Especialista de Protección (Protección de la Niñez)

The Especialista de Protección (Protección de la Niñez) leads the technical quality of child protection programming in Venezuela, working mainly with and through local partners. The role provides technical leadership, quality assurance, and capacity development for child protection prevention and response activities, including case management, psychosocial support, and caregiver work, ensuring alignment with international standards and coordination with sector partners.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical supervision, guidance and accompaniment in child protection case management, psychosocial support and caregiver work to local partners and DRC protection staff, ensuring alignment with inter-agency case management standards and international child protection standards.
• Provide technical guidance to partners and DRC teams on Best Interest Procedures and referral and follow-up; support safe and ethical use of child protection information management systems.
• Ensure prevention, recreational, life skills and awareness programming executed by partners and DRC is age-appropriate, based on psychosocial support principles and responsive to children's needs.
• Develop and adapt technical tools, standard operating procedures, guidance notes and case management, referral and data protection systems used by partners and DRC during program start-up; advise on complex cases.
• Contribute to evaluation and design, strategy and action plans for child protection, and to the development and quality of proposals and concept notes, ensuring sector priorities and technical robustness.
• Promote integration of child protection in partners' and DRC's programming and other sectors (GBV, PSS, Protection, WASH, Shelter, economic recovery/livelihoods).
• Conduct capacity assessments of partners and DRC teams and develop and monitor tailored capacity development plans.
• Design and deliver training, accompaniment and mentoring for child protection teams of partners and DRC, including induction of new staff (case management, PSS and child safeguarding), and support structured case supervision, quality review and strengthening of incentivized/community volunteer staff.
• Maintain effective working relationships with local partners, UN agencies, international NGOs, government authorities and other key actors, ensuring active coordination and responsible information sharing.
• Work closely with the Inter-agency Child Protection Platform, supported by the Protection Coordinator, and support partners' participation in coordination.
• Support country office information management priorities as requested by the Protection Coordinator and Head of Programs.
• Promote child safeguarding and the best interests of the child and perform other relevant tasks as requested by supervisor.

Requirements

• University degree or master's degree in Social Work, Psychology, Human Rights, Law or related field (preferably master's).
• Specialized training in child protection (e.g., case management, Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, Best Interest Procedures).
• At least four years of experience in child protection, preferably in humanitarian contexts, including experience in case management and supervision, prevention/psychosocial support and community work.
• Strong knowledge of Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, inter-agency case management guidelines, CPiE standards, unaccompanied and separated children procedures, and Best Interest Procedures.
• Experience in safe data management.
• Proven experience in capacity development of partner organizations and technical mentoring to local organizations and field teams; experience in establishing new child protection programming is an advantage.
• Experience in proposal development, program design and donor reporting; strong coordination, representation and writing skills; knowledge of the local context is an advantage.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Fluency in written and spoken Spanish and English.

Skills

• Child Protection
• Case Management
• Psychosocial Support
• Community Work
• Inter-agency Case Management Guidelines
• CPiE Standards
• Unaccompanied and Separated Children Procedures
• Best Interest Procedures
• Sensitive Data Management
• Capacity Development
• Technical Mentoring
• Child Protection Programming
• Proposal Development
• Program Design
• Donor Reporting
• Coordination
• Representation
• Technical Leadership
• MS Word
• MS Excel
• MS PowerPoint

Languages

Spanish, English