Protection Coordinator at Oxfam Nigeria

Over the past year, insurgency has intensified attacks which have spread from North-East Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, affecting some 20 million people. Suicide bombings and raids targeting civilians in villages and in cities around the Lake Chad basin have caused widespread trauma, prevented people from accessing essential services and destroyed infrastructure. Across the region, over 2.8 million people are displaced; most of who are sheltered by communities that count among the world’s most vulnerable.

The combined effect of growing insecurity, fast population growth and severe vulnerability resulting from a changing climate, environmental degradation, poverty and under-investment in social services is translating into record numbers of people in need of emergency relief. There are 9.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance. Nigeria is hosting 7m, Cameroon 1.5m, Niger 460.000 and Chad 257.000. The increasing number of attacks and arrival of displaced children have placed an additional burden on already weak health and education systems.

Insecurity, displacement, disrupted agricultural activities and cross-border trade continue to undermine communities’ livelihoods and have resulted in a sharp rise in food insecurity. Some 4.4 million people facing severe food insecurity urgently need support in the region, 90 per cent of them in north-east Nigeria, with 50,000 people in Phase 5, the highest level of food insecurity under the Cadre Harmonisé classification. Throughout the region, an estimated 223.000 severely acutely malnourished children could die if not urgently assisted.

Purpose of the Position

• To support the development and implementation of Oxfams humanitarian work by providing specialist advice and support on humanitarian protection.
• This will include implementing mainstreaming protection in the humanitarian response, supporting safe programming and undertaking gender-sensitive community-level protection activities in particular, protection monitoring and information dissemination and referrals guided by Oxfam’s policies and guidelines for managing information and the relevant professional standards in protection work.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
Project Implementation:

• Ensure the delivery of protection activities and provide technical support to the Protection Team Leader and Officers to undertake their responsibilities in line with their role and responsibility.
• Join field protection officers in monitoring and analysing protection issues affecting populations in area of Oxfam operations.
• Analyse protection concerns arising from Oxfam’s humanitarian response, provide recommendations on addressing them and throughout the process of addressing the protection concerns s/he must support continuous support to the relevant teams
• Provide specialist protection advice and support to Oxfam’s humanitarian response in North-east Nigeria, including regarding humanitarian access and engagement with armed non-state actors and ensuring independence and impartiality in providing services.
• Support the management to strategize, plan for and ensure appropriate integration and mainstreaming of protection throughout the humanitarian response in North-east Nigeria.
• Provide technical support to WaSH, EFSVL and MEAL teams in integrating protection within their programmatic tools, such as targeting criteria or PDM.
• Support Protection Team Leaders and Officers in preparing and organizing community consultations and community based orientation sessions.
• Lead and supervise assessment teams during thematic surveys, needs assessment and data collection for protection-related research.
• Monitor protection issues affecting IDPs and host population in areas of operation.
• Provide technical and analytical advise to manager in developing safe programming and conflict-sensitive approaches to the humanitarian response.
• Provide capacity-building on protection
• Ensure program staff members are fully trained on existing referral systems and relevant SOPs.
• Organise and prepare protection analysis, if and when required, and draft the reports
• Build proposals to ensure appropriate funding and response for protection activities
• Review proposals to ensure protection is integrated and mainstreamed

Advocacy and Research:

• Inform the Policy, Media, Advocacy and Campaigns department of emerging protection concerns.

Coordination:

• Develop lines of communication and close collaboration with the PHE, PHP and EFSVL teams and contribute to a coordinated humanitarian response;
• Liaise with logistic and procurement to ensure protection activities have the required resources in good time. Complete and keep records of the necessary paperwork;
• Represent Oxfam with key protection actors such as ICRC, UNHCR, IOM, OCHA and actively participate in the Protection Cluster and relevant Areas of Responsibility.
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEAL) and reporting

Skills, Experience and Knowledge

• You have a Masters Degree in Law - including international Law, Political Science, Social Science, Peace and Conflict Studies or a related discipline.
• A minimum of 3 years involvement in humanitarian response work, preferably in field-based protection work in conflict or insecure environments.
• Strong conceptual and practical understanding of protection issues and specifically Oxfam’s approach to and role in protection work including advocacy;
• Understanding of the Protection Cluster and other protection coordination mechanisms and the roles and mandates of key protection actors;
• Analytical skills and strategic thinking, including experience developing written analysis and strategies for protection
• Strong understanding of gender-related aspects of protection work. Commitment to gender equity, diversity and equal opportunities
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Fluency in English
• Experience managing diverse staff/teams including in complex and challenging environments
• Experience of capacity-building and training of colleagues and partners
• A sound understanding of Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid code and SPHERE minimum standards.

What We Offer
A competitive and fair pay and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors.

Application Closing Date
25th August, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online