Protection Officer

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, we are excited to invite you to join our team as a Protection Officer. If you are a skilled and motivated professional ready to make a difference, we want you on board! Together, we’ll work to deliver impactful humanitarian solutions in challenging environments.

Purpose of the Job

Is to make sure people are safe and their rights are respected before a crisis fully happens by Looking ahead to predict risks related conflict, or displacement by designing early steps to protect vulnerable people before things get worse and making sure actions are fair and reach those most at risk (women, children, elderly, persons with disabilities, marginalized groups. The protection Officer will be working with communities so they know their rights and can prepare safely through Coordinating with other humanitarian actors, government, local groups to reduce harm and protect dignity. This role ensures anticipatory actions are grounded in a rights-based, inclusive, and risk-informed approach, aligned with Core Protection Standards.

Roles and Responsibilities

Protection Mainstreaming and Risk Analysis

• Conduct protection risk analyses related to anticipatory triggers (conflict escalation).
• Ensure protection considerations are integrated into all stages of anticipatory action, including targeting, cash/in-kind assistance, early warning dissemination, and community mobilization.
• Monitor and advise on potential protection risks linked to project interventions. Apply harmonized frameworks (e.g., Protection Analytical Framework, 15 Global Protection Risks) and integrate protection-sensitive indicators into AA risk models.

2. Community Engagement and Accountability

• Facilitate meaningful participation of at-risk groups, ensuring inclusion of women, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
• Strengthen community feedback and complaints mechanisms tailored to AHEAD and DRC approach.
• Support community awareness sessions on rights, entitlements, and available services during activation.
• Support comprehensive stakeholder mapping, including community-based protection actors (women’s groups, OPDs, youth groups), to reinforce inclusive participation in AA planning and implementation.

3. Capacity Building and Technical Support

• Train community structures and partners on protection principles, do-no-harm, gender sensitivity, and safe referrals.
• Provide guidance on ethical data use and ensure staff apply Protection Information Management principles in anticipatory action processes.
• Provide technical guidance to sectoral teams in Abyei to ensure centrality of protection is maintained.
• Support development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for protection-sensitive anticipatory interventions.

4. Coordination and Advocacy

• Represent the AHEAD project in protection and anticipatory action coordination forums (Protection Cluster, AA Working Groups).
• Liaise with local authorities, community-based organizations, and humanitarian actors to strengthen referral pathways.
• Advocate for the inclusion of protection in subnational and local anticipatory action frameworks.

5. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Develop and apply protection indicators for monitoring anticipatory interventions.
• Document protection outcomes, lessons learned, and good practices.
• Contribute to donor reports, project proposals, and knowledge products related to protection and anticipatory action, ensuring monitoring frameworks integrate prioritized risks, continuous validation of triggers, and evidence to influence policy and donor dialogue.

Qualifications & Experience:

• A degree o in law, social sciences, or equivalent degree qualifications;
• At least 2 years’ protection experience, including community-based training experience;
• Proven technical knowledge of protection, including GBV, CP, other relevant South Sudan legal aspects, human rights, project cycle management;
• Experience in project implementation (including budget management);
• Familiar with rule of law;
• Understanding of engaging in the cluster system in IDP sites;
• Ability for rapid analysis of very complex issues, strong decision-making, and translation of programmatic learning and priorities into operational strategies;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, cross-cultural communication and ease in managing a multi-ethnic team;
• Good team leadership and conflict resolution skills, consensus team building, and adaptability; 
• Patience and understanding to work with and develop capacity of national staff;
• Experience delivering programs to tight deadlines;
• Good computer and IT skills and strong communication and writing skills; 
• Fluency in written and spoken English language, and local language;
• Ability and willingness to work in remote and isolated location with limited access to services and changing security scenarios;
• Familiarity with anticipatory action approaches and ethical use of protection data systems (e.g., GBVIMS+, CPIMS+, MRM).

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies: 

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process. 

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback. 

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation. 

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly. 

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: 12 Months

Band: H

Work location: Abyei

Start date: 1st November 2025