Protection Advisor Full Time NEW

Protection Advisor | Sudan

April 2025 | 12 months | Port Sudan | Reports to Deputy Executive Director

Hello Hello! So you’re interested in joining us? Welcome, we’re happy you’re here.

When you Join Alight, you’ll find…

A team with deep experience in co-designing solutions that create new value around the world. We know we need to always be better, and we believe in the power and abundance of everyday people, everywhere, to change the world with us.

A culture of radical accountability to our customers –as we help build a meaningful life for and with the displaced, we ask them what they want and then deliver on it.

An organization that refuses to settle for anything less than delivering human-worthy services.

About Alight Sudan

The Sudan operation is Alight’s largest in terms of reach, team size, grants, and funding levels. The majority of our funding comes from key international donors, including the U.S. government, the United Nations, and the European Union. Our focus is on supporting displaced populations, estimated at 11 million throughout the Country — 8.3 million of whom have been displaced since April 2023. The displaced people are spread across all 18 states, with 55% of them being female, and 53% under the age of 18. The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan forecasts that 30.44 million people will need assistance, including nearly 21 million people who will require targeted humanitarian interventions in 2025. The ongoing challenges of conflict, disease, and flooding have created an extraordinarily complex and dire humanitarian crisis, including Emergency and Famine-levels food insecurity in several parts of the country.

In response, Alight operates in six states, delivering critical services in health and nutrition, protection, WASH, shelter, and non-food items (NFIs) to communities grappling with these severe hardships.

Role

The Protection Advisor (PA) provides technical, programmatic leadership and guidance to Alight’s programs and initiatives for protection of displaced persons, refugees and host community who are at particular risk of violence or abuse, including children and women subject to gender-based violence (GBV). Specifically, the PA is the key technical focal point for all Alight protection Prevention and Response interventions. The PTC works closely with all members of Alight’s Technical Advisors, Program Team Coordinators and Officers, Project Managers, Grant and Business Development team, and Senior Management team to provide appropriate and timely technical guidance to multiple programs including emergency response, new initiatives, new business development, proposal design and development, reviewing reports and developing strategies and guidelines to mainstream gender and protection. The PA will also work to expand protection programming looking at new funding opportunities and local partnership for protection. Additionally, a key function of this position is to work strategically with Alight’s partners (including government) to advocate for prioritizing GBV, CP and General Protection issues, mainly through Clusters meetings, and within SAG and TAG membership.

Responsibilities

Technical Support and Leadership (40%)

• Lead efforts, in conjunction with all technical teams, to provide guidance and technical support to fields that will result in development and implementation of high-quality Protection programs that make a measurable impact. Provide tools to support integration of Alight’s approach, focused on local partnerships and community leadership, into all programs.
• Monitor international best practices in GBV/Protection, represent ALIGHT at relevant fora, and serve as a thought leader within and outside of ALIGHT on innovative community-based approaches aimed at increasing protection of vulnerable members of refugees and displaced communities and host communities, including survivors of GBV, and primary prevention of violence against women and girls (VAWG).
• Develop strong supportive relationships and mentorship systems (as appropriate) and provide regular program and technical support, information, and assistance to international and national staff and programs, including to other CO-based technical assistance team members.
• Lead and support the development of Protection related proposals including developing assessment tools, program design, hiring staff, planning, monitoring, and evaluating field programs.
• Monitor ALIGHT’s relevant field programs through regular telephone and field visits, report reviews, email communications, and other methods to ensure that they adhere to best practices and guidelines.
• Work with other members of the program team to define and strengthen the strategic direction
• of ALIGHT’s Protection interventions.
• In collaboration with the field, program development and technical teams, draft concept notes and proposals.
• Ensure that ALIGHT field programs have appropriate, relevant, and up-to-date materials, tools, resources, and templates for delivering, documenting and monitoring field activities, which includes data protection protocols and IM tools.
• Increase and enhance program monitoring and evaluation, and determining impact, wherever possible, including the use of standard indicators.

Programs Delivery (30%)

• Overall implementation and quality of the Alight’s Protection activities and staff. This includes coaching, ensuring co-ordination between staff, in various geographical areas, recruiting, and developing staff capacity.
• Ensure the required resources are allocated to the program to conduct an efficient and effective implementation of protections activities.
• Design a systematic referral mechanism for actors providing assistance to vulnerable populations;
• Undertake protection monitoring activities; including conducting interviews and visits to the field;
• Monitor, analyze and report the protection conditions for refugees and other persons of concern;
• Write, supervise and endorse relevant financial and narrative reporting on all protection related interventions.
• Enhance the quality of protection programming throughout the project cycle.
• Provide overall budget monitoring, financial review and control including compliance with Alight and donor requirements.
• Guided by the inter-agency protection guideline and the Sphere Handbook, continuously monitor and develop relevant accountability initiatives in the field as well as strengthen efforts to document the impact of the protection activities and Alight’s presence.
• Provide linkages with protection counterparts in other humanitarian organizations, local actors and within government structures and develop new partnerships for protection.
• Ensure Alight staff adheres to the humanitarian and Alight principles, Code of Conduct, child safeguarding, PSEA.

