TITLE:   Child Protection and Gender Technical Specialist

TEAM/PROGRAMME: SCI Zambia, Department of Programme Development

LOCATION: Lusaka, Zambia with some travel

GRADE: NAT 2

Safeguarding:

Save the Children does not tolerate any form of exploitation, abuse, or harassment against any person. It is the responsibility of all employees and representatives to protect all people who come in contact with our organization. Save the Children commits to applying the same standards to all its employees and subject them to the same processes regardless of their position, influence, or reputation within or outside of the organization.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Save the Children International’s Diversity Policy, aims to promote equal opportunity in employment and to ban any kind of discrimination based on sex, age, social class, disability, HIV status, religion, race and ethnicity.

Role Purpose

The Child Protection and Gender Technical Specialist will provide strategic direction, technical leadership, and quality assurance for Save the Children Zambia’s child protection and gender equality programming. The role ensures that all interventions are aligned with the Country Strategic Plan, Global Breakthroughs for Children, and Zambia’s country office Child Safeguarding policy. The Specialist will lead efforts to prevent and respond to violence against children, promote gender equality, and strengthen protection and safeguarding systems across all thematic areas.

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Programme Director

Dimensions:  Save the Children works in the Child Protection, Education, Health and Nutrition and Child Rights Governance across the emergency and development spectrum, humanitarian response. The program has highly integrated multi-sectoral approaches to address some of the most complicated issues affecting children in Zambia, including child marriage, education quality, chronic and acute malnutrition and multi-dimensional poverty.

Number of direct reports :  None

Key Areas of Accountability (Roles and responsibilities)

Strategic Leadership and Technical Oversight

• Lead the development and implementation of child protection and gender strategies in line with Save the Children’s global and national frameworks.
• Ensure integration of gender-transformative and child-sensitive approaches across all programs (Health, Education, Child Rights Governance, Social Protection).
• Provide technical input into policy advocacy, especially around child marriage, GBV, and safeguarding.

Programme Design and Quality Assurance

• Lead technical design of child protection and gender components in proposals and concept notes.
• Ensure programming is evidence-based, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of marginalized children, including those living on the streets, in child-headed households, and refugee settings.
• Support the rollout of digital case management systems and integrated referral pathways.

Capacity Building and Mentorship

• Build capacity of staff, partners, and community structures on child protection, safeguarding, and gender equality.
• Lead training on Save the Children’s Four Pillars of Safeguarding: Prevention, Awareness, Reporting, and Response.
• Mentor field teams and partners on survivor-centered GBV response and positive parenting approaches.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Develop and implement M&E frameworks for child protection and gender indicators.
• Lead operational research and documentation of best practices, including Parenting Without Violence and child reintegration models.
• Contribute to national reporting mechanisms and donor reports.

Coordination and Representation

• Represent Save the Children in national technical working groups, including the Child Protection TWG and Gender TWG.
• Collaborate with government ministries (e.g., Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Gender), UN agencies, and civil society.
• Advocate for increased investment in child protection systems and gender equality.

Gender Strategy and Integration

• Lead the development and implementation of gender equality strategies that align with Save the Children’s global Gender Equality Policy and Zambia’s National Gender Policy.
• Ensure gender-transformative approaches are embedded across all programmatic areas, including education,  health, child protection, and humanitarian response.
• Promote gender mainstreaming throughout the project cycle—from design and implementation to monitoring and evaluation—ensuring that programs address the distinct needs of girls, boys, women, and men.

Gender Analysis and Evidence Generation

• Conduct gender analyses to identify barriers to equality and inform program design.
• Ensure that gender data is disaggregated and used to track progress toward gender equity outcomes.
• Document and disseminate best practices in gender-transformative programming, including Parenting Without Violence and adolescent empowerment models.

Capacity Building and Advocacy

• Build capacity of staff, partners, and community leaders on gender equality, GBV, and positive masculinities.
• Facilitate training on Save the Children’s gender principles, including equality as a right, addressing root causes, and promoting meaningful participation of girls and boys.
• Advocate for policy reforms that promote gender justice, including enforcement of the Anti-GBV Act and the Children’s Code Act.

Partnerships and Coordination

• Foster partnerships with government ministries, civil society, and international agencies to scale Child protection and gender-responsive programming.
• Support community-led initiatives that challenge harmful child protection and gender norms and promote equitable power dynamics.
• Represent Save the Children in national technical working groups, including the Child Protection TWG and Gender TWG.
• Collaborate with government ministries (e.g., Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Gender), UN agencies, and civil society.
• Advocate for increased investment in child protection systems and gender equality

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in social work, Gender Studies, Child Development, Human Rights, or related field.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in child protection and gender programming, preferably in Zambia or Southern Africa.
• Proven experience in GBV prevention and response, safeguarding, and child rights advocacy.
• Proven experience in writing proposals – Opportunity Identification, Ideation/concept note development, Planning and Strategy, Content Development and Writing, Review and Refinement (Quality Control), Finalization and Submission, Post-Submission Activities
• Familiarity with Zambia’s legal and policy frameworks on child protection and gender (e.g., Children’s Code Act, Anti-GBV Act).
• Experience working with donor-funded projects and managing multi-sectoral teams