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Duties and responsibilities:
DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE This role will work with programme teams and technical leads, Project Managers/Coordinators, PMERL/MERL, People and Culture, Support Services and the Emergency Response Team to integrate and track gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding across the programme cycle (design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning). Provides technical and professional advice and support to Gender Equality, Inclusion and Safeguarding Focal Points in Plan International Sudan, empowering them to take full ownership of their roles and to strengthen policy and procedure implementation in their departments and programmes. Provides technical input and/or implementation support for country-level safeguarding and gender tasks (e.g. in emergency response, safe participation and engagement, case management, sponsorship, programming and influencing) as delegated by the Director/Head of Programme Strategy and Humanitarian Response Manager. Designs, develops and delivers specific projects and activities to strengthen a robust gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding framework for Plan International Sudan, including guidance, toolkits, training materials and standard operating procedures. Leads or supports investigations and case reviews into safeguarding concerns or reported incidents, providing onsite or remote case management support as required. Actively engages with national and local child protection, safeguarding, GBV and gender equality networks and coordination mechanisms in Sudan to promote the safe and meaningful engagement of children and young people. Has no direct line management but supports the Head of Programme Implementation and Humanitarian Response Manager to exercise indirect oversight of significant gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding programme budgets managed by Project Managers in Programme Areas (PAs). ACCOUNTABILITIES Strategic Leadership and Organizational Transformation - Lead the development and implementation of the Country Gender Equality, Inclusion and Safeguarding Strategic Framework.
- Provide strategic direction to the Country Leadership Team on organizational commitments related to gender equality, safeguarding and feminist leadership.
- Ensure GEI and Safeguarding are systematically integrated across country strategy, annual business planning, humanitarian response plans and departmental workplans.
- Lead country-level GEISA maturity assessments and organizational improvement initiatives.
- Advise CLT on emerging risks, trends and strategic opportunities.
Strengthen Humanitarian Leadership - Lead technical integration of GEI and Safeguarding across humanitarian preparedness, anticipatory action, emergency response and nexus programming.
- Ensure minimum standards for protection mainstreaming, Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), PSEA and safeguarding are embedded across all emergency interventions.
- Lead emergency gender and protection analyses and contribute to humanitarian needs assessments.
- Provide surge technical support during emergency scale-ups.
Programme Strategy, Design and Implementation - Contribute to and/or lead the development and implementation of country-specific policies, strategies and goals on gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding that embed gender-transformative and safeguarding approaches across Plan International Sudan’s programmes and operations.
- Ensure programme and project designs in Sudan reflect a rights-based, gender-transformative and inclusive approach and demonstrate good practice in mainstreaming gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding in both development and humanitarian contexts.
- Design contextually appropriate gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding interventions based on identified needs, risks and gaps, including those arising from the conflict and displacement in Sudan.
- Support the development and implementation of country-level gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding action plans, including risk assessments and mitigation measures, and monitor progress towards compliance with Plan International’s global standards and donor requirements.
- Ensure that Plan International’s programme approaches, guidelines and minimum standards for gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding in humanitarian action are systematically applied in Sudan.
- Conduct or support gender, inclusion and safeguarding power and policy analyses of structures, systems and networks in Sudan to identify opportunities for changes in law, policy, budget and behavior at national and sub-national levels.
Support regular reviews and learning exercises to inform management on progress, challenges, opportunities and recommendations related to gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding. - Promote and model best practices in gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding across all functions and levels of Plan International Sudan.
- Review and sign off all major programme designs, concept notes and proposals from a GEI and Safeguarding perspective.
- Conduct technical quality assurance reviews for new and ongoing projects.
- Establish minimum quality benchmarks for gender-transformative and safeguarding programming.
- Lead periodic programme quality audits
Program Design and Resource Mobilization - Lead the development of GEI and Safeguarding technical narratives for strategic donor opportunities.
- Identify donor funding opportunities specific to gender equality, safeguarding, protection and girls' rights.
- Serve as technical lead for GEI and Safeguarding proposal development and donor engagement.
- Develop technical positioning papers and investment cases.
Capacity Building - Develop and implement capacity-building plans for Sudan Country Office and Programme Area staff, managers, partners and other key stakeholders on gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding, including safe and meaningful participation of children and young people.
