Child Centred Social Protection and Cash & Market TA At Save the Children

TITLE: Child Centred Social Protection and Cash & Market TA

**TEAM/PROGRAMME:**Programme Development & Quality

LOCATION: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

GRADE: International 4

CONTRACT LENGTH: 24 months

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work with country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Child Centred Social Protection and Cash & Market TA will use their in-depth contextual understanding, technical expertise, and relationship building skills to define and deliver our strategic ambition for Child Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP) and Cash & Market-based Programming in Burkina Faso. The role will lead strategy development and the technical design and implementation of high quality programmes that deliver change for children in non-humanitarian settings but also in humanitarian contexts as well where there is scope to establish or strengthen social protection. The TA will ensure that programming is of excellent technical quality, informed by global and internal best practice, and contributes significantly to Save the Children’s strategic objectives, national/global learning and advocacy. The role supports national advocacy and influencing, while driving strategic partnerships for new business development.

The post holder will also inform the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems to demonstrate impact on child outcomes, while sharing learning across our programmes, teams and partners. The role will work closely with operations colleagues and with partners in Burkina Faso building their capacity in relation to CSSP and cash & markets and building ownership, agency and engagement of local organisations.

The role will provide technical advice in the design and implementation of social protection and cash & market programming, whether it is through pilots to inform government programmes or by providing direct technical assistance to governments on strengthening their existing programmes. This role includes a focus on external representation on priority issues including improving coverage and impacts for children through social protection systems, with a view towards supporting progressive realization of Universal Child Benefits, as well as nutrition-sensitive and shock responsive social protection, and poverty graduation discussions, among others. In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Programme Quality & Development Director

Staff reporting to this post: No direct reports but expected to provide coaching and mentoring support to operational and other technical colleagues and local partners

Budget Responsibilities: None

Role Dimensions: The role is expected to foster relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including Save the Children members, the Country Office Programme Development & Quality team, advocacy colleagues, Regional Advisors, technical counterparts in other organisation, donors, academia, etc. The role is also expected to engage with internal technical working groups and communities of practice.

Context : Humanitarian and development

Scope: Burkina Faso

Primary Technical area: Child Poverty

Primary Sub technical area: Child-sensitive Social Protection, Market-based programming for child outcomes / Shock-responsive social protection

Annual Salary Level : $50,000 – $58,000 (offer will be based on experience/internal equity and financial ability).

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY :

A) Technical Leadership:

Provide technical leadership for child-sensitive social protection and cash & market-based programming for the Country Office, and set the strategic approach in relation to the wider country strategy.
Build capacity of national staff and partners in key technical approaches related to child sensitive social protection and cash & market-based programming.

B) Ensuring Programme Quality (Design & Implementation):

Work closely with new business development colleagues to identify and pursue funding opportunities; engage with technical partners, donors and colleagues across Save the Children
Lead the technical scoping, planning, and design and proposal writing during new programme development, and ensure that we design and deliver high quality child-sensitive social protection programmes for children, building on global best practice. Ensure that gender, disability and resilience considerations are reflected in our programme design and implementation.
Work with Child Rights Governance colleagues to ensure that a rights based approach is reflected in our programme design and implementation (in line with ourchild rights programming approach), with a strong focus on child participation
Promote a Systems Strengthening approach as the overarching framework, that supports working in collaboration and partnership with governments and local partners, and working towards impact, scale and sustainability.
Provide oversight and guidance to the programme implementation teams to ensure that thematic programme components are technically sound, implementation methods are consistent with national strategies, acknowledged best practice (e.g. Save the Children Common Approaches and global evidence); and are likely to achieve scale, as well as equitable and sustainable results.
Work with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) teams to carry out gender and power analysis, and conduct quality monitoring against international standards through participatory methodologies that promote gender equality and social justice (including child-friendly and gender sensitive/transformative methodologies);.
Undertake field visits to project sites; work with implementation teams to understand impacts, operational challenges, and continuously identify opportunities for learning and improvement
Contribute to organisational learning on child-sensitive social protection, ensuring that learning from our programmes is shared across the Country Office and our partners, as well as with colleagues in the wider regional and global social protection community in Save the Children. This will include learning around the delivery of “plus” activities for nutrition, education, protection outcomes, gender sensitive and disability inclusive social protection, as well as around shock responsive social protection.
Support Humanitarian colleagues (as needed) to develop emergency preparedness plans, and conduct sectoral assessments (including gender analysis and disability situation analysis, using SC assessment processes and tools) and to design and deliver emergency response and recovery programmes. Ensure synergies between our work on social protection (involving government programmes and systems) and that of our colleagues working with humanitarian cash and voucher assistance teams, data and programme design.

