Community Engagement Officer at Plan International

Grade    C2
Department & Location    Programme  team, Maiduguri/Mubi Office 
Reports tUNICEF Project Manager
Purpose:      The purpose of this role is to coordinate and lead community engagement and mobilization activities for the response programmes in line with International minimum standards in Northeast Adamawa and Southern Borno states. The post holder will be supervised directly by the Project Manager and technically by the Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist and expected to work very closely with other members of the programme team.

Dimensions of Role
Communicates within Plan International Nigeria and with partners and related government institutions. The post holder will coordinate the psychosocial support and community based protection programming interfacing with other programme team members. The post holder will also contribute towards the capacity building of Plan Internationals implementing partners.

Key End Results and typical Responsibilities

• Programme development & Quality Management   
• In collaboration with the Field Team, Project Manager and CPiE Specialist, the Community Engagement Officer will be:
• Support the strengthening of child protection community-based systems inclusive of developing trainings, supervision/coaching tools, monitoring and tracking tools and improve referral systems;
• Provide support in the development of alternative care systems in accordance with international policies and national procedures/norms;
• Conduct and supervise training with men and boys, women and girls on social norms change and CP prevention and response using agreed methodology;
• Support the establishment and strengthening of community based mechanisms and  groups including adolescent peer groups, child protection committees, children’s clubs, parent grouos and informal foster caregivers,
• Support community advocates and children to develop participatory media and other IEC materials to use in the community to raise awareness;
• Conduct training and follow-up with teachers, government and partner staff and other stakeholders in community based protection
• Design and facilitate community mobilization/sensitization campaigns in collaboration with Community Engagement Workers, Community Based Protection Mechanisms, and children/adolescents
• Supervise the CFS staff members/volunteers on location to ensure quality implementation of activities;
• Provide ongoing support and ensure child participation and safeguarding practices are strictly adhered to;
• Provide support to parent groups and caregivers by organizing and leading sessions with parents on positive parenting practives.
• Supervise all CFS Animators, community volunteers and Community Engagement Workers
• Ensure all Plan International CFS in assigned locations are in line with the quality standards for Child Friendly Spaces.
• Identify, report and provide on-the-job training to partner staff, volunteers and CFS Animators related to child participation and child protection;
• Report general protection issues present in the CFS locations to the Child Protection Officers
• Produce weekly and monthly data and regular narrative reports for Project Msnager to feed into overall program and donor report
• Ensure project staff safety and security, and ensure all Plan International policies and principles are upheld as well as International Minimum Standards for Child Protection, Case Management, and UNHCR’s guidelines
• Perform any other project related duties as specified by the Child Protection in Emergencies Specislist
• Ensure beneficiaries are informed and regularly reminded about their entitlements from the project, and the confidential complaints mechanisms;

Human Resource Development
Supports the orientation, on-going development/training and builds capacity of local partner staff when required.

Learning and knowledge management
Shares relevant information within the team establishing and supporting the proper documentation of activities
iParticipates in national/regional projects/networks as requested.

Resource Mobilization
Support resource mobilization efforts by participating in rapid assessments, project reviews and related tasks that will ensure adequate information for proposal development

Dealing with Problems

• Ability to manage competing priorities and expectations from internal and external stakeholders and remain calm and resilient in the face of pressure.
• Manage multiple and work with distant colleagues to form a virtual efficient administration team;
• Use Plan procedures to settle conflicts among colleagues;
• Resolve problems that are not covered by established process.
• Analyse possible causes of problems and suggest solutions to get them resolved.
• vRefer, whenever necessary, the case to the Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist for consideration.

Communications and Working Relationships:

• Working contacts inside and outside the organization; include the purpose and level (high, medium, low) of the contact
• Support the preparation of reports for domestic and international consumption.
• Provide timely responses concerning queries linked with relevant projects or programmes.
• Report to the Child Protection in Emergencies specialist;
• Provide support to Plan International Nigeria’s programme delivery and resource mobilization.
• Work with other members of the programme units to ensure effective and efficient programme delivery. 

Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:
Knowledge:
Qualifications and Experience

• University degree or equivalent in Social Science, Social Work, Psychology, Public Health, or related fields
• iMinimum of 3 years relevant working experience in child protection prevention and response programming, humanitarian affairs or human rights.
• Experience working in emergency settings
• Experience working with refugees and other vulnerable populations (ideal)
• Experience in Community Based programming and Child Friendly Spaces
• Previous experience directly providing services to children at risk and victims of abuse, exploitation and violence and developing/implementing referral pathways and case management systems.
• Strong experience providing counselling services that are gender-sensitive and child friendly.

Skills & Knowledge

• Strong skills in monitoring, evaluation, research and conducting participatory, community-led assessments. Experience working with case files and databases and providing regular documentation.
• Excellent community mobilization skills
• Ability to work individually and within a team with limited supervision. A self-starter.
• Good analytical, problem solving and project planning skills
• Able to communicate clearly and strategically with internal and external stakeholders as a representative of Plan. This includes effective negotiation and representation skills.
• Strong capacity building/training/coaching/mentoring skills with communities and internal and external staff
• Computer knowledge - Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook
• Strong command of both written and spoken English and knowledge of local language (Hausa, Kanuri) strongly desired

Behaviours:

• Creates strong sense of purpose and commitment within own part of operations and with stakeholders
• Holds self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and standards of behaviour
• Demonstrates a high degree of professionalism/integrity
• Provides good and adequate administrative and logistical support to enable programmes to meet meets it’s agreed financial and program outcomes.
• Actively seeks for support in addressing difficulties in execution of duties.
• Strategic thinking and effective contribution to own work and Organisational development.
• Sound judgement and decision-making in complex situations
• Strong emotional intelligence including self-awareness.
• Leads by example to motivate high performance of others
• Very strong commitment to continuous learning

Physical Environment and Demands
Based in Maiduguri or Mubi, Borno of Adamawa States with field visits to implement and supervise programme activities. Plan International operates in volatile environment and candidate must be willing to travel to and spend long time in paces like Gwoza, Pulka, Mafa Central, Askira Uba, Madagali and Michika.
 
Level of Contact with Children:
High contact- the job responsibilities of this position require the post holder to have very frequent contact with children. It is expected that children shall be protected at all times