A National Child Participation Coordinator – Somalia Country Office position is currently open at Save The Childrens International with the duty station in Somalia. This Planning And Coordination sector position calls for a professional with 4 - 5 years of demonstrated expertise. Applications are open until Jul, 13. Don't miss this opportunity.
TITLE: National Child Participation Coordinator – Somalia Country Office
TEAM/PROGRAMME:
Child Rights, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns
team
LOCATION: Mogadishu, Garowe or Hargeisa (with
regular field travels)
GRADE: NAT-3 CONTRACT LENGTH & TYPE
1-year Fixed Term (National),
CHILD SAFEGUARDING:
Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a
week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work
country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing
the police checking/vetting process staff.
ROLE PURPOSE:
The National Child Participation Coordinator provides technical support and coordination to ensure
meaningful, safe, and ethical child participation across Save the Children Somalia’s programmes,
advocacy/campaign and governance processes. The role ensures children’s voices inform programme
design, policy influencing and internal decision-making, while strengthening systems, staff capacity, and
partner engagement in line with organisational frameworks.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Director of Child Rights, Policy, Advocacy & Campaigns (CPAC)
Staff reporting to this post: None
Budget
Responsibilities: Contributes to budget planning; no direct approval authority
Travel: Frequent field travel
Role Dimensions:
- Technical authority on child participation within the Country Office
- Works across Programme Implementation Units (PIUs), MEAL/REALM and CPAC/
Communications teams
- Engages at national-level policy and coordination platforms
- Works closely with global/regional technical advisors (matrix support)
- Contributes to strategy, programme quality and fundraising
- Ensure children’s voices are heard in the CO design making processes
- Stakeholder Engagement: High (internal + external representation)
- Autonomy: Moderate - High (works independently within strategy)
- Problem Solving: Advanced (adapts solutions to complex contexts
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Key Areas of Accountability:
Technical Leadership & Strategy
- Support the development and operationalisation of Child Participation Strategy for Somalia
- Ensure alignment with CRG priorities, ACCM strategies and global framework on child
participation (e.g., Shifting Power to Children).
- With the leadership of the CPAC Director, provide inputs into Country Strategic Plan (CSP) and
thematic strategies development and delivery.
- Coordinate technical inputs to integrate child participation/children’s voices in programme
development, fundraising, policy advocacy and internal decision making.
Programme Quality & Integration
- Support the application of 9 basic principles of ethical and meaningful child participation in all
engagements with children
- Ensure child participation is systematically integrated across all sectors
- Act as technical focal point on participation quality benchmarks and standards
- Support cross-sectoral programming to ensure holistic child rights approaches
- Advise teams during programme design and implementation
Child-Led Advocacy & Campaigns
- Coordinate and oversee the development and implementation of a country-level child-led
campaigning approach, aligned with Save the Children’s global priorities
- Facilitate and strengthen child and youth-led platforms and networks to identify priorities and
drive advocacy initiatives
- Ensure meaningful child engagement across the campaign cycle, including priority setting,
messaging, media engagement, and policy dialogue
- Support children to safely engage with decision-makers at community and national levels
- Build the capacity of children and youth groups in advocacy, communication, and civic engagement
skills
- Work with Communications and Media teams to amplify children’s voices through media,
storytelling, and campaign moments
- Link local participation to national and global influencing processes, ensuring children’s
perspectives inform broader advocacy agendas
- Ensure all campaigning is inclusive, safe, and aligned with safeguarding standards
Capacity Strengthening & Technical Support
- Provide structured and ongoing technical support and coaching to programme teams.
- Design and deliver trainings, coaching frameworks and learning sessions
- Coordinate and support capacity for staff, partners and civil society organisations on child
participation
- Facilitate co-design initiatives with youth and child-led Civil Society Organizations
Partnerships, Representation & Coordination
- Represent SCI in national coordination forums and technical working groups
- Strengthen partnerships with civil society, government and child/youth networks
- Support partner capacity strengthening and engagement
MEAL, Evidence and Learning
- Work with MEAL to define participation indicators and integrate into monitoring systems
- Lead documentation of best practices, case studies and learning products
- Contribute to evidence-based advocacy and adaptive child-centred programming
Resource Mobilisation
- Contribute to proposal design, concept notes and donor engagement for strengthening children
and youth participation.
- Ensure strong child participation components are integrated into funding proposals.
Safeguarding and Quality Assurance
- Ensure all participation is safe, ethical and inclusive
- Apply child safeguarding standards across all activities
- Mitigate risks associated with participation by identifying risks and implementing mitigation
strategies.
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
About Somalia
Somalia is located in the Horn of Africa and has a growing job market, particularly in the humanitarian, development, and private sectors. Major employment hubs include Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Garowe, Baidoa, and Kismayo, with opportunities from international NGOs, UN agencies, government institutions, and an expanding private sector.
Ereyada Soomaaliga (Somali Keywords): Shaqo Buuxda • Shaqo Cusub