- Design and deliver trainings, inductions, refresher sessions and briefings using a range of modalities (self-directed, online, face to face) tailored to diverse audiences (staff, managers, partners, associates, children and communities).
- Support civil society organisations and implementing partners in Sudan with assessments, policy development, trainings and practice improvements to strengthen their safeguarding and gender equality systems and adherence to standards.
Safeguarding Case Management and Policy Implementation - Ensure that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People, Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse (PSHEA), and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in Plan International Sudan’s work, in accordance with relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines.
- Ensure staff and associates in Sudan understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct, including how to recognise, report and respond to concerns and policy breaches
- Serve as a key technical Specialist for child and youth safeguarding cases, providing high-quality advice on risk assessment, decision-making, escalation and appropriate follow-up actions, while maintaining strict confidentiality and sensitivity.
- Lead or support different types of reviews as required (e.g. administrative investigations, country office or partner safeguarding environment reviews) to identify what went wrong, gaps to be addressed and implications for management in Sudan.
- Support the development and implementation of victims’/survivors’ care plans and appropriate support measures in line with Plan International’s guidelines and local service provision in Sudan.
- Ensure the Country Director, Head of Programme Implementation and Humanitarian Response Manager are informed of potential and emerging risks or issues that may affect Plan International Sudan’s commitment to keeping children and young people safe and to advancing gender equality and inclusion.
Communications - Work with Plan International’s communication team to support accessible publishing and dissemination of articles, case studies, success stories and presentations highlighting work in Gender Equality and Safeguarding programming.
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning - Work closely with the MERL Specialist to design and implement a MERL framework and tools that systematically capture gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding in Plan International Sudan’s programming.
- Support the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data on gender, inclusion and safeguarding, including trends in safeguarding incidents and risks in Sudan, and use this evidence to inform programme and policy improvements.
- Coordinate or contribute to self-assessments, audits and incident reporting exercises against safeguarding and gender equality standards, and report on outcomes and trends to the Country Management Team.
- Document and disseminate case studies, lessons learned and good practices from Sudan programmes internally and externally, in collaboration with the Influencing and Communications Manager.
- Ensure early and rigorous implementation of quality and accountability mechanisms on gender equality, inclusion and safeguarding, and that feedback from children, young people and other stakeholders is integrated throughout all phases of project design and implementation.
- Lead development of GEI and Safeguarding indicators, scorecards and organizational dashboards.
- Drive research, assessments, evaluations and learning studies.
- Generate evidence on programme effectiveness and organizational performance.
- Produce annual GEISA performance reports for CMT and Regional Hub.
Coordination, Representation and Influencing - Build and maintain relationships with relevant UN agencies, government ministries and departments, and international and national NGOs working on safeguarding, child protection, GBV, gender equality and inclusion in Sudan.
- Proactively engage in national and state-level coordination mechanisms and working groups (e.g. Safeguarding, Child Protection, CPiE, GBV, Protection Cluster, Gender Equality Working Groups) to represent Plan International Sudan and contribute evidence and learning.
- Set up and/or strengthen a country coordination mechanism across Programme Areas in Sudan with all Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) and Safeguarding focal persons.
- Provide brief updates and reports on sectoral activities, strategies and learning to donors and other stakeholders as required.
- Serve as Plan International Sudan's principal technical representative on Gender Equality, Inclusion, Safeguarding, PSEA and Protection platforms.
- Lead advocacy and influencing initiatives on girls' rights, gender equality and safeguarding.
- Contribute to national policy dialogue and sector guidance development.
- Support evidence-based influencing products and public positioning.
Country Safeguarding Lead / Focal Responsibilities (where assigned) - Act as an ambassador and role model for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion policies in Plan International Sudan, promoting them through management meetings, staff inductions and other internal platforms.
- Provide accessible advice and guidance to managers and staff to ensure safeguarding, gender equality and inclusion considerations are integrated into country office operations, processes and programmes, in line with implementation standards.
- Support teams to identify and manage safeguarding and gender-related risks, including through country-level action plans that clearly outline gaps and actions to address them, and follow up on implementation to ensure compliance.
- Review and strengthen safeguarding systems and processes within partner agencies in Sudan, including delivering tailored trainings and support and ensuring understanding and commitment to Plan’s standards.
- Support the development of local procedures, in line with the Sudanese child protection and safeguarding context and global guidelines, and act as a key referral point for safeguarding issues within the country office.
