Project Coordinator - Child Protection

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has been running community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they emerged. Recently, Mercy Corps’ portfolio has expanded in response to the refugee influx from Syria, including grants from UNICEF, UNHCR, European Commission, Canadian and American governments, and private foundations. Humanitarian response and resilience programming will be an increasing focus of the Protection Sector portfolio in Lebanon.   CONTEXT As the Syrian conflict persists, instability and insecurity continue to impact the daily lives of boys, girls, adolescents and their caregivers in Lebanon, exposing them increasingly to protection violations. Tensions between refugees and host communities are worsening, with children emulating the discriminatory attitudes they witness. This is exacerbated by a lack of services and resources, as well as perceptions of unequal support for increasingly vulnerable host communities. Child protection actors are working to provide protective environments for all children in Lebanon. However, as needs are increasing, funding is decreasing and is mostly short term. The deteriorating socio-economic situation of many refugees and vulnerable Lebanese, coupled with limited livelihoods opportunities and limited access to education, has contributed to families using negative coping mechanisms, such as child labour and child marriage. Breakdown of protection community mechanisms also place children and caregivers at greater risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse. Greater focus is required on prevention and mitigating the impact of the crisis on women, boys and girls by continuing to strengthen and improve quality of psychosocial services (PSS), case management and access to specialized services. Services need to be made available for all children regardless of their nationalities. Working with children caregivers, families and communities at large is crucial to complement the support to institutions. Both system building and community based approaches are key to create a protective environment for children and to build resilience.   GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY The Project Coordinator will leads Mercy Corps’ Child and Youth Protection (CYP) field programme in Mount Lebanon and is responsible for high quality and timely program implementation and support in accordance with the MOSA National Plan and MC strategic direction and FY17 key priorities. S/he will provide leadership, management and supervision of field-based CYP project staff, volunteers and affiliates, ensure effective support to and coordination with local partners, and oversee financial and project reporting.   ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS Oversee the day-to-day implementation of the CYP program in Mount Lebanon, including effective supervision of the child protection team to timely and effectively implement and monitor work plans accounting for key deliverables outlined in the UNICEF-Mercy Corps PCA logframe; Develop a capacity building plan for the local partners in the child protection program. Manage the budget of the local partners, monthly monitoring of expenditures, share updates and reports with the Program Manager. Deliver sessions for the partners on budget management, reporting and communication skills. Monthly meetings with the SDC directors in Mount Lebanon area. Supervise the field coordinator and the capacity building officers of Mount Lebanon area. Support the field team to establish child protection committees share ideas and suggestions. Support the program manager to create referral mechanism path way for Mount Lebanon area. Attend monthly meetings with UNICEF and MOSA. Coordinate with M&E team to insure that the target is on truck and solve any issues with partners in terms of data entry. Provide operational support to the field coordinator to systematically strengthen capacities of select SDC and local partners to protect children from all forms of violence; Strengthen community-based and informal service delivery mechanisms that prevent, mitigate risks and respond to a wide range of child protection issues, with well-defined linkages to Social Development Centers and other relevant entities; Liaise with UNICEF and UNHCR on a regular basis to provide program updates and coordinate actions; Promote synergies between Mercy Corps’ child protection, adolescents, GBV, protection and other sector programming to generate and implement integrated solutions; Represent Mercy Corps child and youth protection efforts with local government authorities, community actors, IGOs/NGOs, interagency working groups in the field site;  Ensure proper financial, procurement and control mechanisms are in place and adhered to in line with MC’s finance and procurement policies;   Organizational Learning  As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.   Accountability to Beneficiaries Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.   SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Child Protection Capacity Building Officer and 10 Outreach Volunteers based in Mays el Jabal ACCOUNTABILITY: Reports directly to:  Child and Youth Protection Program Manager Works directly with:  Operations, Finance, Program, and M&E Teams   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE 5 years of progressive experience and proven high level of competence working in child protection-related programs, ideally in relief and/or post-conflict settings. Solid understanding of child protection and experience with local systems strengthening and community-based protection.    Good understanding of the linkages and intersections between child protection and social welfare, justice, education and health, with ability to advise and implement strategies that promote coordination between sectors. Ability to lead team to successfully implement community-based child protection programming focused on psycho-social support. Specialized background in gender, child protection, and minority rights and other vulnerable groups preferred. Knowledge of Lebanon, in particular its displacement context and protection threats relevant to internal conflict preferred. Strong knowledge of international humanitarian and human rights laws preferred. Proven track record in leading and managing diverse teams. Strong leadership, coordination and communication skills. Proficiency in English essential Arabic competitive advantage   SUCCESS FACTORS A successful candidate will have the ability to work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly fluid work and security environment with a capacity to spark innovative approaches to programming and inspire groups to collaborate closely to implement high-quality programs. S/he will have proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results based on programmatic needs. Knowledge of security standards, equipment, precautionary measures, communication protocols, various unstable conditions and familiarity with Child Protection Systems strengthening approaches, Sphere Project’s Humanitarian Charter and Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Pyramid are essential, as is an ability to work independently and as part of a team, with curiosity about and sensitivity to new cultures, a desire and ability to learn and grow, both personally and professionally, and a great sense of humor.