Summary
Date Posted: Monday, January 08 2024, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Purpose of the Job
• The National Ombuds serves as a designated independent practitioner providing informal and confidential conflict resolution support to children, young people, care leavers, their families, and staff at the SOS country levels.
• Historical and current children, young people, care leavers, families and staff in SOS programmes who have safeguarding and/or HR inquiries that were not resolved satisfactorily within the local safeguarding teams can contact the National Ombuds for advice, guidance, and support. The National Ombuds works to promote fairness of process and conflict resolution within SOS Children’s Villages Member Associations through the SOS Ombuds Office’s fundamental principles.
• The National Ombuds is to provide additional safeguarding support, including checks and balances to the present SOS systems, so that children, young people, care leavers, programme adults and staff have a reporting and response process when they feel that their concerns have not been heard or addressed appropriately.
• The Ombuds Office is based on a rights-based approach in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Developed with input from children and young people, the Ombuds Office functions on the principles of independence, impartiality, confidentiality and informality. Honoring these principles is critical to the success of the Ombuds Office.

Job Accountabilities:
a. Serve as a vehicle for historical and current children, young people, care leavers, families and staff to make safeguarding or HR inquiries about issues that have not been dealt with to their satisfaction by SOS. The Ombuds will:
Receive and address concerns in a timely manner;
Listen carefully to concerns, discuss an ‘action plan’, suggest next steps, guide Inquirers through the agreed process as needed, and be available for ongoing support;
Help Inquirers to understand SOS processes and navigate between SOS and community structures and systems; and
Make referrals to appropriate SOS departments, local child protection agencies, legal advice, and/or community resources when appropriate.
b. Collaborate and support children, young people and staff:
within their roles as Children/Young People and Staff Representatives;
within child-friendly and staff-friendly Safeguarding and Ombuds policies and processes; and
to share their views and feedback to improve the Ombuds Office.
c. Develop and maintain a confidential database that tracks concerns until they are resolved.
d. Identify relevant national trends within SOS programmes, services, and human resources; recommend changes to the National MA Board of Trustees and the SOS Regional and Global Ombuds, while maintaining the confidentiality of the Inquirers to the Ombuds Office.

Qualifications:
• Full Grade 12 School Certificate
• Essential: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant area such as law, social work, psychology, or equivalent.
• Desirable: Masters or other advanced degree in a relevant area such as law, social work, psychology, sociology, child rights, youth work and psychosocial wellbeing.
• Experience:
• Essential: Five years demonstrated experience as an Ombudsperson or closely related role in child safeguarding or child rights. Experience in management and leadership.
• Desirable: Seven years demonstrated experience as an Ombudsperson or closely related role in child safeguarding or child rights.
• Other competencies and requirements:
• Honest and transparent with an understanding of children and young people’s developmental stages and needs
• Knowledge of children’s rights, best interests of the child, safeguarding, and related issues
• Excellent listening and consultation skills
• Facilitation/training skills with participatory methods
• Ability to work using child-centred principles, with children and young people
• Excellent problem-solving and mediation skills; comfortable with innovation.
• Ability to keep information confidential

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure
• All applications should be submitted not later than 14th January, 2024 to the address jobs@sos-zambia.org 
• Applications should encompass a Cover Letter and Curriculum Vitae. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• “SOS Children´s Villages has zero-tolerance neither on sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse nor fraud and corruption, amongst other safeguarding aspects. We also provide equal employment opportunities to all employees & qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or class. SOS Children´s Villages complies with all applicable laws governing non-discrimination in employment.”
• This position involves working with an INGO committed to children and human rights and is subject to strict safer recruitment checks. The successful candidate will be required to complete safer recruitment checks including police and reference checks to help verify their suitability to work for SOS CV. In addition to candidates’ ability to perform the duties of the post, in the selection process will be also explored the motivation and approach of the candidate to safeguarding.
• To apply for this job email your details to jobs@sos-zambia.org 

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