Child protection/ Safeguarding policy consultant

International Alert is a leading peacebuilding NGO, with 30 years of experience in preventing violence. We have been working in Lebanon since 2008. Our thematic focus areas include peace education and non-violent education, youth participation, gender equality and addressing the underlying causes of conflict related to human rights abuses, gender inequality, social and economic exclusion and insecurity. Alert is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.

The Ending Violence Against Children project aims to increase the capacity of schools and learning centres to reduce violence against children and generate evidence of the effectiveness of various approaches. It will be implemented in areas affected by the Beirut blast and in areas in Tripoli and the Bekaa with high concentration of refugees, targeting teachers and educators, children and their caregivers through face to face and virtual activities. The project will generate evidence through action research on effectiveness of approaches to addressing violence against children, including school-based and learning centre-based and community-based approaches.

Prevention and response of violence against children will be strengthened through supporting schools and learning centres to improve their existing capacities, and development of child safeguarding policies.

The Consultant will review existing child safeguarding policies of International Alert and its partners and will update existing policies, lead a collaborative design of tools for the project and train staff on their use.

Objectives of the consultancy

The overall objective of the consultancy is to provide technical guidance to Alert and its partners to review their existing child safeguarding policies and mechanisms and advise on establishing safeguarding arrangements for the project.

These arrangements are framed around international standards related to safeguarding:

1. POLICY: With the support of an expert Safeguarding policies of Alert & partners will be reviewed. This review will consider increased/new risks related to the economic crisis in Lebanon & COVID-19, home/online learning, PSS, counselling referral mechanisms.

2. PEOPLE: During the project inception a safeguarding (refresher) training will be held for staff.

3. PROCEDURES: 6 monthly review of safeguarding and complaints procedures.

4. ACCOUNTABILITY: Regular monitoring of safeguarding incl. self-assessment/ audit, partner review and review in the final evaluation.

The project offers an opportunity to strengthen the capacities of implementing organizations to apply international standards in ethical and child safeguarding. The consultant will support the development of POLICY, train PEOPLE and initiate PROCEDURES to ensure that the organisations, their staff and consultants take all measure to reduce the risk of harm to children.

Deliverables and tentative workplan

1. Inception: review of project documents and meeting with Alert (1 day)

1. Assessment of partners’ child protection frameworks (3 days)

• Review of existing policies on child protection and safeguarding
• Holding individual meetings with partner organisations to understand approaches to child protection and opportunities for strengthening safeguarding
• Development of a matrix of partners’ existing policies and tools, and plans for updating them or developing new ones with Consultant’s support

1. Support to development of safeguarding framework for the project (Preparation and workshops, 4 days)

• Facilitation of a meeting with all partners to introduce child protection principles and good practice, sharing of experience and co-development of a framework for the project, including tools
• Drafting tools in follow up to the workshop and sharing them with participants for review

1. Support to individual organisations’ policy development (5 days)

• Review of Alert’s global child protection policy and updating it for use in Lebanon
• Participation in the initial safeguarding management group meeting at Alert
• Review of partners’ policies and tools, incl child-friendly briefs, and briefs for parents, educators and other community stakeholders

1. Training for project staff on system and tools (Preparation and training delivery, 2 days)

The work is expected to take place mostly remotely with possible face-to-face workshop in October and training in November. Covid-19 prevention measures will be strictly enforced at all face-to-face meetings.

Consultant profile

• University degree in social sciences or relevant fields
• At least 5 years of experience in child protection and safeguarding
• Excellent skills in policy development, and collaborative process design
• Excellent writing skills in English, and ability to deliver a training in Arabic
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism, including following data protection guidelines
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Prior experience in context analysis, peacebuilding and conflict analysis in Lebanon is essential and experience with gender sensitivity analysis a strong plus
• Knowledge of Lebanese education system and understanding of the impact of the Syria crisis on Lebanon is an asset
• Commitment to safeguarding and child protection.

Education degree: Master’s degree  

Experience required:

• 5-10 years

Languages - English: Excellent. Arabic is an advantage.

Period: A maximum of 15 full working days to be completed between October and December 2020.

Compensation: Competitive price offers