Protection Officer (BUEA, South West Region)

Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world. The IRC assists, provides rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of oppression and violent conflict. Present in more than 40 countries, IRC's mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are affected by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and take charge of their future.

In the face of a growing humanitarian crisis, the IRC is running emergency programmes in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon. The planned programmes include environmental health (EH), Protection and Rule of Law (PROL), Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) and Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE).

IRC is recruiting a Protection Officer who will be a member of the Protection and Rule of Law (PRoL) team in the South West Region, with main office in Buea and field offices in Meme and Ndian. The role of the Protection Officer will be to oversee the work of the Protection Assistants and ensure the implementation of emergency protection response activities such as Protection Monitoring, Protection Case Management, protection assessment, capacity building of humanitarian actors on protection mainstreaming, training of community leaders and emergency response for persons with specific needs while ensuring adherence to COVID 19 preventive measures.

The Protection Officer will work closely with other IRC sectors such as Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE), Economic Recovery and Development and WASH to ensure integration of programmme activities.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The Protection Officer is responsible for protection activities in the areas affected by the crisis in the South West Region. The main tasks will be to monitor the situation in terms of protection of populations affected by the crisis, to conduct mapping for existing service providers and provide information to the communities through the organization of focus groups discussions or individual interviews and finally refer the most urgent cases to the appropriate service. The Protection Officer will respect the principle of confidentiality of the information received during the activities. The Protection assistant will respect the principle of confidentiality of the information received during the activities. He/She will work closely with the Protection Manager, other Protection Officers, M& E Officer and other Mobile Team members to provide a protection response during deployment.

The Protection Officer will report to the Protection Manager

RESPONSABILITES:

• Conduct protection risk analysis in deployment areas and in coordination with WPE teams, work with communities including CBOs to develop risk reduction mechanisms
• Conduct the Rapid Protection Assessment and refer at-risk individuals to relevant / appropriate service providers, including health centers, community-based organizations, NGO programmes or other care services in the intervention areas.
• Providing emergency response to cases of protection for persons with special needs
• Conduct mapping of existing service providers on deployment areas and, through focus group, provide an update on existing services and their accessibility for people with specific protection needs.
• In collaboration with the Protection Manager and the WPE team, organize capacity building sessions for CBO members and community leaders on protection topics.
• Work with WPE teams to facilitate internal referencing.
• Report daily protection situation to the Protection Manager and M & E Officer for integration in monitoring reports.
• Ensure ethical and confidential data collection during, case management, monitoring and evaluation.
• Monitor the progress of the programme and identify any delays that have been or may be expected
• Comply with the IRC security procedures and report the security information provided to him to ensure a safe and secure environment for the implementation of the programme.

Monitoring & Reporting

• Ensure that activities are fully documented, including regular and systematic collection of data required by the lessor and for use in M & E activities.
• Establish and implement a training evaluation system as pre/post tests to measure participants' learning level.
• Produce / contribute to the writing of the reports required by IRC and the lessor (progress of activities, monitoring of indicators, etc.)

Coordination & Représentation

• Ensure coordination on the organization of training in mainstreaming protection with other stakeholders on the theme as well as with communities.
• Work closely and coordinate with the IRC Support Services to carry out programme activities. This includes participation in the opening, follow-up and closing meetings of the grant
• Ensure linkage, coordination and sharing of information on activities with national NGOs, international organizations, donors and the government.

Others:

• Any other task requested by her/his supervisor for efficient programme implementation.

Professional Standards

• Commit to IRC Way (or Code of Conduct / Mandatory Reporting Policies)
• Commit to ensuring the optimal implementation of these policies in its framework.
• Commit to comply with IRC's Internal Regulations in Cameroon