- Coordinate the recording, reporting and dissemination of information on safeguarding implementation activities across Plan International Sudan and share learning with regional and global counterparts.
Human Resources and Administration - Work with management to identify the staffing needs for the Gender Safeguarding & Transformative programming response and ensure all positions are included in the response master budget.
- Support the recruitment process for Gender Safeguarding & Transformative programming positions, including onboarding new staff.
- Coordinate and/or implement training and briefings on the Gender Safeguarding & Transformative programming response for Plan International staff, partners, and other key stakeholders.
- As required, support HR/safeguarding focal point in conducting inductions related to Plan International’s safeguarding policy and code of conduct for Gender Safeguarding & Transformative programming staff.
- Comply with Plan International policies and practices concerning Gender safeguarding & Equality, code of conduct and other HR policies and procedures.
GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY (Safeguarding and PSHEA) Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for (Safeguarding Children and Young People), Prevention, Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse (PSHEA) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy, including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures. Ensure staff understand Plan International’s commitment to driving a feminist agenda within the organisation and that the ambition for gender equality and gender transformative leadership is embedded in our value-based leadership framework KEY RELATIONSHIPS Internal- Country Director and Country Leadership Team (CLT)
- Humanitarian Response Manager and all humanitarian staff in the country
- Technical Leads (Child Protection, Education, SRHR, FSL, CVA, etc.), Programme Quality Manager, Influencing and Communications Manager
- Programme Area Managers and project teams in all PAs in Sudan (e.g. Red Sea, Kassala, Gedaref, White Nile, North Darfur, North Kordofan, South Kordofan – and any additional areas as the response expands)
- Gender Equality, Inclusion and Safeguarding focal points and frontline staff
Business Development/Resource Mobilisation team - Regional Gender, Safeguarding and Equality Specialists/Specialists and National Office representatives
External - Safeguarding, Gender Equality, Child Protection, CPiE and GBV clusters and working groups at state and national level
- Protection Cluster and other relevant humanitarian coordination mechanisms in Sudan
- Line ministries and government bodies responsible for children’s rights, gender equality, social welfare and justice
- Civil society organisations, community-based organisations and implementing partners working on safeguarding, gender equality and inclusion
- UN agencies, donors and other stakeholders engaged in protection, gender and safeguarding in Sudan
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Minimum Qualification, Skills and Experience Required:
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE Essential - Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, gender studies, law, social work, human rights or a related field (Master’s in Gender Studies, Human Rights or similar preferred).
- At least five years of demonstrated experience as a professional gender, inclusion and/or safeguarding expert, preferably within international NGOs and in both development and humanitarian settings.
- Strong technical knowledge of safeguarding and child protection standards and frameworks (e.g. Keeping Children Safe, Core Humanitarian Standard, Sphere, PSHEA standards, Red Cross/NGO Code of Conduct) and of gender equality and inclusion approaches.
- Proven experience managing or advising on child and youth safeguarding cases, including investigation, case management, incident review and follow-up.
- Demonstrated experience in gender mainstreaming and inclusion in project and programme cycles and in conducting safeguarding, gender and inclusion risk assessments, including in emergency contexts.
- Significant experience designing and delivering trainings, workshops and learning materials on safeguarding, gender equality and inclusion for diverse audiences (staff, managers, partners, children, communities).
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving and report-writing skills, with strong attention to detail.
- Strong facilitation, communication and negotiation skills; able to challenge constructively and maintain positive relationships.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team, manage competing priorities and work effectively under pressure in a complex, insecure and rapidly changing environment.
- Strong networking and representation skills with government, donors, UN agencies and peer organisations in Sudan.
- Fluency in Arabic and English (business level), both written and spoken.
- Strong computer skills, including proficiency in standard office software and online collaboration tools.
Desirable - Previous work experience in Sudan or the wider region in gender equality, inclusion, safeguarding or child protection.
- Experience with child and youth participation and engagement programming in humanitarian and development contexts.
- Experience supporting partners and civil society organizations to strengthen safeguarding and gender equality systems and practices
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT The post holder will be based primarily in the Country Office (or designated hub) and will undertake frequent travel (up to 60%) to Programme Areas and project sites across Sudan, subject to security clearances. Some regional or international travel may be required. LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN High contact: The Gender Equality, Inclusion and Safeguarding Technical Specialist will have significant interaction with children and young people and/or frequent access to information about children and young people.
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