Protection Officer / Field Protection Lead

Organizational Overview

Nexus Ethiopia is a national non-governmental and non-profit-making humanitarian organization, registered as a National NGO under Ethiopia’s Civil Society Organizations Proclamation No. 1113/2019 (registration No. 6225). Nexus Ethiopia is mandated to operate throughout Ethiopia and works with conflict- and disaster-affected communities through humanitarian response and recovery programming.

Nexus Ethiopia is preparing a six-month emergency response covering Protection (general protection, GBV and child protection) and Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL) in Ab’ala Woreda, Zone 2, Afar Region. The programme responds to conflict-related displacement, return movements, protection risks and disruption of food access and household livelihoods. These project-funded positions require immediate availability and regular field travel within the woreda.

Job Summary

The Protection Officer is the primary field-level technical lead for implementation of the project’s protection components in Ab’ala Woreda, Zone 2, Afar Region. The role plans, coordinates and monitors community-based GBV and child protection prevention, safe referral pathways, protection risk assessments, GBV safety audits, safe spaces, awareness campaigns, feedback mechanisms and protection mainstreaming activities. The Officer works with competent case management and MHPSS providers and ensures that all interventions are safe, inclusive, conflict-sensitive, survivor-centred and responsive to the needs of crisis-affected populations.

Key Responsibilities

A. Field Implementation and Protection Quality

• Prepare woreda-level monthly and weekly implementation plans for protection, GBV, child protection, referral pathways, community awareness and accountability to affected populations (AAP).
• Lead community-based protection activities, including GBV/PSEA/SRHR awareness, child protection campaigns, community dialogues, protection risk assessments and GBV safety audits.
• Ensure activities are safe, confidential, inclusive and culturally appropriate, with meaningful participation of women, girls, children, older people and persons with disabilities.
• Support establishment or strengthening of appropriate women/girls safe spaces, child-friendly spaces/corners, child protection committees, school-based protection clubs, accessible feedback mechanisms and service directories, in line with approved project activities.
• Identify changes in risks and access barriers, including displacement, family separation, early marriage, violence and harmful practices, and recommend rapid programmatic adjustments.
• Oversee daily technical functioning and monitoring of supported safe spaces where assigned, including safety, accessibility, privacy, materials, regularity of activities and service-user feedback.
• Coordinate structured activity schedules with designated case management and MHPSS providers covering psychosocial support, legal information, awareness, recreational activities and referral services as appropriate.
• Ensure safe spaces are connected to referral pathways and relevant health, legal, MHPSS and protection services; do not require survivors to disclose experiences to receive general support.

B. Referral Pathways and Case Coordination

• Map, update and share safe GBV/child protection/MHPSS referral directories covering medical care, one-stop centres, clinical management of rape, psychosocial support, legal aid and social services.
• Coordinate referral and case follow-up only with authorized trained providers, ensuring informed consent, confidentiality and the best interests of the child.
• Support identification and referral of unaccompanied and separated children, including appropriate family tracing and reunification coordination through competent service providers.
• Provide practical mentoring to protection focal points, health and school personnel, child protection committees and community volunteers on safeguarding, PFA, referral standards and survivor-centred approaches.

C. Community Mobilization, Prevention and AAP

• Coordinate with community facilitators, women’s and girls’ groups, young people, religious and traditional leaders, school clubs, caregivers and other local structures.
• Promote messaging on GBV, PSEA, child marriage, exploitation, child labour, neglect, safe reporting and available assistance without identifying or stigmatizing survivors.
• Support confidential, inclusive community complaints and feedback channels; follow up referrals and feedback closure without exposing sensitive information.

D. Team Leadership and Technical Support

• Act as the field-level technical focal person for protection, guiding and coordinating any designated case workers, MHPSS personnel or community facilitators assigned to protection activities.
• Facilitate regular field team coordination, review activity quality, identify capacity gaps and provide on-the-job coaching in safe documentation and referrals.
• Support the Project Coordinator in team performance monitoring and ensure safe service continuity and handover when personnel change.

E. Coordination and Government Engagement

• Represent Nexus Ethiopia in relevant woreda and zonal protection coordination meetings and liaise with Women and Social Affairs, health, education, police/justice and community services.
• Document agreed action points and coordinate safe access, community consultation, referral linkages, beneficiary identification and follow-up in line with neutral, impartial humanitarian practice.
• Coordinate protection mainstreaming with the FSL Officer and other sector teams, particularly on safe distributions and inclusive targeting.

F. Monitoring, Reporting and Documentation

• Maintain accurate, non-identifying service statistics disaggregated by sex, age and disability where feasible; monitor safe-space activities, referrals, training and community engagement against the approved logframe.
• Submit weekly, monthly and activity reports; track complaints, barriers and corrective actions while protecting sensitive case information.
• Ensure photos, testimonials and case stories are collected only where ethical, safe and based on meaningful consent.

Safeguarding, Conduct and Data Protection

• Uphold humanitarian principles, do-no-harm, conflict sensitivity, non-discrimination, confidentiality, inclusion and accountability to affected populations.
• Comply with Nexus Ethiopia and partner codes of conduct, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), child safeguarding, anti-fraud and anti-corruption policies and applicable data-protection rules.
• Promote safe, accessible feedback and complaints channels and report safeguarding concerns through approved confidential channels; do not investigate sensitive allegations independently.
• Maintain appropriate separation of duties, records and consent procedures; share personally identifiable or sensitive data only with authorized personnel for a legitimate purpose.

Qualifications and Experience

• BA/BSc or MA/MSc in Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, Gender Studies, Law, Human Rights, Public Health, Development Studies or a closely related discipline.
• Minimum five years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree, or three years with a relevant master’s degree, in humanitarian protection, GBV/CP, case management coordination or community-based protection.
• Demonstrated experience with humanitarian NGOs/INGOs, UN agencies, relevant government services or protection coordination structures; field experience in conflict-affected settings preferred.
• Practical experience with referral mapping, protection assessments, safeguarding, child-friendly or girls’ safe spaces, awareness facilitation and inclusive community engagement.
• Training in CP Minimum Standards, GBV guiding principles, PSEA, AAP, MHPSS/PFA, survivor-centred referrals or child safeguarding is an advantage.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong understanding of survivor-centred GBV response, child protection case management standards, informed consent, child safeguarding and do-no-harm.
• Strong facilitation, field coordination, team coaching, sound judgement and sensitive case-handling boundaries.
• Working proficiency in English, Amharic and Afar (written reporting in English; ability to communicate in Afar with local communities).
• Confident MS Word/Excel/Outlook user; Kobo/ODK or ActivityInfo experience is an asset.
• Commitment to impartiality, confidentiality, gender equality, disability inclusion and respectful community engagement.

Key Working Relationships

Internal: Project Coordinator, FSL Officer, LAF Officer, designated case management and MHPSS providers, community facilitators and Nexus Ethiopia technical staff.

External: Woreda Women and Social Affairs, Health and Education Offices, schools, social workers, child protection committees, health facilities, police/justice actors, protection partners and community groups.

Work Environment and Conditions

Field-based, with regular travel to affected kebeles of Ab’ala Woreda, safe spaces, service providers and woreda offices. Work may involve travel in insecure or hard-to-reach areas and requires strict compliance with movement, security and safeguarding procedures.