Child Protection Coordinator

Job Purpose:

The Child Protection Coordinator is responsible for the planning, management, and quality oversight of all child protection activities. This includes overseeing individual case management for high-risk children, strengthening Community-Based Child Protection Committees (CBCPCs), leading the prevention strategy through culturally grounded approaches, and managing the Household Vulnerability Pulse early-warning system. The post-holder ensures that child protection programming is evidence-based, conflict-sensitive, and aligned with national and international standards.

Key Responsibilities

Case Management and Child Protection Services

• Manage a caseload of high-risk children including Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG), Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC), and GBV/SEA survivors
• Oversee the establishment and operation of Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS) and structured psychosocial support (PSS) programming.
• Lead family tracing and reunification (FTR) activities for separated and unaccompanied children, following inter-agency FTR protocols and best interests procedures.
• Supervise the digital case management platform (offline-first, icon-based interface), ensuring data quality, confidentiality, timely follow-up, and compliance with data protection standards across all cases.

Prevention and Community-Based Protection

• Lead the prevention strategy, embedding culturally grounded mechanisms including Islamic scholar-led dialogues on child rights, communal child-rearing norms through lazumci obligations, and CBCPC networks that activate community surveillance as a recognised social practice.
• Work with local Islamic scholars and Bulamas to facilitate community dialogues on child protection using Qur\'anic frameworks on kafala (orphan guardianship) and communal obligation 
• Conduct targeted awareness activities on child protection risks including recruitment by armed groups, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), child labour, and early/forced marriage.
• Ensure conflict sensitivity and Do No Harm analysis are integrated across all community-level activities.

CBCPC Network and Early Warning

• Oversee the establishment, training, and ongoing support of Community-Based Child Protection Committees (CBCPCs) structured around existing Kanuri and Shuwa Arab community authority. 
• Implement and manage the Household Vulnerability Pulse system: a pre-emptive early-warning mechanism through which CBCPC volunteers collect five household indicators weekly and trigger a 72-hour response protocol when vulnerability thresholds are met.
• Train CBCPC members in identification of child protection risks, safe referral pathways, and basic case documentation, ensuring gender-balanced committee composition and active participation of women members.

Coordination and Referral

• Maintain active engagement with the Child Protection Sub-Sector and relevant coordination mechanisms at state and LGA level.
• Establish and manage referral pathways to specialised services, including GBV, health, legal aid, and education actors, and monitor referral outcomes.
• Liaise with community leaders, local government authorities, and other implementing partners to strengthen the protective environment for children.
• Coordinate with the Livelihoods Coordinator to integrate child protection considerations into market compacts, VSLA structures, and vocational training activities.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Contribute to baseline and endline assessments, monthly output monitoring, and quarterly outcome reviews covering all child protection indicators.
• Ensure all CP data is collected, disaggregated (by sex, age, displacement status, LGA), and entered accurately using KoBoToolbox or equivalent digital data collection platform.
• Track case management caseloads, CBCPC functionality, PSS participation, Household Vulnerability Pulse alerts, and referral outcomes.
• Prepare timely, high-quality programme reports for the Project Manager and for donor reporting requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, Human Rights, International Development, or a related field. A postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Minimum six years of experience in child protection programming, including at least two years in a coordination or management role in a humanitarian context.
• Demonstrated experience managing individual case management for CAAFAG, UASC, and GBV/SEA case types to inter-agency minimum standards; experience establishing and supporting community-based child protection mechanisms; ability to engage traditional and religious leaders in complex, conflict-affected environments.
• Fluency in Hausa or Kanuri (written and spoken) with English proficiency for reporting; experience with digital data collection platforms such as KoBoToolbox; direct experience in Borno State or northeast Nigeria is an advantage.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with a commitment to humanitarian values, accountability, safeguarding, and gender sensitivity.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. FINDEF is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from qualified female candidates and from candidates from Borno State.

Note

• Our organization procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
• We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.
• FINDEF does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. FINDEF’s recruitment process is transparent, and merit based. Lobbying of any form is not allowed and can lead to disqualification.
• FINDEF has zero tolerance to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of beneficiaries. Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) is everyone’s responsibility, and all staff are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct, that enshrines principles of PSEA, at all times (both during work hours and outside work hours).
• Familiarization with, and adherence to FINDEF’s Code of Conduct is an essential requirement for all staff, in addition to related mandatory training.