Child Safeguarding Incident Management Officer

Key performance areas and main responsibilities:

A) Reporting  child safeguarding concerns and child safeguarding incidents in SOS Children’s villages Lebanon

• Responsible to report any CS suspicion, concern, allegation or incident immediately, following Child Safeguarding reporting procedures. CS reports should be made to the National Child Safeguarding advisor and/or to the respective line manager. 

• Responsible to register all Child Safeguarding concerns and complaints in the programme immediately following Child Safeguarding reporting procedures (within 24 hours) and inform National CS advisor accordingly.
• Ensure principles of objectivity and confidentiality when dealing with reported CS inicdents.
• Disclose any conflict of interest related to the reported child safeguarding incident to the National CS advisor.
• Ensure the availability of diverse reporting channels in programme and accessibility of children and adults to those channels.
• Proactively identify victims/survivors of past abuse.
• Prepare monthly written status reports on incidents registered in CS register to the National Child Safeguarding Advisor.

B) Responding to all the reported CS concerns and incidents in the program

• Ensure that responding measures start within 48 hours after registration in the CS register.
• Conduct incident assessment and develope an incident management plan.
• Ensure that management decisions are obtained throughout an incident management process.
• Commit to confidentiality and the information-sharing protocol.

• Develop individual support plans for the survivors/victims based in coordination with local Care Team on the outcomes of the assessment, ensure that the victim's needs are met in a timely manner, and follow up on the implementation of the individual support plans. 
• Ensure management and maintenance of all the documents related to the incident.
• Ensure proper closing of the cases supported by the management sign off and closure notice.
• Document lesson learned as per the incident management findings.
• In consultation with the IOR CS focal person, decide which level of organization if escalation of the incident is required due to potential conflict of interest or other criteria for GSC involvement.
• Follow up on the progress of support plans for all victims/survivors.
• Submit a written recommendation to the designated manager on disciplinary actions to be applied to the confirmed perpetrators.
• Follow up with the designated manager on decisions taken on recommended disciplinary actions in order to update incident management documentation accordingly.

C) Raising awareness of the SOS Child Safeguarding Policy and principles:

In coordination with the National Child Safeguarding Advisor:

•           Conduct trainings and awareness-raising sessions on SOS’s Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct for the children and young people in care and out of care.

•           Advocate for Child Rights, the Child’s Best Interest Principle, Child Safeguarding Policy and the SOS Care Promises. 

•           Ensure a child abuse-free environment for the SOS children,young people   inside and outside the village in addition of former beneficiaries as well. 

•           In coordination with other staff in the programs, the SCO is responsible to prevent and protect children from all forms of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, and negligent).

D) Preventing and mitigating possible CS risks for children

•           Contribute to annual self-assessment in coordination with the National Child Safeguarding advisor based on learnings from CS incident management process.

•           Contribute to conducting annual program risk assessment and defining and following up on mitigation actions.

•           Provide support to the National CS advisor in defining priorities in the area of Child Safeguarding and developing an action plan. 

•           Coordinate with program staff and the National Child Safeguarding advisor to assess CS risks for new activities conducted in the program based on learnings from CS incident management process.

•           Support the National Child Safeguarding Advisor in conducting Child Safeguarding audits and other relevant activities with the children and staff.