About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. 
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions 
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. 
Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary 

The Mercy Corps Protection team helps people mitigate their safety and preserve their dignity.  They take actions to enhance the inclusion of people with special needs and marginalized population cohorts.  The Protection team ensures that activities and approaches are intentionally placed in the design and implementation of the project to contribute to a safer, more dignified and more inclusive environment/experience for the project’s direct and indirect participants.

General Position Summary 

The Protection Manager is a dynamic and strategic position responsible for advancing Mercy Corps’ protection objectives in Sudan. Building on a deep understanding of humanitarian dynamics, displacement contexts, and social systems, the Manager will engage and support programs across sectors particularly in food security, livelihoods, WASH, and early economic recovery to identify protection risks and design practical, context-driven solutions that strengthen safety, dignity, and inclusion for crisis-affected populations.

Serving as a key member of the country’s technical leadership, the Manager will facilitate cross-sector collaboration, engaging professionals from diverse backgrounds to analyze complex protection challenges and translate findings into actionable guidance, capacity-building, and quality assurance. 

At the national level, the Protection Manager will represent Mercy Corps in coordination forums, cultivate partnerships with government entities, UN agencies, and civil society, and ensure that Mercy Corps’ protection programming aligns with global and regional trends, advancing an inclusive, survivor-centered, and rights-based approach to humanitarian and development work.

Essential Job Responsibilities 

Protection Strategy and Leadership

• Lead the development and operationalization of the National Protection Strategy, ensuring it reflects contextual risk analysis, aligns with the Country Strategic Plan, and promotes protection outcomes across all Mercy Corps programs.
• Provide technical leadership to ensure protection mainstreaming and risk mitigation in program design, implementation, and monitoring.
• Integrate age, gender, and diversity analysis into all assessments and programming to promote safety, dignity, and inclusion.
• Conduct and regularly update contextual protection analyses to identify evolving risks, threats, and vulnerabilities that inform adaptive programming.
• Foster a culture of accountability and ethical behavior by ensuring that staff, partners, and stakeholders uphold safeguarding, PSAE, and child protection principles.

Partner and Staff Capacity Strengthening

• Conduct national-level Partner Capacity Assessments on protection, GBV response, and community-based protection mechanisms.
• Develop and implement Capacity Strengthening Plans to enhance the competencies of local and national partners in protection programming, GBV prevention, and response.
• Lead training, mentoring, and coaching initiatives to strengthen staff and partner understanding of protection norms, humanitarian principles, and community-based protection.
• Support a peer-learning network among partners and staff to promote innovation, exchange of best practices, and continuous professional development.

 GBV Prevention, Response, and Case Management Oversight

• Provide technical oversight and quality assurance for GBV prevention and response interventions, ensuring adherence to Interagency GBV Case Management Guidelines.
• Oversee the establishment and functionality of safe spaces for women and girls and ensure integration with child-friendly and psychosocial support services.
• Guide the rollout of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for case management, referrals, and survivor support, ensuring compliance with confidentiality and ethical standards.
• Coordinate with the GBV AoR and Protection Cluster to strengthen referral mechanisms and ensure alignment with national systems and coordination frameworks.

Protection Mainstreaming and Technical Support to Programs

• Support sectoral teams (agriculture, WASH, SME, health, education) to identify and mitigate protection risks and integrate protection outcomes within their interventions.
• Facilitate protection risk assessments and advise program managers on adaptive strategies to strengthen inclusive, dignified, and safe access to services.
• Develop sector-specific guidance, checklists, and monitoring tools for protection mainstreaming.
• Promote community-based protection initiatives and encourage local actors to identify and address contextual risks collaboratively.

Proposal Development and New Initiative Design

• Support the design, development, and review of new program proposals to ensure protection integration and alignment with Mercy Corps and donor standards.
• Provide technical input during concept note and proposal development processes, ensuring that protection risk analysis, GBV mitigation, and safeguarding principles are embedded in new initiatives.
• Collaborate with regional and global technical teams to identify emerging opportunities, leverage best practices, and innovate protection-focused program models

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

• Work with MEL and technical teams to establish protection-sensitive indicators and ensure robust data collection disaggregated by age, gender, and vulnerability.
• Analyze protection trends, document best practices, and produce protection briefs, case studies, and lessons learned for program adaptation.
• Strengthen feedback and accountability mechanisms (CARMs) to ensure safe, confidential reporting and response to protection concerns.

Coordination, Advocacy, and Representation

• Serve as the primary national focal point for protection and safeguarding for Mercy Corps Sudan.
• Represent Mercy Corps in national protection coordination structures, including the GBV AoR, Protection Cluster, and inter-agency working groups.
• Advocate for protection priorities with government, UN agencies, and donors, positioning Mercy Corps as a leader in inclusive and protection-sensitive programming.
• Strengthening internal coordination between field teams and the Country Office to ensure consistent implementation of protection standards and approaches.

Organizational Learning 

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves. 
  Accountability To Beneficiaries 
• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically 
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility

Protection and Referral Officers

Accountability 

Reports Directly To: PaQ Director

Works Directly With: Director of Programs, Chief of parties, Project Directors, Technical Directors, Partnership Manager, Operation Directors and 

Knowledge and Experience 

• Master’s degree in social work, Gender Studies, International Development, or related field.
• Minimum 6 years of experience in protection, GBV, or safeguarding within humanitarian or development settings, including national or regional Managery roles.
• Strong understanding of protection norms, humanitarian principles, and community-based approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to lead protection mainstreaming and capacity-building efforts at country level.
• Proven experience managing or advising GBV and protection programs and ensuring quality case management systems.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, and communication skills with ability to translate complex protection issues into actionable strategies.
• Experience representing organizations in national coordination and advocacy forums.
• Fluency in English required; Arabic an asset.
• In addition, 2 years of experience providing technical support to gender and/or protection programs at a country, regional or global level that includes: preparing writing and analysis on proposal development, demonstrating strong theoretical and applied knowledge of gender integration, protection, and familiarity using integrated approaches and applying systems thinking.
• Detailed understanding of the centrality of protection in humanitarian principles and their application, including community-based approaches and rights-based approaches.
• Comprehensive knowledge of protection norms and standards, as well as, holistic and practical methods towards implementing protection mainstreaming and integrated protection outcomes.
• Broad understanding of accountability frameworks such as CARMs, Child Safeguarding and PSAE.
• Extensive experience working with displaced populations (IDPs and refugees).
• Knowledge in psychosocial best practices and proven methodologies.

Success Factors 

The Protection Manager will combine technical expertise, strategic vision, and adaptability to lead effective protection programming across humanitarian and development settings. Success in this role depends on strong analytical, coordination, and communication skills, the ability to translate complex protection issues into actionable solutions, and a commitment to evidence-based, inclusive, and survivor-centered programming. The Manager will demonstrate integrity, empathy, and professionalism while engaging diverse teams, government counterparts, and partners to promote accountability, dignity, and resilience for crisis-affected populations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Kassala with 40% travel to field offices to support programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.  Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard. 

Team Efficiency and Effectiveness 

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. 

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-Learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).