Protection Specialist – Ukraine At INTERSOS

INTERSOS is an independent humanitarian organization that assists the victims of natural disasters, armed conflicts and exclusion. Its activities are based on the principles of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equality of rights and opportunities, respect for diversity and coexistence, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people.

Terms of reference

Job Title: Protection Specialist

Code: 60-5426

Duty station: Dnipro, roving across INTERSOS bases

Starting date: 17/04/2023

Contract duration: until the end of the year

Reporting to: Protection Coordinator

Supervision of: n/a

Dependents: non-family duty station

General context of the project

The war broke out in Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, millions of people have spread within the country, raising a big concern on how to manage such an immense flux of people. In order to provide emergency humanitarian relief, INTERSOS has entered Ukraine shortly after the outbreak of the conflict and set up its first emergency response operations.

Currently INTERSOS team in Ukraine consists of 225 staff, operating across 5 bases, covering operational areas of: Lviv, Vinnytsia, Poltava, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Donetsk Oblasts providing protection and medical assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs), their host communities, and life-saving humanitarian assistance to persons in highest needs in frontline and newly accessible areas. INTERSOS is currently implementing Health, Protection, NFIs, and WASH interventions, funded by UNHCR, SV, OCHA, GFFO, UHF, and ECHO encompassing several components: primary health care services (mobile clinics), Cash for Health, mobilization of Protection mobile teams, the establishment of community-based protection mechanisms, case management, including for GBV cases, psychosocial support (PSS), Protection Monitoring (PM), distribution of material assistance to vulnerable individuals and households, and activation of rapid response mechanisms for frontline service provision.

General purpose of the position

In close collaboration with Protection Coordinator, provide technical guidance and capacity building to Protection staff and partner organisations in areas of general protection case management and where relevant, specialized case management (such as GBV and CP) delivered according to internal guidelines and in line with international standards and principles. The Protection Specialist will also actively coordinate with the GBV sub-cluster and works closely with a team of national protection specialists and GBV Case Managers.​

Main responsibilities and tasks

Coordination and support:

• Contribute to the mission protection strategy and provide technical support and assistance to aid quality implementation
• In coordination with the Protection Coordinator/Regional Protection Advisor, support the contextualization and adaptation of global guidelines for Ukraine mission, ensuring that the guidelines are operationalized and that staff are trained in them
• Ensure cohesion and harmonization of protection activities across the different implementation bases within the mission
• Deliver training and workshops to protection staff to build their protection knowledge and skills, including but not limited to protection case management, GBV case management, CP case management
• Support protection mainstreaming in non-protection components of INTERSOS to build their skills and knowledge of protection minimum standards, including prevention of GBV and PSEA
• Support protection information analysis (through ongoing protection activities involving field feedback and assessments, protection monitoring surveys, focus group discussions etc.) to understand protection needs and gaps and formulate recommendations that inform protection strategy and programming
• Support the Protection Coordinator in providing ongoing strategic protection analysis and development of periodic trend reports (including aspects of conflict analysis, gender, and risk management) and lessons from program experience to inform program development, implementation and policy/advocacy work
• Support in ensuring that protection data is collected, stored, archived, processed, analyzed and disseminated in ethical modalities, in line with internal data protection protocols
• Undertake field monitoring visits and provide support tools to monitor the quality of program implementation
• Identify opportunities for new protection interventions in Protection Case Management, GBV, and CP and advise/contribute to project proposals
• Support the Protection Coordinator and MEAL Manager in the development of complaints mechanisms for beneficiaries and make sure complaints are addressed properly
• Support the Protection Coordinator in the follow-up on the implementation of the Child Protection (CP) and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) policies
• Guarantee potential survivors of SEA are interviewed in safety and dignity respecting principles of confidentiality Supervision and Staff Management:
• In coordination with the Protection Coordinator, organize ad hoc meetings with protection staff to share challenges and priorities in related field and develop action plans

Networking and Partnerships:

• Maintain collaborative working relationships with relevant clusters and related working groups at national and/or field level
• In coordination with the Protection Coordinator, ensure that main GBV concerns are brought to relevant stakeholders to advocate for the respect of human rights and minimum protection standards
• Network with GBV Specialists of other missions to share best practices and resources

Required profile and experience

Education

• BA in a relevant field (Social Science, Psychology, Social Work, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, or other fields related to social development and humanitarian work
• Desirable Master’s degree (MA or LLM) in Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law or related subjects

Professional Experience

• 3 years of professional experience working with humanitarian NGO, working in Protection sector, with particular regards to GBV​

Professional Requirements

• Strong theoretical, technical and practical background in protection, GBV, CP
• Reporting skills, experience with monitoring tools and systems, data collection and analysis
• Capacities in developing training program in general protection and GBV

Languages

• Fluency in English (written and spoken) essential
• Knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian (desirable)

Personal Requirements

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and ability to work and integrate in a multicultural team
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage efficiently multiple priorities, deadlines and tasks
• Solid time-management skills, resourcefulness and attention to details
• Diplomatic skills in networking with partners, authorities and donors
• Ability to work under pressure, flexibility
• Problem solver, dynamic, mature, proactive
• Ability to travel to field sites