War Child is an international alliance working in 15 countries. This is an international charity working for children and youth affected by war. War Child initiated working in Afghanistan from 2002. In Afghanistan War Child Work with children and youth, who as a result of conflict, live with a combination of poverty, exclusion, and insecurity. These children and youth might include street children, child headed households, children conscripted into armed groups, unaccompanied minors, youth returnees and refugees, and children who have been put in Juvenile Rehabilitation Center and, the children and youth impacted by the climate induced disasters.  Our mission is to protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children and youth caught up in conflict, poverty, and exclusion. We also work on building the lives and climate resilient livelihoods of the children and youth.  We look forward to a world in which the lives of children and youth are no longer torn apart by war. This is a vision that can only be realized through the collective actions of children and youth themselves, the communities that they live in, their leaders, local organizations, War Child in Afghanistan, governments, and key decision makers.

Job Purpose

Under the overall technical guidance and supervision of the CP/MHPSS and DPR Advisor, the incumbent for this position will have the following role:

• The Protection Officer will be to render both strategic and technical Coordination (Internal and external), process management support for WC Afghanistan in pursuit of partner-led implementation of ongoing projects across the eastern region provinces.
• This role will focus on ensuring the provision of quality, contextually appropriate, safe and sustainable protection response to the earthquake affected communities in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. The officer will be part of both Partner and WC’s ongoing project implementation and work closely with local both WC and partners project, participants, and stakeholders to ensure effective, timely and quality program delivery.
• The Protection Officer will collaborate with both WC and Partner Program Management team, including Program, MEAL and Safeguarding team, as well as WC’s Country Team, to review, develop, and adapt implementation tools, assessments, and evaluations that are in line with CP integration. This includes providing technical oversight during program implementation and conducting technical write-ups and reviews of project concepts and proposals. S/he will ensure that the organization’s CP interventions in the east region provinces comply with best practices, organizational guidelines, and donor requirements and the overall 2025 to 2027 Country strategy.
• The Protection Officer will play a key coordination role both internally and externally with in-country management team and the implementing partners to ensure that programming is well-coordinated, adheres to cluster guidelines, contributes to sector objectives, and facilitates the sharing of key learnings. The officer will represent the organization in inter-agency platforms, including the CP Cluster, and Earthquake Response Working Group, and will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Manager - MEAL and Technical Programme Support.
• S/he will be responsible for strengthening the capacity of other staff and partners, equipping them with the skills needed to implement protection activities, and advocating for integration where appropriate among the MEAL Unit, Technical Advisors, Project Coordinators/Managers, and support functions.

Job Description

The Duties and responsibilities may include but not limited to:

Strategic and Technical Leadership:

• Context Analysis: Conduct comprehensive internal and external situation analyses to identify programming opportunities and inform integration of Child Protection and PSS activities for greater impact and sustainability.
• Technical Guidance: Provide expert input and direction to WC and partner teams on the design, implementation, and monitoring of projects, ensuring interventions are contextually relevant, conflict-sensitive, gender-responsive, inclusive, and culturally appropriate.
• Integration and Mainstreaming: Promote the integration of child protection and other cross-cutting themes into other available programming.
• Program Harmonization: Develop and implement frameworks and practices that standardize child protection approaches across projects to ensure quality and consistency.
• Proposal Development and Reporting: Collaborate with program teams to support proposal development, budget planning, and donor reporting through timely, technically sound feedback.

Program Implementation Support:

• Provide Technical Guidance and Integration Support for Child Protection Activities: Offer ongoing technical assistance to WC and partner teams in designing, planning, and integrating Child Protection component into ongoing and new programs, ensuring relevance to the Afghan context.
• Develop and Adapt Implementation Tools: Lead the review, development, and adaptation of program implementation tools, including assessments, monitoring frameworks, SOPs, targeting criteria, and beneficiary selection processes tailored to Child Protection interventions.
• Oversight and Quality Assurance: Provide technical oversight across the project’s implementation (planning, reviews including technical BoQ, execution, monitoring, and reporting to ensure quality implementation, compliance with Cluster standards, donor and organizational standards, and achievement of intended outcomes.

