Protection Officer (Child Protection, MHPSS, Safeguarding)

About the role

People in Need, a Czech humanitarian organization active in Afghanistan since 2001, is recruiting a Protection Officer to implement protection programming at field level. The role covers community-based child protection, MHPSS, awareness-raising and sensitization, capacity strengthening of community structures and referrals. The officer supervises Community Outreach Workers, MHPSS Counsellors and Community Support Center officers and works closely with communities, partners and service providers, in coordination with the partner organization.

Key responsibilities

• Plan and implement child protection and MHPSS activities according to child protection principles, safeguarding standards and project guidelines
• Organize awareness-raising and community engagement activities with children, caregivers and community members
• Support child protection integration, including risk mapping, safety assessments and mitigation actions
• Supervise outreach workers, CSC officers and MHPSS counsellors, and carry out regular field visits to monitor quality and adherence to standards
• Strengthen community-based child protection structures and help communities identify, prevent and respond to child protection risks
• Maintain information on available services, identify children and families needing support and facilitate safe referrals, following up and keeping confidential records
• Collect and submit activity data, support monitoring, assessments and beneficiary feedback, and contribute to reports and documentation of lessons learned
• Communicate regularly with community leaders, service providers and local authorities, and take part in local child protection coordination meetings

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Psychology, International Development, Education, Human Rights or a related field
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in child protection, protection, social work or community-based programming
• Experience supervising outreach workers, volunteers or community-based workers
• Experience with referrals, service providers and community structures, and with organizing trainings and awareness activities
• Experience supporting monitoring, data collection, reporting and documentation
• Fluency in Dari (for Samangan) and Pashto (for Wardak)

Required skills

• Good knowledge of child protection principles, referral systems and community-based child protection
• Familiarity with referral pathways to MHPSS, health, legal and GBV services
• Basic understanding of confidentiality and data protection for sensitive case information
• Cultural sensitivity and age- and gender-sensitive engagement with children, adolescents and families in a conservative context