.
• Experience developing safeguarding and accountability resource materials, including guidance, tools, and best practices.
• Experience in effectively delivering training, workshops and inductions
• Experience working in fragile settings that have conflict, post-conflict, or transitional state characteristics in an international NGO setting
• Experience in conducting investigations and resolving safeguarding issues
• Experience in designing and managing community-based complaints and feedback mechanisms
• Experience in conducting survivor-centred investigations, identifying and mitigating safeguarding risks.

Key Challenges:

• Building and sustaining collaborative partnerships, negotiating, and resolving contentious issues and conflicts of interest while managing and balancing varied, diverse stakeholder priorities across a geographically dispersed region.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical abilities.
• Ability to work effectively in a team and independently.
• Ability to set priorities, solve problems and analyse data
• Ability to manage information with discretion
• Demonstrable conflict analysis skills, identify entry points and design prevention and protection strategies.

Interpersonal and representational:

• Ability to communicate effectively with individuals, motivate and provide leadership to the team and to work in a multi-cultural environment
• Solutions-focused, creative problem solver
• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities
• Proven ability to build relationships with the full range of actors, including government, chiefs, military, police and non-state actors
• Genuine commitment and interest in living and working at the community level

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Social Work, International Development, Psychology, Sociology, International Law, or equivalent experience in a field related to humanitarian assistance and international development
• Experience working in an NGO or similar organisation.
• Professional investigation qualification from a recognized institution
• Experience conducting complex safeguarding investigations

Working Conditions:

• This field position may include challenging living conditions, limited access to amenities, and potentially unstable security situations.
• You must be prepared to live in basic or non-traditional accommodation, which may include shared housing, camps, or field-based settings.
• Demonstrated ability to adhere to strict security protocols and maintain high level of confidentiality.