Protection Advisor

Location: Based in Sloviansk, Eastern Ukraine with frequent travels, particularly to ACCESS Consortium’s areas of implementation and to Kyiv (when needed)

Starting date: Immediately/according to availability

Duration: 6 months (extension pending funding)

Background:

People in Need (PIN) has been active in Ukraine since early August 2014 and the humanitarian programs have been rapidly expanding since then. Currently, PIN is one of the major humanitarian actors in Eastern Ukraine while providing neutral and independent humanitarian aid to conflict-affected people. The PIN representative office is located in Kyiv. PIN field office in Sloviansk functions as the main base for PIN's humanitarian operations in the government-controlled area (GCA) and supporting office for the PIN field office in Stakhanov (Lugansk Oblast, non-government-controlled area, NGCA). So far PIN has implemented number of emergency food, multi-purpose cash grants, NFI, Shelter, Protection, Livelihoods and WASH interventions and supported more than 2 mln vulnerable IDPs, returnees and host communities in both urban and rural locations. PIN's main donors in Ukraine currently include ECHO, OFDA, DFID and UNHCR.

PIN protection program activities consists mainly of community-based psychosocial support (PSS), community mobilisation and individual assistance activities focused on children, women, IDPs and other most vulnerable and at-risk groups in Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine. Modalities of the program support involve direct services by mobile groups of psychologists, support to ‘child friendly spaces’, community mobilization and individual protection assistance as well as building capacities of helping local stakeholders in abovementioned activities. Meantime, PIN is committed to incorporating protection principles and promoting meaningful access, safety and dignity, local participation/empowerment, and accountability in its programming. In 2017, within the framework of the ACCESS Consortium, PIN’s Protection Mainstreaming Expert reviewed all programs implemented by the partners and made recommendations on applying those four protection-mainstreaming principles in current and future programs.

For PIN’s activities in Ukraine, please see more at https://www.clovekvtisni.cz/en/humanitary-aid/country/ukraine.

Responsibilities:

The primary role of Protection Advisor is to provide strategic direction and vision for the protection program, ensuring its comprehensive development and high quality implementation. S/he will provide technical guidance and leadership in embedding protection-mainstreaming approach across all PIN programs, by identifying programming gaps, providing recommendations, introducing assessment and monitoring tools, and building staff capacity. S/he will also lead the program transition in humanitarian-development nexus, including through limiting the direct service delivery and emphasizing the development of local capacities in responding humanitarian crisis and addressing emerging and ongoing protection needs of the most vulnerable populations.

Internal relations:

The Protection Advisor line-manages the Protection Program Manager and provides technical supervision to the Protection Team, and based on need, hires and line manages short-term protection technical contractors. The Advisor reports to Deputy Country Director - Programs. He/she will also coordinate regularly with Head of Program Development and Quality Assurance, Head of ACCESS Consortium, Senior Emergency Coordinator, AME Manager and Program Managers.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Guided by protection principles and best international practices, assess the protection program concept and lead identification and adjustment of Protection interventions, to ensure their high quality, appropriateness and comprehensiveness, in conformity with PIN “Social Protection & Inclusion” global strategy and the international standards and protocols.
• Validate and develop the short- and long-term Protection strategy, based on field reality and new funding opportunities, while ensuring strong collaboration and coordination with other actors in the sector, especially cluster partners.
• Further develop and follow up recommendations provided by the Protection Mainstreaming Expert for each sector (WASH, Shelter, Health, MHPSS, Multi-Purpose Cash and Voucher transfers), to ensure that PIN Program Managers and those of ACCESS Consortium partner organizations utilize these recommendations.
• Provide technical support to PIN Program Development and Quality Assurance (PDQ) Unit on including protection-mainstreaming principles across all programs during activity design, implementation monitoring and evaluation.
• Contribute to the evaluation of Protection related programming to secure follow on or expansion of funding for the portfolio as per identified needs.
• Develop and enact “protection risk analysis”, “protection mainstreaming assessment/monitoring” and other relevant tools, jointly with respective programs units.
• Based on findings of protection assessment and monitoring, guide relevant Program Managers on a regular basis in the implementation of recommendations and improvements.
• Ensure development and delivery of a mission wide protection training and knowledge-building strategy and plan, including the development of standard training materials based on clearly defined standards and competencies.
• Continue to build the capacity of the Consortium staff in protection-related issues, including community engagement and accountability practices.