Protection Manager

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to protect, advocate and promote durable solutions for displacement affected populations.

DRC has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, currently DRC employs over 700 staff in Ukraine and will continue significant scale-up in 2024 to implement emergency response in the Protection, Livelihoods, Shelter/NFIs and Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (humanitarian mine action) sectors, using direct interventions, support to duty bearers and civil society organizations (CSOs), and partnerships with CSOs. DRC will continue and adapt its durable solutions portfolio to the evolving context.

DRC is currently looking for a highly qualified Protection Manager to join our team in Mykolaiv.

The overall purpose of the role:

Under the supervision of the Area Programme Manager, the Protection manager oversees the implementation of protection activities in Kherson and Mykolaiv including protection monitoring, individual protection assistance, legal aid, community-based protection, awareness raising and victim assistance. The protection manager ensures that these activities are conducted as per project proposals within the planned time frame and budget. The protection manager makes sure of the quality of activities through day to day management of activities and capacity building of the staff as needed. Maintaining close coordination with other sectors present at area level (GBV, Economic Recovery, Shelter, Basic Needs, HDP) is another key aspect of the position.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Project Management and implementation – protection activities.
• Coordinate, plan and monitor all protection related project activities, including protection monitoring, individual protection assistance, case management, community-based protection, psychosocial support, and legal aid.
• Liaise and coordinate permanently with DRC’s partner organizations and other protection humanitarian actors in the intervention area
• Ensure the highest quality of the sectoral interventions, and the coherence between all projects, ongoing and proposed, according to the overall strategy.
• Take leadership of the programs in terms of high quality and timely deliveries, narrative reporting and financial overviews, close cooperation with donors, Government counterparts and coordination mechanisms on site and in synergy with other DRC interventions in the area.
• Formalize and develop project related operational tools and training modules.
• Provide inputs for monthly, quarterly, and annual donor reports.
• Provide overall budget monitoring, financial management and expenses control for the program activities, including compliance with minimum DRC and donor requirements.

Program development and strategy

• Representation of DRC and active participation in sectoral and relevant sub sectors/working groups.
• Oversee knowledge sharing across teams and ensure that monitoring and evaluation results are understood and used to improve programs.
• Drive the development and growth of the relevant programs within the DRC program objectives and feed into country-wide strategy development.

Accountability and reporting

• Guided by the DRC Programme Handbook, continuously monitor and develop relevant accountability initiatives within relevant project program as well as strengthening the effort to document the impact of activities.
• Ensure compliance with internal and external reporting requirements including procurement.

People Management.

• Recruit and line manage protection project staff;
• Provide regular constructive feedback to direct reports, and support direct reports in performance management of their team members;
• Assess training and development needs within the Protection team, develop and implement capacity-building plans

Coordination:

• Ensure the coordination with relevant protection actors in the area of intervention.

As Manager the post-holder is responsible for the following:

• Accountable for achieving DRC’s strategic goals and objectives within the area of responsibility.
• Accountable for making significant decisions on what the unit does: its purpose, functions, and role, and for making commitments and decisions that require the expenditure of significant unit resources.
• Accountable for people management of direct reports, generally at least 3 employees. This includes hiring & firing, objective setting, probation, performance appraisal, development of staff, managing performance, including poor performance, etc.
• Accountable for making sound decisions based on DRC policies, MOPs, standards, and the advice of technical experts in DRC.

About you

To be successful in this role, we expect national applicants to have at least 3 years and international applicants to have at least 5 years of proven experience in social work, general project management, civil society organizations, or similar protection positions. Moreover we expect you to have the following:

• At least 2 years’ experience with people management (managing team of more than 5 people)
• Previous experience in project management (including budget management)
• University degree in Law, Human Rights, Social Work, Social Science, Psychology, Humanities or other related field.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with vulnerable groups, staff members, and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple responsibilities.
• Strong sense of personal integrity and understanding of confidentiality and ethics.
• Excellent writing and editing skills for external audiences (including governments and donors).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook/Exchange, Windows operating systems.
• Excellent reporting and protection analysis skills.
• Proficiency in English is compulsory. Forn international candidates Ukrainian or Russian will be considered as an asset.

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

• Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.
• Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.
• Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer:

• Contract length: 1 year (3 months as probation period)
• Level: F-2 Management
• Designation of Duty Stations: Mykolaiv
• Start date: ASAP

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates or National staff; please refer to www.drc.ngo under Vacancies.