Ukraine: Child Protection Coordinator – Safe Spaces and MHPSS Ukraine (National Position)

Caritas Spes has been providing psychosocial support services since the beginning of its establishment, with a particular emphasis on catering to the needs of children and diverse segments of society. The goal in this field is to contribute to and promote holistic wellness, addressing the mental health challenges faced by various social groups today. For this particular candidate, we seek to elevate the pivotal role and significance of child protection within our organization, emphasizing a proactive approach towards safeguarding the well-being and rights of our youngest stakeholders.

The Child Protection (CP) Coordinator will be responsible for providing technical oversight and supervision to CP teams providing psychosocial support services to vulnerable children, youth and caregivers in 8 locations in Ukraine. Caritas Spes is providing child protection activities through Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) and will expand services by establishing Youth Centres, and individual psychosocial support sessions led by child and adult psychologists. Specifically, she/he/they will ensure that CFS meet minimum standards and quality services are optimised through training, mentoring and supervision of staff and volunteers. Children harmed or at risk of being harmed are identified and referred to appropriate service providers, including child protection case management, and GBV response. She/he/they will support the establishment and roll out of mobile CFS and Youth Centres in communities identified through community child protection assessments and ensure the participation and engagement of the wider community to maximise opportunities for strengthening the protective environment for vulnerable children and caregivers. Within this framework, they will provide support to teams to provide focused prevention and response activities for caregivers. This will include stress management, positive coping strategies and promoting caregiving skills that foster resilience and better enable them to meet child and adolescent protection and psychosocial needs. In addition, they will work directly with the child protection psychologists and social workers and support their professional development to provide group and individual psychosocial support activities specific to service users’ needs. She/he/they will support work with all CP team members on the management of caseload and referrals, ensuring a strong collaboration and coordination with other Caritas Spes protection services and external CP actors including NGOs, Social Services and education and healthcare providers. The role will also include identifying appropriate assessment, screening and monitoring tools to ensure quality standards are maintained and project outcomes and impacts are effectively measured. She/he/they will support the operalisation of the Caritas safeguarding policy and ensure that all activities rigorously adhere to principles of inclusion, non-discrimination and meaningful participation.

The CP Coordinator reports directly to the Project Manager.

The CP Coordinator will be based in Ukraine location to be agreed with the Project Manager.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical and Quality: 

• Identify gaps in the skillsets of child protection and psychosocial support service providers and provide appropriate capacity building initiatives through trainings, mentoring and supervision.
• Ensure that all team members have received training in child protection – including CP minimum standards (CPMS), basic psychosocial support interventions, minimum standards and guidelines for CFS, child development, and PFA.
• Oversee child protection assessments in target communities and ensure that prevention and response interventions meet needs identified and specific to each community.
• Support CP teams to conduct community stakeholder mappings.
• Oversee the development of child protection community action plans and ensure that all relevant stakeholders are engaged with.
• Ensure referral pathways and networks are established, for individuals requiring specialized or cross-sectoral services, and all relevant service providers and stakeholders are included.
• Participate and support the identification of especially vulnerable and at-risk children, including children, adolescents and caregivers at risk of GBV, children and adolescents in institutions, and children and adolescents in contact with the law and ensure teams can appropriately refer.
• Support the establishment and roll out of mobile CFS, Adolescent and MHPSS services in target communities.
• Support teams to identify, develop and implement focused group activities to promote psychosocial well-being and resilience including social-emotional, recreational, creative and life-skills activities for children/adolescents.
• Assist teams to facilitate focused caregiver support guided sessions to improve their stress management skills, promote positive parenting practices, and enhance strategies to support children and adolescents with psychosocial needs.
• Provide regular follow up to ensure that all services and action plans items are implemented in line with the overall CP strategy within agreed time frames and in accordance with relevant standards and guidelines. Ensure that progress is regularly reviewed.
• Work in close collaboration with the CP team and the other Caritas services to ensure service users have discrete and confidential access to services via the internal referral procedures, and that child protection services are responsive to the evolving needs of children, adolescents and caregivers.
• Ensure adherence to CP referral protocols and CP guiding principles, and Caritas Safeguarding policies and procedures and any concerns are reported through the established channels.

Administration & Reporting:

• Ensure all databases are properly and regularly updated and Caritas child protection reports are compiled in a timely manner as requested by the organisation.
• Ensure accuracy of data and reporting and data management protocols concerning confidentiality and ethical data management are adhered to – specifically around data sharing and informed consent.
• Collaborate with MEAL regarding access to data for reporting obligations.
• Communicate regularly with supervisors/management regarding updates and challenges.

Coordination & Representation:

• Ensure regular Child Protection meetings, with each partner team (online).
• Conduct regular monitoring visits to each field location (security permitting).
• Actively coordinate with staff from other Caritas programmes especially protection and other child protection and MHPSS services
• Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with relevant child protection actors including community, non-governmental and governmental actors.
• Ensure representation at the national Child Protection AoR meetings.

Other:

• Participate in trainings, webinars, and capacity development activities as requested.
• Stay informed about the child protection situation and developments including reading updated CP Situation Reports and CP assessments conducted by other CP actors.
• Promote and adhere to the CP minimum standards, and best practice principles and guidelines.
• Provide translation and interpretation at meetings and training sessions and/or documents to ensure clarity and understanding for all staff – when necessary.

Requirements: 

Essential:

• A Bachelors or Master’s degree in Social Work.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience of implementing child protection programmes, in a social work setting (government or non-governmental) or psychosocial programming for children, in humanitarian or development settings.
• Experience using referral pathways.
• Demonstrated understanding of working with especially vulnerable or at-risk children and adolescents.
• Familiarity with Ukrainian law concerning children’s protection services.
• Positive and professional attitude, including ability to lead and work well in a team setting.
• IT literate including Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Fluent in Ukrainian and good working English language skills.
• Comfortable speaking about sensitive topics in an honest, professional, and thoughtful manner
• Demonstrated understanding of and ability to maintain confidentiality and respect for service users.
• Ability to organise work and prioritise competing priorities and coordinate multiple tasks without compromising quality or attention to detail.

Desirable:

• Familiarity with Child Protection Minimum Standards.
• Familiarity with INEE Guidelines for Child Friendly Spaces.
• Previous experience with CFS of Safe Spaces for children and adolescents.
• Familiarity with basic MHPSS – including IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.
• Experience providing training, supervision and mentoring in the area of child protection and social services with children and families.
• Experience providing child protection case management services.
• Familiarity with Psychological First Aid (PFA).

Training and capacity development in CP in humanitarian action will be provided to support this role.

How to Apply: 

Interested and qualified candidates please send C.V.s (preferably in both Ukrainian and English) to Ruslan Zayarniy at rzayarniy@caritas-spes.org.