Job Description

Position: Alternative Child Care Program Coordinator

Number: 1 position

Closing Date: 8th August 2022

Location: Hargeisa, Somaliland

Established in 1949, SOS Children’s Villages International is the umbrella organization to which all SOS Children’s Villages including SOS Children’s Villages Somaliland Association is affiliated. SOS Children's Villages is a social development international organization working 135 countries globally and committed to the welfare of children – often throughout the whole of their childhood, and to strengthening families and communities as a preventive measure in the fight against abandonment and social neglect. With the SOS Children’s Village concept, the organization pioneered a family approach to the long-term care of orphaned and abandoned children.  SOS Children’s Villages upholds child protection policy and our selection processes reflect our commitment to the protection of children and youth from abuse.

Priority Task and Responsibilities

  • Ensuring the overall development of the children & youth in SOS families and other forms of family based care: ensures that the needs of children and youth are identified, respected and protected. He/she coordinates the planning and budgeting, monitoring and evaluation processes for the Alternative Care (AC) program unit. The AC Coordinator accounts for the implementation of the organization’s policies, manuals, standards and guidelines and implements administrative systems promoting the efficient and responsible use of financial resources and property. He/she presides over the Child protection team and the child admission committee and cooperates closely with representative / coordinative functions (e.g. SOS mother coordinator).

  • Guiding and supporting SOS Children’s Villages’ co-workers: The AC Coordinator leads and supports all AC Co-workers in a strategic way according to SOS Children’s Villages policies and values and acknowledged and contextualized guidelines of leadership, management and human resource development. He/she delegates tasks with trust and gives co-workers the space to perform effectively. The position holder creates an open working environment and promotes strong links between SOS families, staff and stakeholders. He/she coordinates the professional recruitment and careful orientation for all AC program unit co-workers, provides ongoing feedback, carries out performance appraisal discussions with direct supervisees, encourages co-workers to take responsibility for their own learning and development (according to the HR Manual’s principles and guidelines) and ensures that they receive the support they need to fulfil their tasks. The AC Coordinator manages routine personnel administration tasks, including management of personnel files and leave administration. He/ She consults the AC Co- workers on key staff issues (such as recruitment, salaries etc.).

  • Guiding and supporting SOS mothers, SOS Aunts and SOS families: The AC Coordinator ensures that framework conditions for a high quality of child care within the SOS families are given. He/she supports the development of strong and long term family ties and ensures a secure environment for children and SOS mothers. The AC Coordinator builds positive relationships with children through day-to-day interactions and regular meetings and maintains an overview of and interest in the needs and development of all children. He/she ensures the required support and monitoring services for SOS mothers and Aunts and coordinates their professional development.

  • Guiding and supporting SOS Youth Care Co-workers: The AC Coordinator ensures that framework conditions for a high quality of youth care is provided in the youth care program and ensures that youth programs offer career, learning and development opportunities for youths and maintains an overview of and interest in the needs and development of youths.

  • Promoting strong and long-term partnerships with communities: The AC Coordinator promotes and facilitates strong relationships and partnerships between SOS families, youths in youth facilities/youth care programs, and youth care co-workers and the community. He/she forges strong links with like-minded and complementary organizations.

 Key performance areas and main responsibilities:

Strategic and program development

  1.   To work with key Program co-workers to design and deliver innovative Alternative Care Models.

  2. Contributes towards annual and strategic planning in the area of Alternative Child Care work.

  3. To implement and evaluate different kinds of Alternative Care models.

  4. To identify capacity gaps pertaining to Alternative Care of children, and facilitate capacity building process accordingly.

  5. Contributes to policy and guideline development, translation, revision, familiarization and follow-up of proper implementation in the area of Alternative Child Care work.

  6. In assistance with other National Program Development Manager (NPDM) other related professions actively contributes to putting the SOS Children’s Villages Program Policy and related policies into practice taking into consideration national legislation and context.

  7. Works closely with Location and National Office Co-workers in carrying out feasibility studies and participates in the development of concept notes and program proposals.

  8. Develops detailed program concepts for new types of interventions in the program jointly with program staff in the locations and submits the same for review by the NPDM.

  9. Leads specific program development projects as assigned.

  10. Capacity building, knowledge management and information dissemination in regards to Alternative Care.

Skills and Qualifications

Must criteria

  1. Education: Degree in social sciences is highly recommended (management/leadership, HRM, educational sciences, psychology, social work etc).

  2. Experience: leadership experience at a senior management/executive level, preferably within the NGO or public sector.

  3. Minimum 7 years practical experience in one or more of the following functional areas: child and/or youth care, community development, psychology, education

  4. Preferably married and between 38-50 years of age

  5. Health: Good physical and mental health

  6. Readiness to live within SOS Children’s Village premises and perform intermittent tasks

  7. Willingness to make a long-term commitment

  8. Strong interest in working with children and youths

  9. Knowledge of local language and culture

  10. Readiness to obtain the necessary SOS specific competences through a professional orientation and basic training process and ongoing development

  11. Fluency in spoken and written English and local language(s).

Competencies – knowledge, skills, abilities

Professional Competences:

  1. Management competences: skills and expertise in HR/HRD; ability of strategic thinking, planning and budgeting; financial management skills; basic knowledge in fundraising and marketing; network-based way of thinking

  2. Child and youth care competences: pedagogical and psychological knowledge and skills; basic comprehension of child, youth and family development; knowledge of national child welfare and child care legislation; familiar with and aware of children’s rights and child protection; capability to promote child and youth activities; knowledge and experience on alternative child care models, experience in cooperating with local and national child and youth care projects of governmental and NGO initiatives

  3. SOS Children’s Village competences: knowledge and comprehension of the task areas of SOS mothers and youth care co-workers; profound knowledge about the SOS organization and its core principles (vision-mission-values, policies, local and global development); familiar with the integrated approach policy

Social Competences:

  1. Leadership: Ability of building effective teams, keeping high performance and generate commitment to organizational goals; ability to delegate; knowledge and skills in conflict management; communication skills

  2. Teamwork skills: ability to build interpersonal relationships

  3. Intercultural, gender and diversity sensitivity: respects and appreciates different cultures, religions and social backgrounds and is capable of a gender sensitive approach

  4. Emphatic and active listener

  5. Community development and facilitation skills

Methodical competences:

  1. Capability for participative approaches

  2. Monitoring and evaluation skills

  3. Hands-on computer software skills (E-Mail, Word)

  4. Good presentation and project management skills

Personal competences:

  1. Strong interest in child and youth care

  2. Upright, stable and mature personality

  3. Self-management skills (including the capability to continuously reflect upon own behaviour and gain learning experiences for the future)

  4. Ability to keep a good work-life balance (including stress management skills)

  5. Perseverance, patience and understanding

  6. Willingness to learn and develop

  7. Capacity to taking pressure

  8. Flexibility

 

How to apply

Interested applicants should send their applications with a CV and scanned copies of your academic and professional certificates indicating telephone numbers and three referees to: hr@sos-somaliland.org. Closing date is 8th August 2022. SOS is an equal employer. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

We are committed for safeguarding and protecting children in our programmes by having zero-tolerance policy in this regard. We are further committed to provide a safe environment for staff and children, young people and adults with whom we work, where human rights are respected and upheld, and healthy relations fostered by building organisational systems, capacity, and awareness on PSHEA (prevention and protection against sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse) guidelines. All our co-workers are obliged to follow our policy on Child Safeguarding and Protection, PSHEA and Code of Conduct.

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