Save the Children works closely with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and other stakeholders in Somalia, in support of a government owned and led approach to social protection and the rollout of the Somalia Social Protection Policy and the Somalia Social Protection Implementation Plan. The Social Protection Technical Specialist will work closely with MoLSA and other key stakeholders to support the design and piloting of safety nets and social protection schemes, to ensure they are child sensitive and are intentionally designed to make strong contributions to building the social contract in Somalia. This position offers a unique opportunity to provide strategic advisory and support on the design of high-profile government-owned pilots, and work with a variety of government, local and international stakeholders to shape the way forward for inclusive social protection schemes for Somali women, men, girls and boys.

The Social Protection Technical Specialist will ensure that all social protection programming is of excellent technical quality and contributes significantly to Save the Children’s strategic objectives, national/global learning and advocacy. The role will provide technical advice in the design and implementation of social protection programming, which includes the piloting of safety nets, shock response mechanisms and the provision of capacity strengthening, advisory, policy and planning support to government stakeholders. The Technical Specialist will ensure child sensitivity is prioritised in all programming and will work with teams across field offices to building capacity. They will work collaboratively to develop relevant high-quality project proposals that meet the needs of Somali people. The Social Protection Specialist must be willing to embrace a child rights programming approach and represent Save the Children in national and global forums and technical working groups.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

Qualifications and Experience   Essential

• Post-graduate degree in social development; economics or a related field with additional training in social protection.
• Recommended 5 years of experience focussed on social protection programming, including at the policy engagement level.
• Knowledge of current global and regional debates on social protection.
• Experience working closely with government stakeholders to support the strengthening of social protection schemes and systems.
• Demonstrated ability to provide direct capacity strengthening to government stakeholders to support the building of national social protection schemes and systems.
• Experience negotiating with government and donors, including trying to influence processes and outcomes.
• Prior experience in assessment, design and implementation of social protection schemes, and/or humanitarian cash and voucher programmes.
• Experience in building and monitoring shock responsive safety net pilots.
• Ability to extensively travel for project monitoring and provide on-site technical support to field teams
• Ability to link micro-level impacts on children with macro trends at national and regional level.
• Strong analytic and planning skills.
• Excellent coordination and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate, present and negotiate clearly and effectively with a variety of audiences.
• Excellent writing and editing skills in English.
• Proven representation skills.
• Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mind-sets.
• Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, defining a clear way forward and ensuring buy in.
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Proven ability in working in insecure or hardship environments and to work under tight deadlines.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively to field sites and work independently.
• Fluency in English, both verbal and written, required.
• Commitment to Save the Children values, including willingness to abide by and enforce the Child Safeguarding policy.

The Organisation

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated.

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.