C) Networking & External Engagement:

In alignment with Country Office strategy and leadership, engage in strategic positioning with donors, partners and government in-country, and ensure that Save the Children is a partner of choice in child-sensitive social protection and cash & markets.
Ensure that Save the Children is influencing and learning from others (especially UNICEF, ILO, WFP, WB and others) through national technical coordination and networking bodies such national and subnational working groups, clusters, etc.
Strengthen civil society engagement in national dialogues and policy processes through working closely with advocacy and child rights governance colleagues. Ensure that the diverse voices of children, girls and boys are equitably heard and represented across thematic advocacy work.
Represent Save the Children’s work to National and Local government representatives, donors, partner agencies, etc. as required.
Ensure the quality, clarity and consistency of technical components of internal and external reports (e.g. programme reports, sit-reps, internal updates), working closely with awards, programme implementation and communications colleagues as needed.
Leverage and liaise with technical colleagues from across Save the Children, including technical working groups and centres of excellence, ensuring that learning from the Country Office is shared with others and global lessons brought back.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master’s degree in Economics, Social Protection, Social Policy International Development, Public Administration, Agriculture and Food Security, or equivalent experience.
Certified CaLP trainer (preferable)

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

At least 5 years’ experience in social protection policy, research and programmes, including design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation related to social protection.
At least 5 years’ experience of working internationally in Cash & Voucher Assistance in emergency and development settings, for a broad range of institutional donors and sectors (beyond Food Security & Livelihoods)
Understanding of the social protection sector of Cash & Voucher Assistance in Burkina Faso
Demonstrated understanding and experience of using and analysing life-cycle and rights based approach to social protection and how it contributes to outcomes for children.
Ability to analyse complex data in relation to social protection and poverty.
Experience with complementary/cash “plus” approaches to social protection to improve impact on children. Ideally experience with shock-responsive/adaptive social protection, and/or graduation programming would be an advantage.
Management experience of operational aspects of cash and voucher interventions
Experience in the introduction of internal controls systems to support cash and vouchers delivery in the areas of financial management, logistics, security and programme delivery
Demonstrable understanding of M&E, beneficiary accountability, and learning
Experience in the application of methodologies to calculate cash/voucher amounts for sectoral outcomes (e.g. cost of the diet) as well as for multi-purpose cash transfers; experience in conducting feasibility and risk analysis for cash & voucher assistance
Familiar with Sphere Standards (2018)
Demonstrated experience in successful programme design, monitoring and evaluation skills, including designing pathways to sustainable impact at scale.
Experience of strategy development and planning
Experience of context, capacity and policy analysis, and influencing and advocacy at national level in order to hold duty bearers to account to children’s right to social protection.
Skilled at networking, representation and partnership development in order promote learning, strengthen civil society and mobilise resources.
Able to generate and use data and evidence to innovate, deliver, learn and share what works and what doesn’t work for children
Experience of promoting quality and impact through at least one cross-cutting area: gender equality and inclusion, adaptive and safer programming; child rights; disability; migration and displacement.
Experience of supporting humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery
Significant experience in training, capacity building, and mentoring
Fluent in spoken and high level writing skills in French and English.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Technical competencies:

Demonstrates understanding of/ Trains and advises others on the life-cycle and rights based approach to social protection and how it contributes to outcomes for children
Identifies strategic CSSP programme and advocacy opportunities based on analysis of government policy and schemes
Champions increased investment in, and development and improvement of, CSSP and emergency CVA policy and practice
Leads operational feasibility and other assessments to inform cash & voucher assistance go/no-go decisions
Champions preparedness and capacity building for cash & market-based programming across sectors
Trains and advises others on Standard Operating Procedures and best practices related to the set-up and implementation of cash & voucher assistance
Works with thematic experts on the design of sector-specific (e.g. WaSH, Nutrition, Health, Education, Child Protection, and FSL) and cross-sectoral programmes using cash & voucher assistance and a market lens including MEAL frameworks to measure impact on desired child outcomes
Promotes location and use of early warning information to plan for and trigger early CVA and market-based action; Aligns humanitarian CVA programmes design with existing social protection programmes

Generic Competencies

Being the Voice of Children: Promotes evidence-based policy and public engagement that includes the voices of children and their communities
Advancing Equality & Inclusion: Displays a commitment to ensuring everything we do considers the most deprived and marginalised children
Building & Strengthening Partnerships: Promotes working with diverse partners as critical to delivery
Child Rights: Promotes the rights of children in own work and in work with colleagues and peers