Director, Safeguarding
Global Communities

Overview

Global Communities is an international development non-profit organization. Our mission is to create long-lasting, positive and community-led change that improves the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable people across the globe.

Global Communities is seeking a Director of Safeguarding to join the Executive Office at the headquarters in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland.

The Director, Safeguarding is responsible for the coordinated global program to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all staff, representatives, partners, participants, and anyone with whom Global Communities interacts worldwide, especially children and adults at risk. This includes to protect beneficiaries from sexual exploitation and abuse, to protect Global Communities staff from sexual harassment, and to lead the establishment and continual refinement of Global Communities' safeguarding approaches across its global programming and work environments. The Director ensures that Global Communities' Safeguarding Framework is effectively implemented in all Global Communities programs and that safeguarding matters are responded to in a timely, sensitive and effective manner. The Director develops detailed guidance and provides ongoing technical safeguarding support to host country teams and partners to strengthen best practices, tools, and implementation of strategies for safeguarding. The Director abides by the applicable rules, regulations, and donor requirements concerning protection and safeguarding in the unique operating environments in which Global Communities implements programs. Frequent and/or extended travel outside of the United States is possible.

This role reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer.

Responsibilities

Responsibility Area: Safeguarding Culture & Leadership

• Establish a culture of prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment through the development of appropriate policies, procedures, trainings and communications.
• Cultivate a strong network of Focal Points across Global Communities offices to support consistent and effective Safeguarding protocols, learning and training.
• Coordinate and provide support to the various Global Communities stakeholders to conduct investigations into reported violations, including appointing Investigation Managers or Independent (external) Investigators for each case, or serve as the Investigation Manager for cases where appropriate/necessary.
• Serve as Global Communities' representative at interagency working groups related to Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse and Workplace Sexual Harassment.

Responsibility Area: Safeguarding Framework Design & Management

• Implement Global Communities' Safeguarding Framework containing prevention and response policies and procedures at all levels and global locations of the organization, in close coordination with the People & Culture Department and the Office of Ethics.
• Conduct benchmarking with similar organizations and participate in industry roundtables on Safeguarding issues to ensure Global Communities' Safeguarding Framework incorporates current and best practices for safeguarding.
• Conduct country reviews, assessments, and focus groups to identify key risk areas, including cultural and safety considerations; work with Country Directors and Chiefs of Party to identify country specific issues and methods to manage and mitigate risks.
• Ensure safeguarding policies and procedures are kept up to date, incorporate safeguarding best practices, and comply with government and legislative requirements.
• Ensure that lessons learned and remediation following assessments, reviews and investigations are incorporated into enhancing the Safeguarding Framework effectiveness.

Responsibility Area: Safeguarding Learning & Training

• Lead global efforts to develop protection and safeguarding training materials and work with country teams to identify and address training and awareness gaps.
• Facilitate safeguarding trainings for country teams as needed to address gaps.
• Oversee the design and delivery of Annual Safeguarding Training for all staff.

Responsibility Area: Safeguarding Capacity Building

• Provide training, advice and guidance to continually build internal investigation capacity for staff conducting investigations into alleged sexual exploitation and abuse of beneficiaries and workplace sexual harassment.
• Provide technical assistance to strengthen safeguarding practices throughout project life cycles at program and country levels.

Responsibility Area: Safeguarding Reporting & Compliance

• Ensure appropriate beneficiary and staff reporting mechanisms are identified and implemented, and coordinate with appropriate teams regarding any recommended enhancements.
• Monitor and continually develop beneficiary and staff reporting mechanisms to ensure optimal adoption and effectiveness of mechanisms as well as donor reporting as required.
• Maintain a centralized record of the PSEA Risk Assessment for each program/ project as well as the country context analysis for every country of operation.
• Maintain a confidential database of safeguarding reports, with status and outcome.

Responsibility Area: Proposal Development

• Provide technical assistance to Strategic Growth and Partnership team to strengthen proposals and to ensure donor safeguarding requirements are being addressed effectively.

POSITION SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Frequent and/or extended travel outside of the United States is possible, up to 30% of the time.
• Promote a culture of excellence, inclusion, learning, support, diversity and innovation.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven experience responding to and managing sensitive safeguarding matters in a confidential manner.
• Experience developing safeguarding resource materials, including guidance, tools, and best practices.
• Experience working in fragile settings that have conflict, post-conflict, or transitional state characteristics.
• Investigations experience with sexual exploitation and abuse as well as workplace sexual harassment.
• Experience with beneficiary protection from abuse and exploitation and sexual harassment in development and humanitarian contexts in conflict/refugee settings, and knowledge of international protection frameworks and mechanisms.
• Experience working with vulnerable children and adults.
• Commitment to adhering to a survivor-centered approach.
• Experience working in multi-cultural environments, often in very challenging circumstances.
• Demonstrated practical and theoretical expertise in designing and managing programs in fragile humanitarian assistance and international development settings that have conflict, post-conflict, or transitional state characteristics.
• Strong organizational skills, exceptional sense of responsiveness and ability to follow-through.
• Ability to work productively and effectively with virtual teams spread around the world.
• Demonstrated ability to build safeguarding capacity in staff.
• Strong change management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with strong competencies in the development and delivery of training.
• Fluency in written and spoken English essential. Proficiency in one other language applicable to Global Communities' programs (French, Spanish, Arabic) preferred.
• Willingness and ability to travel, including to fragile settings, up to 30% of the time, possibly for extended periods of time.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve results in demanding and often difficult operating environments.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a related discipline and a minimum of eight years of related work experience or a minimum of 12 years of related work experience.
• Professional experience in Safeguarding program design and implementation, with clear demonstration of rights-based approaches to development and the application of Safeguarding technical advice.
• Experience must include experience working for an international development organization.
• US work authorization required.
• A passion for the mission and values of Global Communities.
• Must have U.S. work authorization.

Global Communities is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

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