Strategic Coordination and Representation:

• Internal Coordination and Technical Integration: Work closely with WC technical advisors, project teams, MEAL staff, child protection, education, and humanitarian response units to integrate Child Protection approaches across sectors, ensuring coherence and synergy in program delivery.
• External Representation and Sector Engagement: Serve as WC Afghanistan’s focal point in the CP Cluster, Earthquake Response Working Group and other platforms actively contributing to sector discussions, promoting alignment with national frameworks, and sharing WC's programmatic learnings.
• Stakeholder and Partner Collaboration: Maintain regular coordination with key internal and external stakeholders—including government entities, UN agencies, INGOs, and local NGOs—to ensure harmonized implementation and facilitate collaborative initiatives.
• Strategic Partnerships and Influence: Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships to support implementation, research, and resource mobilization efforts in Child Protection, representing WC in high-level forums and building alliances to amplify impact and influence policy.

Technical Leadership and Capacity Strengthening:

• Design and Standardize Implementation Frameworks: Lead the development, review, and refinement of Child Protection projects’ implementation frameworks and Standard Operating Procedures, including delivery modalities, targeting criteria, beneficiary selection, data collection tools, and partnerships with service providers.
• Contextualize Delivery Approaches: Design and adapt shelter and livelihoods delivery models that are conflict-sensitive, gender-responsive, culturally appropriate, and tailored to Afghanistan’s socio-economic and environmental context.
• Strengthening Partner and Staff Capacity: Conduct institutional and human resource capacity assessments and develop targeted capacity-building plans for WC and partner staff. Deliver ongoing technical training, mentoring, and coaching in shelter and livelihoods standards and best practices.
• Promote Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Foster a culture of learning by encouraging knowledge exchange between WC teams and partners, and by documenting and disseminating lessons learned and good practices across projects and stakeholders.
• Ensure Program Quality and Compliance: Oversee the planning, implementation, and monitoring of projects, ensuring quality delivery, budget compliance, adherence to donor requirements, and alignment with WC’s program standards.

Our Values

• Bold: We use our passion and creativity to deliver high-quality evidence-based work designed to maximize our beneficial impact on children in conflict.
• Accountable to Children: Children can rely on us to respond to their voices and to treat them with respect and dignity.
• Anti-racism: Anti-racism is not merely a belief. It includes actions that we mainstream throughout our work to change and challenge policies and behaviors that perpetuate racism.
• Transparent: We expect to be held to account by our supporters and beneficiaries and we respond with openness and honesty.
• Supportive to each other: We support each other and our partners to achieve ambitious goals and to the best we can be we are honest and open with each other, sharing our success and confronting our challenges.

Person Specification

War Child operates in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan through its local partners. Preference will be given to the local candidates from Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. Please upload a copy of your valid National ID under the [Other] section; applications without it will not be considered for shortlisting. 

Experience and mandatory criteria:

• A minimum of 5 years of continuous experience in the technical design and implementation of Child Protection Activities including Case Management, PSS & PFA and CFS, Cash Distribution with a specific focus on at-risk children’s situations.
• At least 2 years must be in a humanitarian emergency response including returnees’ situations within a complex context with international NGOs.
• Prior experience working in a complex or protracted humanitarian context in Afghanistan specially in the eastern provinces is preferred.
• A university degree in a relevant field. A master’s qualification in a related area is an advantage.
• Experience using relevant sector design and assessment tools for service providers, market analysis, needs assessments, distribution, and post-distribution processes (e.g., RAM, EMMA, MIFIRA, MERS).
• Proven competence in finding solutions to complex problems and delivering results effectively.
• Strong influencing and representation skills with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent written and oral English language skills; fluency in Dari or Pashto is an advantage.
• Ability to adapt and work effectively in a multicultural context.
• Strong communication skills with an exceptional ability to articulate technical issues to colleagues at various capacity levels.
• Experience in preparing high-quality reports.

Child safeguarding and Adults at Risk
Our work with children and at-risk adults to ensure their safety is our top priority. We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in all aspects of our work. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior or practices that put children and/or vulnerable adults at risk of abuse or harm.
Successful applicants will be required to comply with and sign our Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct, and PSEAH Policy. You can find the Safeguarding and Integrity policies here:
https://warchild.sharepoint.com/sites/Integrity

 
Pre-employment checks
Employment with War Child will be subject to the following checks prior to your start date:

• a satisfactory police record check and a clear vetting and Due Diligence check
• receipt of three satisfactory references
• Due to the emergency nature of the role, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the vacancy may close before the deadline.

Submission Guideline:

• Please go to this: https://war-child-alliance.jobs.personio.com/job/2362967?language=en&display=en
• Fill in your information, and attach your documents before the closing date - (06-Oct-2025).
• Applications submitted without a valid National ID will not be considered for shortlisting.
• Applications after the closing date will not be accepted.
• Please note that there is no telephonic inquiry and only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for written test/interview.