Donor Relations/Program Development/Advocacy (20%)

• Develop and maintain relationships with key institutional donors and potential partners, including the UN agencies, BHA, and NGO representatives, specifically focusing on Protection/GBV issues, among others. Cultivate new potential donors and support field staff in developing their donor outreach capacity.
• Expand ALIGHT’s recognition among donors by finding opportunities to raise awareness of ALIGHT’s work.
• Help respond to donor inquiries, facilitate donor contacts, and provide country Office and the fields with timely and relevant donor information related to ALIGHT’s Protection programs.
• Write periodic reports and/or updates for donors, internal and external use and ensure reporting requirements are met.
• Share any donor-related information regarding program development opportunities and recommend areas for ALIGHT interventions.
• Participate and actively lead ALIGHT’s engagement in relevant working groups, clusters and sub-clusters, advocacy initiatives, task forces including SAG and TAG, coordination activities, and committees convened by InterAction, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, UN bodies, US government, coalitions, and others concerning GBV (e.g. country-specific groups and those working to strengthen action related to SEA, Protection, GBV, and GBV Coordination).
• Attend other relevant meetings, representing ALIGHT’s programs, and giving presentations about ALIGHT’s work.

Program Coordination (10%)

• Lead the 4W reporting efforts and regular submission to each Clusters (GP, CP and GBV).
• Ensure sharing of information and lessons learned among ALIGHT’s Protection staff.
• Facilitate communication, coordination and collaboration among and within protection and between program sectors and MEAL.
• Lead efforts to arrange and organize ALIGHT events, such as workshops and conferences.
• Help to mainstream Protection into all ALIGHT programs through technical guidance, trainings, and sharing update tools and resources.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated 5 – 7 years professional experience in humanitarian settings, including at least 3 years of direct program management of Protection, CP and GBV programs in the field.
• Master’s degree in relevant field (social work, psychology, education, development studies, humanitarian affairs, peacebuilding, or related social sciences disciplines).
• Knowledge, skills, and experience in providing/leading direct services to survivors of gender-based violence using a survivor-centered and multi-sectoral approach.
• Knowledge, skills and experience in providing/leading Individual Protection Assistance (cash/in-kind) for PSNs.
• Experience managing budgets and finances and in M&E.
• Strong skills in Microsoft Office.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English. Arabic knowledge is an asset.

Key behaviors & abilities

• Individual and group training skills in Protection issues, including GBV and SEA.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently and foster a team environment.
• Strong organizational and coordination skills.
• Excellent project design and proposal development skills and developing tools for cross- organizational sharing of best practices.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Good sense of diplomacy and understanding of international global political issues.
• Ability to travel 80%.
• Ability to live and productively work in insecure, unstable and/or harsh environments (basic accommodation).
• Must be able to work independently with little supervision, while being a strong team player with proven supervisory skills.
• Additional qualities: ability to multitask, ability to handle stress and pressure well, ability to improvise, flexibility, cultural, environmental, trauma and conflict sensitivity.
• Familiar with the issues and cultures in Sudan; and ability to interact with people at all levels, individually and/or in groups.

You strive for…

• Humility. You learn from others with an open heart and open mind.
• Inclusivity. Our diversity is our strength. You value diversity of opinion and thought. You invite all voices to the table regardless of gender, ethnicity/tribe, sexual orientation, or physical/mental ability.
• Empathy. You know how to really hear other people and understand their meaning.
• Joy. Seriously! We believe that play and joy are core to co-creating value with customers.
• Flexibility. We’re constantly designing and iterating. You’ll be working in ambiguity always – embrace it and see the possibility that it allows. The ability to roll with it will make that easier.
• Creativity. You have the ability to apply sound judgment and innovative ideas to meet challenges presented.

Benefits

• Health, dental, and MedEvac Insurance – We strive to offer the best-in-class healthcare plans to our staff each year. We cover 100% of the cost for your health premium and 75% of the cost for coverage for your spouse/dependents.
• Retirement – We contribute 6% of your salary regardless of your contribution amount, after one year of service.
• Generous Leave Time – Between general leave, home leave, and R&R, you have ample opportunity to take time off when you need it.
• Borderless Team of 2,500 staff worldwide that sees possibility, celebrates moments of abundance, shares new ideas, and strives to do a better thing every day.
• Learning & Development – Access thousands of free online learning courses to take at your own pace and tailor to your professional goals.

Tagged as: Alight, Sudan