Project Officer Child Protection

Project Officer- Child Protection 

Country/Region: Uganda

Location: Lamwo

Organization: Save the Children International 

Join us to lead sustainable change for children:

• Be part of a GLOBAL and DIVERSE technical community
• Get EXPOSURE in many different contexts
• Test and scale up INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
• Influence policies that affect MILLIONS OF CHILDREN

Overview

Are you passionate about being an advocate for children? Do you want to use your expertise to bring about lasting change for children and be a part of an inspiring, dynamic global movement?

Role Purpose:

The project officer provides ongoing implementation, monitoring & evaluation and reporting in regard to the execution of child protection Humanitarian response activities. Activities ensure children (and their care givers) in the refugee settlement and reception centers regain access to safe living environments, access education and skills development opportunities and are protected from harmful abuse.

Sounds interesting? Read more below

The Role

Key Areas Of Accountability:

Planning:

• Coordinate and support situation and needs assessments in the project sites to help determine the required interventions and planning within the context of our operations. 
• Ensure children harmed or at risk of being harmed are identified and receive individual case management support. 
• Adequately coordinate and implement child protection activities under the assigned project(s) and locations taking into account the detailed implementation plan. This includes CFS monitoring, case work, monitoring of ECD activities, training of community volunteers, etc.
• Ensure weekly planning and implementation of activities, including preparation of assigned budget expenditure. Account for activities and budget expenditure within the provided time frame. 
• Provide a clear and consistent follow up on activities and use monitoring results for reporting, consistently using the project indicators. 
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date Child protection data.

Implementation.

• Monitor and provide day-to-day direct technical support and coaching to community and other stakeholders as well as the partners that we work with.
• Ensure regular data collection and submission of monitoring reports to Line Manager.
• In liaison with UNHCR, OPM, Local Government and other organizations spear head the identification and profiling /documentation of vulnerable children and children with disabilities and link them to service providers; conduct well planned tracing and identification of foster parents.
• Maintain an updated and clean database of all profiled refugee and marginalised children, and children at risk supported by the response program. Identify children with child protection concerns, document them and refer them to service providers.
• Organize and coordinate community dialogue meetings to discuss education and child protection issues with children and community members 
• Provide high quality and adequate reports on activity implementation and corrective measures taken.
• Document best practices and unique experiences including success stories, case studies for sharing and learning.
• Represent Save the Children in working groups and other events as assigned by the line manager.
• Ensure effective coordination with other responding (I)NGOs, with consortium partners, with OPM, UNCHR, district authorities etc.
• Participate in donor report writing 

Roll-out of the Project Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning

• Support the implementation of the accountability and learning framework for the organization
• Participate in the filling of the monthly activity target tracker and quarterly Indicator Performance Tracking Table Tracker
• Update all Save the Children systems on a regular basis.
• Document best practices and most significant stories under Child protection. 
• Implement project sustainability and exit strategy throughout the period of the project.
• Monitor and follow up volunteers and ensure their timely delivery of the Planned activities
• Provide direct child protection backup technical support supervision to all partner staff, volunteers as well as child protection structures in the operational area
• Submit monthly reports (progress against planned activities, expense against estimated budget) of project activities to the line manager as per agreed schedule.
• Participate in the preparation of semi-annual and annual reports on project interventions
• Weekly update and file project documents
• Coordinate with other Child Protection officers, structures to ensure no harm to children

Technical Support.

• Build capacity and provide direct backup technical support supervision to child protection structures and other community resource people engaged in the project, in collaboration with the district community service department, OPM, UNHCR and other partners. 
• Participate and contribute to Project reviews on the program as required.
• Contribute to intervention design, including building linkages within the child protection sector.
• Review and provide input to reports, briefs and other documents.

Budget Monitoring Responsibility:

• Monitor daily expenditure to ensure project budgets are spent within acceptable limits and timelines as per set and approved monthly, quarterly and annual budget forecasts. 
• Track budgets to avoid over and under expenditure and most importantly follow donor requirements. 
• Take due diligence in ensuring correct coding and verification of expenditure as per financial reports. The officer will review financial reports with support from the project to the Project Manager and Area Manager to ensure accuracy of reporting. 

Coordination And Collaborations.

• Provide coordination of all Education Programs at settlement and reception center.
• Work closely with OPM, UNHCR and Agencies in the child protection sector, ECD, Health centres, CPCs, parasocial workers, among others so as to identify areas of collaboration and leverage against District resources to maximize impact. 
• Network with other Save the Children International Projects in their areas of operation to improve synergy and holistic approach to child support.

Reporting And Documentation.

• Generate timely, consistent and accurate monthly, quarterly and annual Progress reports.
• Actively participate in generation of semi-annual reports donor reports demonstrating clearly contributing towards overall goals and intended outcomes.
• Participate in and share progress during weekly regional meetings 
• Document key success stories and areas of innovation for sharing on quarterly basis 

Resource Acquisition.

• In collaboration with the Project Manager, Program Manager, Child protection Technical Specialists, OPM and UNHCR conduct needs assessment to identify gaps in child protection sector
• Where called upon, participate in concept and proposal writing efforts 
• Continuously, during implementation, identify gaps and document areas of innovation to develop creative and innovative programmes

Partnership

• Participate in all settlement partner coordination meetings for education and child protection thematic areas.

Empowerment and Project Impact

• Innovatively support children to participate, own and benefit from the project interventions
• Mobilize and facilitate active participation of parents and their communities to participate in planning, monitoring and implementation of community development initiatives and supporting child education
• Build the capacity of children, their parents and the community to collectively engage local leaders on identified issues especially child protection.
• Liaise and follow-up on commitments made by leaders on improvement of the child wellbeing especially the three breakthroughs of survival, education and be protected.  

To be a strong supporter and advocate for children in this role you will need to have:

• At least a degree in Education, Development Studies, Psychology, Child Development, Child Psychology, Community Psychology or any equivalent accrued working experience in a related position.
• At least three years relevant experience implementing, supervising, monitoring and evaluating field-based child protection or education projects with an NGO, particularly focusing on children’s rights, preferably in an emergency setting;
• Ability to train, mentor and coach ECCD Caregivers on the learning framework, ELM at Centre, learner Assessment, material production and play based learning
• Good understanding of child rights issues and child rights instruments.
• Specific familiarity with child rights issues in the NGO world or work.
• Ability to interact with communities; children and adults as well as other stakeholders at sub-county and district levels.
• At least 1 years’ experience in financial, planning and budget management.
• Effective interpersonal skills – oral and written communication skills
• Facilitation and presentation skills
• Strong documentation and reporting skills
• Experience in riding motorcycle and a valid riding permit.

Application Information:

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at https://hcri.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse. 

Application closes on October 01, 2025 midnight Uganda time.

Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to employ and assign the best qualified talent, persons with disabilities and female candidates are encouraged to apply. 

Disclaimer: Save the Children International does not charge any kind of fee at whichever stage of the recruitment process and does not act through recruitment agents. 

Our Diversity Belief

Save the Children International is committed to create a truly inclusive, effective and representative organisational culture, encouraging equity and diversity among its employees and eliminating unlawful discrimination. We want our people to be truly representative of all sections of society. Having a diverse profile of employees, different age groups, backgrounds, cultures, & disabilities etc. We are guided by our values in everything we do and recognise that being a diverse and inclusive employer helps us fulfil our responsibility to make a difference for children around the world.