Senior Safeguarding Officer

Notice of Recruitment – Lao National Staff

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) is a Norwegian humanitarian organisation supporting mine action and disarmament, capacity building, and development in many countries around the world. NPA has been engaged in the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Lao PDR since 1997. NPA is currently conducting UXO survey and clearance across four provinces in southern Lao PDR, including Champasak, Saravane, Sekong, and Attapeu. NPA has the main offices in Vientiane and Pakse, and satellite offices in Saravane, Sekong, and Attapeu.

NPA’s Lao PDR programme is now seeking a qualified, enthusiastic, experienced, and well-motivated person for the following positions: 

Senior Safeguarding Officer: 01 Position – based in Pakse, with regular travels to NPA’s areas of operations in four southern provinces and Vientiane Office

The Senior Safeguarding Officer will play a crucial role in implementing the NPA safeguarding policy for preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, and promoting a culture of safeguarding among all NPA staff and people in contact with NPA to ensure they are protected from harm and exploitation.

General responsibilities

• Promote an environment in which programme beneficiaries, staff, contractors and other representatives know how NPA expects them to behave and will respond should they fail to meet those expectations, how they can submit complaints and report their concerns.
• Make sure that all staff have a level of knowledge and competence with regard to safeguarding that is appropriate for their function and role.
• Ensure that NPA staff are updated on NPA safeguarding policy and are familiar with the procedures for incident reporting.
• Assist NPA Lao PDR Management Team in investigating and reporting safeguarding cases.

Specific duties

• Disseminate and monitor the implementation of NPA safeguarding policy and procedures in accordance with current legislation and best practices.
• Act as the main point of contact for the national staff and local people if there are safeguarding concerns. Receive safeguarding reports and incidents, and immediately report the cases to the Deputy Programme Manager for further reporting and instructions.
• Assist NPA Lao PDR Management Team in investigating and reporting safeguarding cases. It is essential that confidentiality is maintained at all stages of the process when dealing with safeguarding concerns. Information relating to the concern and subsequent case management should be shared on a need-to-know basis only, and should be kept secure at all times.
• Provide safeguarding training and awareness sessions to staff and external partners. Ensure all personnel are equipped with the knowledge to identify signs of abuse and neglect and understand the reporting processes.
• Conduct risk assessments to identify potential safeguarding risks and develop action plans to mitigate them.
• Stay up-to-date with changes in safeguarding legislation, practices, and trends. Recommend improvements to safeguarding processes and practices based on learnings from incidents and case reviews.
• Travel regularly between Vientiane and NPA areas of operation (southern Lao PDR).
• Provide translation when needed.
• Any other duties as instructed by the Deputy Programme Manager and Country Director.

Required qualifications:

Must have:

• Proven experience in a safeguarding role.
• Good training/presentation skills.
• Professional experience with translating documents from Lao to English and English to Lao.
• Written and verbal proficiency in English and Lao languages (both written and spoken).
• Proficiency in MS Office, particularly MS Word and Excel.
• Good computer skills.
• Valid driving license.

Desirable:

• Previous experience working for an international NGO.

Personal Competencies:

• Strong understanding of safeguarding legislation, policies, and procedures.
• Very good communication skills with high cultural understanding and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong team player with required willingness and ability to work long hours where required.
• Ability to work in a systematic, structured and organised way; to prioritise multiple tasks with support when required; and to be flexible to adapt to changing workloads and a variety of tasks.
• Ability to meet deadlines and work calmly under pressure and with limited supervision.
• Ability to take initiative and be proactive in areas of responsibility.