Safeguarding Officer

 PLAN INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE

Plan International responded to the Ukraine Crisis since March 2022, starting in countries hosting Ukrainian refugees (Moldova, Romania, Poland) and thereafter expanding humanitarian operations inside Ukraine since August 2022. Plan International is now duly registered in Ukraine as a representative office of Plan International Inc. 

The portfolio inside Ukraine is seeing a rapid expansion and has the ambition to grow to EUR 20-25M on an annual basis. Growth is expected to come through acquisition of grants from both bilateral and multilateral donors as well as through ongoing public appeals and exploring corporate sector funding opportunities.

Plan International is profiling itself as one of the ‘go to’ organizations in promoting and protecting the rights of children, girls and young people in conflict and crisis; in particular through adding value in child protection, education, gender and inclusion, social cohesion, GBV, MHPSS and CVA. As the crisis permits, Plan International will expand its humanitarian interventions into longer term development goals driving youth-led action and equality for girls in Ukraine.

Plan International Ukraine works exclusively through strategic civil society partners to support vulnerable children, young people, and their families to cope with the impact of the current humanitarian crisis and to increase their resilience. 

Plan International Ukraine is supported by the Ukraine Crisis Response strategic and operational shared service Hub and strongly connected to Plan International’s response and presence in Moldova, Romania and Poland: a multi-country Ukraine Crisis Response Strategy (January 2023-December 2024) is being finalized to guide the strategic ambition of Plan International throughout the multi-country response. 

Plan International is committed to meeting safeguarding expectations across all its operations and will expect the program director to ensure all incidents regarding child abuse and sexual harassment are reported and effectively managed.

Accountabilities

To included but not be limited to: 

• Ensure that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in everything we do. 
• Undertake advocacy on the Safeguarding Policy at all levels across the office acting as an ambassador and role model for Safeguarding Policy implementation at all times. This will involve making use of appropriate internal platforms and events (e.g. management meetings, staff inductions etc) to raise awareness on and increase commitment to the policy.
• Provide advice, support and guidance to managers and staff ensuring that adequate Safeguarding Policy measures are integrated into office operations, processes and programmes as outlined by the Safeguarding Policy implementation standards and other core Safeguarding Policy documents.
• Collaborate with and provide advice to key teams and/or departments within the offices to ensure that risk identification and management strategies of Plan International Ukraine’s  processes, procedures and activities includes assessment of safeguarding risks and appropriate mitigating actions are developed.
• Deliver mandatory Safeguarding Policy briefings, inductions and/or workshops to staff, managers and associates ensuring all are aware of what the Safeguarding Policy means for them and how to execute their specific responsibilities under the policy. Deliver on-going refresher training and induction as necessary.
• Review and strengthen Safeguarding Policy systems and processes with Plan International Ukraine’s  partners ensuring there is an understanding of and commitment to the requirements of Plan’s Safeguarding policy. Plan and deliver Safeguarding Policy training workshops accordingly.
• Coordinate the implementation of Plan’s Safeguarding Policy Implementation standards, ensuring managers are aware of which standards apply to their area of responsibility and facilitating a team of delegate focal points, in order to ensure safeguarding measures are integrated into activities across all departments.
• Support the development of Plan International Ukraine level Safeguarding policy implementation action plans that  clearly outline gaps in implementation and how these can be addressed. Oversee and enforce follow-up on actions in order to ensure maximum levels of compliance and competence. (Note that managers are responsible for the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy standards as they apply to their area of responsibility plus the development of actions to address identified gaps)
• Coordinate the annual Safeguarding Policy implementation standards self-assessment and incident reporting exercises, providing reports on outcomes and trends to the country leadership  team.
• Provide a central point for the recording, reporting and dissemination of collated information on the safeguarding policy implementation activities taking place across the office and sharing information and good practice to global safeguarding counterparts.
• Receive reports on safeguarding allegations and ensure that the respons is  effective and  in line with local procedures, acting as the Plan International Ukraine office referral point. Yet, any formal investigations into safeguarding concerns must only  be carried by trained individuals. 
• Collaborate with Human Resources to ensure all newly hired staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
• Support program coordinators and partners with safeguarding risk assessments, risk mitigation planning and measures. Provide direct support to partners where requested, to reinforce their own PSEA/safeguarding policies and practices.

Key relationships

• Strategy and project planning: Response Director , Country Director , partnership manager, business development manager, M&E manager
• Country operations: support staff (HR, Admin, Supply Chain, Finance,)
• Safeguarding colleagues at the response hub, GBV & Safeguarding Lead

Technical expertise, skills, and knowledge

• University Degree in Social work, international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law or other social science field is required.
• Fluency in written and spoken Ukrainian and English languages is essential. 
• Requires general finance, administration, information management and telecommunication skills and proficiency in information technology/ computer skills.
• Minimum of  5  years of progressively responsible professional experience in working with child-focused or child protection mandated civil society organizations or government agencies.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to develop well-argued plans for response that can be justified and delivered, persuasive of others.
• Ability to build collaborative and respectful relationships with local organizations and government authorities. 
• Excellent project design, participatory learning and monitoring and evaluation skills
• Skills to motivate and support staff from diverse backgrounds 
• Ability to work independently and as a team player who demonstrates leadership and is able to support and train staff and partners.
• Works with trustworthiness and integrity and has a clear commitment to Plan’s core values and humanitarian principles.
• Aware of impact on others and uses impact to create positive climate at work.
• Demonstrates awareness and sensitivity to gender and diversity.
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive under pressure.
• Willingness to learn and be exposed to new learning opportunities

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

We create a climate of trust inside and outside the organization by being open, honest and transparent. We hold ourselves and others to account for the decisions we make and for our impact on others, while doing what we say we will do.

We strive for lasting impact

We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people, and to secure equality for girls. We challenge ourselves to be bold, courageous, responsive, focused, and innovative.

We work well together

We succeed by working effectively with others, inside and outside the organization, including our sponsors and donors. We actively support our colleagues, helping them to achieve their goals. We come together to create and implement solutions in our teams, across Plan International, with children, girls, young people, communities, and our partners.

We are inclusive and empowering

We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge inequality in our programmes and our workplace. We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential.