Protection from Violence Officer Nigeria Gwoza

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

Responsibilities

1. Role and responsibilities

Generic Responsibilities

1. Implement NRC Protection from Violence policies, technical standards, SOPs and guidance in the assigned LGA, ensuring safe, accountable and principled protection programming.

2. Contribute to PfV project outputs and outcomes for displacement-affected people, including persons at heightened protection risk, through quality implementation, coordination and appropriate referrals.

3. Promote protection mainstreaming, safe programming, safeguarding, confidentiality, informed consent and do-no-harm principles across field activities.

4. Provide day-to-day technical guidance to protection Assistants, case workers, community-based protection networks (CBPNs) and relevant field personnel.

5. Work effectively under pressure with minimal supervision, plan and sequence field activities, implement approved work plans and SOPs, meet agreed deadlines and proactively raise operational or technical constraints.

6. Support accurate protection data collection, analysis, monitoring, reporting and timely escalation of critical protection risks.

7. Coordinate with the Protection from Violence Team Leader and represent NRC, when authorised, in LGA-level protection coordination and technical meetings with implementing partners, INGOs, government stakeholders and other service providers.

8. Identify technical gaps, strengthen programme quality and contribute to continuous learning, capacity strengthening and corrective action.

Specific responsibilities

These responsibilities shall be adapted to the particularities of the job location and context, phase of operation, strategic focus and type of programme intervention. This section shall be revised whenever a new employee is hired or the context changes significantly.

Integrated Protection responsibilities

• Serve as the PfV technical focal point in the assigned LGA, providing organised day-to-day technical leadership, implementation follow-up and quality assurance for case workers, CBPNs, implementing partners and other NRC teams under the direction of the Protection from Violence Team Leader, without formal line-management authority.
• Conduct regular field visits and protection monitoring through approved methodologies and tools, including household assessments, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and direct observation, with appropriate consent, privacy and data protection.
• Identify, document and promptly escalate urgent protection threats, critical incidents, safeguarding concerns and service gaps through approved reporting and referral channels, without exposing sensitive case information.
• Ensure all interviews, consultations and case-management interactions take place safely and privately, respecting dignity, accessibility, confidentiality and the preferences of affected people.
• Establish, maintain, test and regularly update functional LGA-level service mapping and protection referral pathways with specialised actors. Ensure case workers and partners know referral criteria, contact points, consent and confidentiality requirements, safe information-sharing protocols and follow-up procedures; identify and resolve referral bottlenecks and escalate service gaps.
• Support secure, accurate and timely recording of referrals and protection case-management information in approved systems, applying role-based access, data minimisation and information-sharing protocols.
• Support protection risk analysis, safe programming and risk mitigation across integrated NRC interventions, in close collaboration with other Core Competencies.
• Plan and facilitate practical coaching, mentoring, refresher sessions and capacity strengthening for case workers, CBPNs, NRC colleagues and implementing partners, based on identified quality gaps.
• Provide structured technical support to implementing partners, including joint planning, field accompaniment, review of implementation quality, coaching and follow-up on agreed actions, respecting partnership agreements and accountability arrangements.
• Identify community protection concerns and information needs, support CBPN-led community engagement and community-based protection initiatives, and ensure inclusive participation and safe feedback channels.
• Provide technical oversight and coaching to case workers across the full protection case-management cycle: safe identification and intake, informed consent, assessment, risk analysis, individual action planning, referrals, follow-up, case review and closure, in line with NRC SOPs and applicable inter-agency standards.
• Conduct regular confidential case-file quality reviews and case discussions with authorised staff; address documentation gaps, maintain secure records and escalate complex or high-risk cases to the appropriate technical lead. Do not disclose identifiable case information in routine reports.
• Support identification, assessment, approval routing, delivery follow-up and post-assistance monitoring of Individual Protection Assistance (IPA), ensuring assistance is one-off and linked to a documented, specific protection risk, with clear eligibility, proportionality, informed consent and segregation of duties. Do not independently approve payments outside delegated authority.
• Work with MEAL and relevant support functions to strengthen IPA verification, accountability, feedback and complaints mechanisms, and prevent duplicate, ineligible or fraudulent assistance without compromising participant confidentiality.
• Facilitate CBPN planning, safe identification and referral of protection concerns, mentoring and follow-up, while ensuring community structures do not undertake specialist case management beyond their training and mandate.
• Produce timely LGA-level protection monitoring analysis, identifying patterns, emerging risks, service gaps and practical recommendations for programme adaptation and advocacy through authorised channels.
• Provide technical accompaniment and quality assurance to local implementing partners on case management, IPA, monitoring, safe referrals, documentation, safeguarding and reporting, escalating material compliance concerns through agreed partnership channels.

Reporting

• Maintain accurate, timely and confidential activity records, case-management documentation, IPA records, referral registers, monitoring tools and agreed means of verification, using approved NRC systems.
• Maintain organised and up-to-date field filing, work plans, action trackers and case/IPA documentation, with clear responsibility for completeness, timely submission, secure storage and compliance with retention and access controls.
• Submit accurate, concise weekly LGA-level activity and protection monitoring reports to the Protection from Violence Team Leader, with timely technical inputs to the PfV CC lead as requested. Reports must analyse protection trends, progress against work plans and targets, referrals, partner activities, outstanding actions, risks and corrective measures. Submit urgent incident updates and ad hoc reports within required timelines.
• Independently develop realistic weekly and monthly LGA work plans aligned with approved project targets, implementation schedules and partner commitments; organise field resources, prioritise tasks, monitor delivery against milestones, maintain an action tracker and address delays promptly. Meet reporting and implementation deadlines, escalating constraints early to the Protection from Violence Team Leader.

Coordination

• Maintain active, respectful working relationships with local communities, CBPNs, implementing partners, INGOs, national NGOs, specialised protection providers, relevant authorities and other stakeholders to advance agreed protection and project objectives, while maintaining NRC independence and humanitarian principles.
• Represent PfV in LGA-level protection coordination, referral pathway, inter-agency and stakeholder meetings when delegated; communicate technical priorities clearly, document decisions, share non-confidential updates and follow through on agreed coordination actions and referral bottlenecks.
• Coordinate regularly with the Protection Team Leader, PfV technical leads, partner focal points and programme teams on delivery progress, risks, technical decisions and capacity needs.
• Hold regular operational and technical follow-up discussions with case workers and partners to review caseload progress, overdue referrals, case-file quality, IPA processing, planned activities and corrective actions; track completion without assuming staff line-management responsibilities.

• Collaborate closely with MEAL and other Core Competencies on safe data collection, indicator tracking, feedback and complaints, verification, learning and integrated protection risk mitigation.

HR

• Adhere to NRC staff policies, financial controls, safeguarding and PSEA requirements, and ensure the responsible use of programme resources.
• Uphold NRC’s Code of Conduct, integrity and anti-corruption requirements; prevent and promptly report suspected fraud, bribery, coercion, favouritism, diversion, conflicts of interest or exploitation through established confidential channels.
• Comply with NRC safety and security procedures, contribute to field risk assessments and ensure that no programme activity or case-management decision compromises staff or participant safety.

Critical interfaces

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Protection from Violence Programme Development Manager and PfV technical advisers

• Protection from Violence Team Leader, Protection Coordinator and Area Management

• Implementing partners, MEAL, other Core Competencies, Partnerships, Finance and Supply Chain

• Ability to work independently under pressure with minimal supervision, manage competing priorities, organise field schedules, follow agreed work plans and SOPs, meet deadlines and promptly escalate issues beyond delegated authority.

• Proven commitment to confidentiality, impartiality, accountability, conflict-of-interest management and ethical decision-making.

Qualifications

1. Competencies

• Relevant university degree in social work, psychology, law, social sciences, development studies or a related field; demonstrated experience delivering protection activities in humanitarian or displacement settings.

• Demonstrated experience in protection case management, case-file quality assurance, safe referrals, protection monitoring and individual protection assistance (IPA), including application of eligibility criteria and documented protection-risk analysis.

• Strong technical understanding of protection principles, humanitarian protection standards, NRC procedures, case management and referral protocols, with demonstrated ability to apply SOPs consistently, provide constructive case-file feedback and support safe, timely and accountable decisions.

• Excellent written and spoken English, with demonstrated ability to prepare clear analytical protection monitoring reports, case notes and weekly activity reports; Hausa and relevant local languages are an advantage.

• Strong practical skills in technical mentoring, partner collaboration, community engagement, data quality, confidential case documentation and cross-functional coordination; familiarity with digital data collection and reporting tools is desirable.

• Demonstrated ability to independently prepare and deliver realistic work plans, coordinate multiple stakeholders, manage competing deadlines under pressure, maintain orderly records and action trackers, and produce high-quality analytical reports with minimal supervision.

• Knowledge of protection risks and operating contexts in north-east Nigeria, particularly Borno and Adamawa States; commitment to safeguarding, PSEA, anti-fraud controls and principled humanitarian action.

3. Behavioural competencies

• Planning and delivering results

• Empowering and building trust

• Communicating with impact and respect

• Handling insecure environment

1. Performance Management

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC Performance Management Manual. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description

• The Work and Development Plan

• The Mid-term/End-of-trial Period Performance Review Template

• The End-term Performance Review Template

• The NRC Competency Framework

About us

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.

Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world's most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.

At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.

Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:

• treat everyone with respect and dignity

• contribute to building a safe environment for all

• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)

• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH