Regional Protection of Family Links Officer

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral, and independent organization with the exclusively humanitarian mission to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It also endeavors to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening International Humanitarian Law and universal humanitarian principles. The ICRC’s Regional Delegation in Nairobi co-ordinates the institution’s humanitarian activities in Kenya, Tanzania, and Djibouti.

Overall Responsibility

The Protection of Family Links (PFL) AFRICA Officer provides support and contributes to drive the ICRC’s regional efforts of the Central Tracing Agency (CTA) ambitions supporting the PFL Regional Manager’s long term and strategic orientations to the field in terms of technical guidance on the planning and implementation of activities relating to the Separated, the Missing and their Families in the AFRICA region in accordance with Institutional and regional strategies and plans of action: Institutional Strategy 2024-2027; Restoring Family Links (RFL) Movement strategy 2020-25); AFRICA Regional Strategic Framework (2019-2025); Africa Family Links Network Plan of Action).

The PFL AFRICA Officer supports the efforts of ensuring the continuum between the action for the separated, the missing and their families (early action and registration, preservation, field tracing). More specifically, contributes to (1) support and accompany the AFRICA Family Links Network to promote and implement guidelines, tools, and good practices, while proactively contributing to maintaining a mapping of the regional response; (2) act as focal point on the issue of data protection; and (3) organize events/facilitate regional or sub-regional coordination mechanisms in virtual or face-to-face mode.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Contributes to ensure the positioning of the ICRC on the Protection of Family Links in the AFRICA region.
• Drafts, compiles, and finalizes and depending on the circumstances, sends correspondence, internal presentations, meeting minutes and other documents (i.e. Powerpoint, infographics, charts, organigrams, etc.); helps systematize good practices, and examples on the PFL issue in AFRICA.
• Serves as the focal point for data protection. He/she develops tools, organizes/leads training sessions and promotes the application of the RFL Code of Conduct on Data Protection.
• Calls for input and constructs an AFRICA PFL newsletter (English/French).
• Receives and screens incoming calls/ correspondence and manages agendas, as well as updates the regional calendar, AFRICA Masterfile, tables and charts, and other tools.
• Follows-up the implementation of the budget and ensures invoices are followed up throughout all the internal process, as well as prepares for meetings by setting up rooms and materials, including technical set-up for conference calls, presentations, and video conferences.
• Assists in organization of seminars/ trainings/workshops, internal meetings, and facilitates sessions where relevant (for ICRC staff, platforms of Red Cross, National Societies, authorities, etc.).
• Contributes to the production of regional tools adapted to the needs of the teams, including any audio-visual materials, in French, English, and contributes to manage, feed content and promote the use of internal tools and RFL working platforms, ensuring a good user experience and applying information-management instructions.
• Conducts evaluations/surveys to monitor the effectiveness and impact of the regional tools/efforts.

Minimum Requirements and competencies

• Master’s / Bachelor’s Degree in law, social sciences, communication, preferably with a digital background or equivalent.
• Fluency in French and in English language (oral and written) is a pre-requisite. Additional languages such as Portuguese and Arabic will be considered as asset.
• Minimum 2 to 4 years professional experience in humanitarian organizations within the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, an international organization, or a private enterprise.
• Minimum 6 to 9 years’ professional work experience in a similar position.
• Knowledge of Restoring family links/tracing and National Society working methods is an asset.
• Experience with the ICRC, the International Federation or a National Society is an asset.
• Advanced computer skills, including Microsoft Office suite, SharePoint, Teams, Canva, others.
• Public speaking skills and ability to communicate on technical subjects to audiences in training contexts.
• Experience publishing and engaging using social media platforms (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).
• Attentive to detail, thorough with a high sense of confidentiality and integrity.
• Able to write clear and concise reports, procedures, and quality documents.
• Goal-oriented, able to work independently with minimum supervision, take initiative and make decisions.
• High degree of flexibility and responsiveness.