National Child Safeguarding Advisor

Mission of the position:

Under the leadership of National Programme Development Director (NPDD), the National Child Safeguarding (CS) Advisor drives the development and implementation of Child & Youth Safeguarding procedures in the Member Association. S/he takes a leading role in development of reporting and responding procedures in member association. S/he builds CYS capacity in the member association and provides technical expertise to national and programme CS teams in implementation of CYS procedures. S/he ensures cooperation and knowledge exchange between team members.

S/he supports the ND, NPDD, other national functions, and programme management in actions to ensure that children who are directly and indirectly cared for and supported through SOS Children’s Villages Programmes are safe and protected.

As a member of the regional CS network s/he shares good practices and experiences with other MAs and contributes to development of CS in the region.

The National CS advisor is a member of the National Incident Management team.

SOS Children’s Villages has zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation, harassment, abuse, fraud, and corruption, among other safeguarding aspects. We also provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, or marital status. SOS Children’s Villages complies with all applicable laws related to non-discrimination in employment.

Key performance areas and main responsibilities:

• Acts as an advisor to national and programme management and staff on Child & Youth Safeguarding
• Coordinates the implementation of the Child & Youth Safeguarding Regulation and Policy and related child safeguarding policy support documents in the member association.
• Coordinates the development of national CYS actions during the annual planning

• Sets up reporting and responding procedures in MA in line with the national legislation and the minimum requirements of the policy support document on child & youth safeguarding reporting and responding procedures in member associations and the policy support document on child & youth safeguarding investigations
• Ensures implementation of CS reporting and responding procedures in the member association.
• Conducts child & youth safeguarding audits in all programmes of the member association.
• process.
• Plans and technically supports management of CYS investigations commissioned by ND.
• Monitors KPIs and provides reports on trends and developments in CS
• Prepares annual child & youth safeguarding report and submits the report for approval to the National Director.  
• Maintains the Misconduct Incident Register and monitor Misconduct Incident Programme Registers.
• Follows up on reported CYS concerns and incidents together with the Misconduct Incident management programme team and reports to ND on the overall incident management progress in MA.
• Ensures that relevant child & youth safeguarding documents and tools are available to misconduct incident management team members at national and programme level.
• Identifies capacity building needs on child & youth safeguarding at national level and in programmes.
• In coordination with HR supports development and implementation of necessary training tools and processes.
• Collects, documents and distributes lessons learnt as well as identified challenges to ensure that relevant preventive, awareness raising and capacity building measures are planned and further implemented.
• Facilitates internal and external knowledge sharing on child & youth safeguarding with a strong focus on prevention and capacity building.
• Participates in the regional child safeguarding network.
• Submits CS incident papers to IOR in cases with GSC involvement.

Child & Adult, Funds and Asset Safeguarding

• Comply with the Code of Conduct, Child and Youth Safeguarding Regulation and Policy, Misconduct Incident Management Regulation; The Sexual Misconduct regulation (Prevention and protection against sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, PSHEA), Anti-Corruption Regulation and follows all reporting and responding procedures.
• Responsible within own area of work to raise awareness of the child & adult principles and to prevent and protect children from all forms of abuse, abandonment, exploitation, violence and discrimination,
• Responsible within own area of work to raise awareness of the funds and assets safeguarding to maintain the highest standards of integrity, ethical conduct and professionalism.
• Supports programmes/projects in preventing and mitigating child & adult safeguarding risks for children & adults and in planning and providing rehabilitation support in child & adult abuse incidents.
• Supports programmes/project in preventing and mitigation risks of corruption.
• Reports immediately any child & adult, funds & asset safeguarding suspicion, concern, allegation or incident following Misconduct Incident Management Regulation

• • Raise awareness for the staff regarding the principles and provisions defined by the regulations and policies on child and adult safeguarding, as well as assets protection.
  • Ensures the establishment and management of designated reporting channels for incidents (such as email, telephone, etc.).
  • Records all incidents in the National Safeguarding Incident Register and updates the recorded cases following review.
  • Receive reports of concerns and complaints from the SOS staff, children and young people supported by the member association, former SOS beneficiaries and from external third persons.
  • Conduct and complete the Child & Youth Safeguarding (CYS) risk assessment focusing at national level to complement the analysis organised at programme level. Existing and potential CYS risks are addressed with appropriate mitigating actions.
  • Take active role in the annual planning process to ensure that the identified CYS risks are reflected during the annual plan of the member association.
  • Be a support hub to all SOS staff at national level and provide advise and guidance should they raise any questions or concerns related to CYS .
  • Responds to all reported or escalated child and adult safeguarding and asset protection concerns and incidents, in compliance with the requirements of the Misconduct Incident Management Regulation.
  • Responsible for determining the nature of child and adult safeguarding and asset protection concerns or incidents for deciding on the appropriate further actions.
  • Ensures transparency in responding to concerns.
  • Declares any conflict of interest when it arises and, where necessary, escalates complaints to a higher level.
  • Defines the scope of authority of investigators, where necessary.
  • Ensures quality assurance of investigation outcomes and monitors progress.

This position involves working with an NGO committed to children and human rights and is subject to strict safer recruitment checks. The successful candidate will be required to complete safer recruitment checks including criminal record and reference checks to help verify their suitability to work for SOS Children’s Villages. In addition to assessing candidates' ability to perform the duties of the post, in  the selection process will be also explored the motivation and approach of the candidate to safeguarding

Must criteria

• • Minimum 5 years experience in social welfare field, preferably in the sector of child and youth welfare
  • Good knowledge of international standards, legal issues and current directions of national development in the field of child’s rights approach, and social welfare systems
  • Good knowledge of written and spoken English
  • Strong communication, negotiation and advocating skills

Competencies – knowledge, skills, abilities

• • Team player with excellent communication skills
  • Facilitation, negotiation, public-speaking and interviewing skills
  • Strong analytical and writing skills
  • Good coordination and organisation skills, including ability to plan, prioritise, organise and deliver results
  • Knowledge and skills in conducting trainings with children, young people and adults
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Willingness to travel within the country
  • Computer literacy (MS Office)