Safeguarding Officer

Job description

With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 31,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities

VisionFund Zambia Limited is part of a network of microfinance institutions within the VisionFund International network. We empower low-income entrepreneurs with access to integrated financial services that unlock their potential. We are part of World Vision, the largest global Christian humanitarian organization. In order to support our growth aspirations, we seek to recruit qualified candidates who are self-motivated and results-oriented to fill the following position:

Major Responsibilities

1.Support Leadership to establish a safeguarding culture

• Contextualize VF Zambia Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy for national and branch-level operating context, including policy roll-out.
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• Provide VisionFund Zambia CEO and Senior Management Team (SMT) with key messages and resources that enable them to build a healthy culture of safeguarding.
• Co-create and monitor an action plan with Leadership that articulates specific actions VisionFund Zambia CEO, SMT and Branch managers will take to create and nurture a safeguarding culture, embed in office’s overall Safeguarding Action Plan.
• Lead VisionFund Zambia roll-out of VFI-initiated Safeguarding activities such as Safeguarding Awareness Week.

2. Establish a functioning safeguarding training and capacity building system

• Contextualise safeguarding orientation and training materials for VisionFund Zambia staff, Board, interns, volunteers, partners and visitors and socialise with relevant department heads.

• Provide safeguarding training to all staff and coordinate in-depth, function-specific safeguarding training with staff who have key safeguarding responsibilities.

• Embed safeguarding messaging (prevention and reporting of harm) to relevant staff trainings (i.e. Empowered Worldview, Branch Managers training, Client Protection, among others).

• Ensure 100% completion rate for WVI-mandated Safeguarding onboarding and refresher (compliance) training.

3. Safeguarding incident management and investigations

• Develop Safeguarding Incident Preparedness Plan (SIPP) and train staff on their respective roles.
• Manage safeguarding incidents according to global protocols, in alignment with SIPP, in collaboration with Incident Management Team (IMT) with oversight by VFI Safeguarding and accountability to the WVI Safeguarding Unit.
• Coordinate or conduct investigations as planned; participate in Incident management calls and/or joint investigations as needed.
• Ensure all victim/survivor wishes are understood that they receive desired support, and that incident management is survivor centred at every stage.
• Provide safeguarding incident updates, reports, and documentation on Ethics Point within deadlines (target closure <90 days).

4. Ensure all branches have local complaint mechanisms and are appropriately designed to raise awareness of, detect, report and escalate safeguarding issues.

• Develop or contextualise accessible safeguarding awareness raising materials for clients, communities, including information on expected behaviour (per safeguarding behavioural protocols) and how to report violations.
• Train Branch staff on how to identify and escalate safeguarding incidents from complaints, feedback and interactions with clients.
• Enter safeguarding allegations into Ethics Point, including those escalated from complaint mechanism.

5. Apply a risk-based approach to safeguarding

• Coordinate with Risk and Compliance department in conducting and/or updating a VisionFund Zambia Safeguarding Risk Assessment and create a risk management plan, ensuring safeguarding risk is documented in the VisionFund Zambia central Risk Register and Risk Appetite.
• Document Leadership decisions and rationale related to safeguarding risk management, ensuring VisionFund Zambia Risk Register is updated accordingly.

6. Safeguarding monitoring, learning and continuous improvements.

• Lead a working group to complete the annual Safeguarding Update Report and use results to develop or contribute to an annual Safeguarding Action Plan
• Analyse progress on safeguarding compliance and quality safeguarding implementation and use learning to continue good practices, fill gaps and improve quality safeguarding implementation
•  Engage with VFI Safeguarding Network and coordinate closely with VFI Safeguarding Advisor for continuous guidance, learning and coaching.

Knowledge/Qualifications for the role

1. Required Professional Experience

• Technical skills: direct programming or management experience in prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), gender-based violence (GBV) or safeguarding
• Experience: 2 years’ + experience in overseeing PSEA, GBV, or safeguarding work preferably in a development and microfinance context
• Other: strong relationship building/network capacity, excellent communication skills, spiritual maturity in Christian faith, ability to influence, innovative, and proactive personality.

2. Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a Legal, Human Resources, Child or Women’s Rights-related field, or field/practical experience working with situations of policy formation, guidance and implementation
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3. Other Skills

• Strong computer and knowledge management skills, including ability to learn new platforms quickly
• Critical thinking skills to relate to work performed to broader business context

Applicant Types Accepted

Local Applicants Only