COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale is an Italian humanitarian non-governmental organization founded in Milan in 1965. COOPI aims to help the world’s poorest to improve their access to healthcare, food, and financial security, and to overcome their special vulnerability to wars, civil conflicts and natural disasters. For 50 years of long-term support and constant presence in the field, COOPI has been engaged in breaking the cycle of poverty and responding to specific emergencies in numerous sectors, including Food Security, Humanitarian Aid, Health, Socio-Economical Services, Water and Sanitation, Disaster Risk Reduction, Human Rights, Education and Training, Migrations and Sustainable Energy.

COOPI started its operations in North-East Nigeria in July 2014 to carry out a rapid evaluation of the most relevant constraints suffered by the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) displaced by the food crisis and the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin. The COOPI Nigeria Field Office is located in Sokoto State, in order to cover intervention LGAs in Sokoto State and to provide direct assistance to the IDPs and their hosting communities, through a multi-sectorial program covering Food Security, Disaster Risk Reduction, Social protection, Early Recovery, and Livelihoods, Nutrition and Child Protection interventions. COOPI’s capacity to respond to the humanitarian situation in the country is confirmed by its experience in providing humanitarian aid in more than 27 other Countries around the World, in over 50 years of operations.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Protection Sector Lead

Location: Sokoto
Employment Type: Full-time

The Project

• TheBHA (Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance) project, Integrated Emergency Response to the Displaced Population in Zamfara, Sokoto, And Katsina States, Northwest Nigeria” will be carried out by a consortium of partners that include the Alliance for International Medical Action (Alima), Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI), Life Helpers Initiative (LHI) and Grassroot Initiative for strengthening Community Resilience (GISCOR) led by International Rescue Committee (IRC) aims to leverage each partner’s expertise to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to internally displaced people populations through area-based approach.
• The Consortium partners will provide an integrated multisectoral intervention in Health, Nutrition, WASH, Protection, and Multi-purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) activities in Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto states in collaboration with state governments, UN organizations and other key actors in Northwest Nigeria.
• The project will be implemented by a dedicated support, quality assurance, and coordination team, who will work closely with all partners through a management unit of well-structured consortium governance for the activity.

Key Responsibilities
Technical and Programmatic Oversight:

• Lead the development and implementation of protection strategies, ensuring protection mainstreaming across sectors (WaSH, MPCA, etc.).
• Provide technical guidance and capacity-building to COOPI staff and partners on protection principles, gender-based violence (GBV), child protection, and humanitarian accountability mechanisms.
• Oversee the implementation of protection activities, including case management, referrals, and community-based protection initiatives.
• Lead the integration of AAP into COOPI programming, ensuring the engagement of affected populations in decision-making processes and feedback systems

Protection Mainstreaming:

• Ensure protection risks are identified, analyzed, and mitigated across all COOPI interventions.
• Provide sector teams with guidance on adhering to the protection principles of “Do No Harm,” conflict sensitivity, and safeguarding, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
• Develop and monitor protection mainstreaming indicators to measure the effectiveness of strategies across all sectors.

Coordination and Representation:

• Act as COOPI’s focal point for protection-related issues and represent the organization in inter-agency coordination forums, working groups, and clusters.
• Liaise with relevant government ministries, UN agencies, NGOs, and other key stakeholders to ensure effective coordination and advocacy on protection issues.
• Provide regular reports to donors and COOPI’s headquarters on protection activities and project performance.

Capacity Building and Training:

• Organize and lead protection-related training for COOPI and partner staff, ensuring continuous learning and skill enhancement in protection, GBV, and child protection.
• Develop training manuals, guidelines, and tools that align with international protection standards and contextual realities.
• Ensure that all staff, especially field teams, are well-versed in protection mainstreaming and the organization’s safeguarding policies.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Design and implement a monitoring framework to track protection indicators, ensuring timely and effective monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) processes.
• Regularly update the Head of Programmes and Area Coordinator NW on progress, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Contribute to donor reporting by providing qualitative and quantitative data on protection activities, achievements, and constraints.

Logistics, Administration, and Budget Management:

• Ensure timely procurement of goods and services necessary for the implementation of protection activities in collaboration with the logistics and administration teams.
• Support the development of budgets for protection components and ensure effective management of protection funds, adhering to donor guidelines and COOPI financial policies.
• Provide oversight on all protection-related logistical and administrative functions, ensuring alignment with organizational protocols.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in Law, Social Sciences, Humanitarian Affairs, International Relations, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in protection programming within humanitarian settings, with at least 2 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience in protection mainstreaming, GBV, child protection, and AAP in conflict or post-conflict settings.
• Demonstrated capacity to provide training and technical support to diverse teams.
• Strong coordination and representation skills with donors, government authorities, UN agencies, and NGOs.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken); knowledge of Hausa or Kanuri is an advantage.
• Ability to work under pressure and in insecure environments.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong understanding of protection standards and frameworks in humanitarian settings.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and team-building skills.
• Ability to manage multi-sectoral teams and foster collaboration.
• High level of cultural sensitivity and adaptability to diverse work environments.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on innovation and improvement.
• Experience with donor-funded programs and knowledge of key donors (e.g., BHA, UNHCR).

Working Conditions:

• The position is based in Nigeria’s Northeast with frequent travel to project sites. The working environment may involve some exposure to security risks and challenging living conditions.

Application Closing Date
7th November, 2024.