INTERNAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

SOS Children’s Villages International is the umbrella organization to which all SOS Children’s Villages including SOS Children’s Villages Somalia Association is affiliated. SOS Children’s Villages Somalia has officially been working in Somalia since 1985. SOS is currently working in 134 countries worldwide. We are committed to the welfare of children – often throughout the whole of their childhood, and to strengthening families and communities as a preventive measure in the fight against abandonment and social neglect. We also run education and health facilities. With the SOS Children’s Village concept, the organization pioneered a family approach to the long-term care of orphaned and abandoned children. SOS Children’s Villages upholds child protection policy and our selection processes reflect our commitment to the protection of children and youth from abuse. Banadir Region (Heliwa, Wadajir, Dharkenley and Dayninle districts), southwest-state (Baidoa, Burhakaba, Berdale, Baidoa and Hudur) and Hirshabelle State (Jowhar, Adale & Balcad). SOS also contributes to higher education through a university offering high-quality health sciences programs that prepare competent, ethical, and practice-ready healthcare professionals.

 

SOS Children’s Villages invites applications from suitably qualified and interested candidates who fulfill the eligibility criterion for the below one Position.

 

Position:                     Senior Child and Youth Development Officer

Reports to:                 Alternative Care Coordinator

Duty station:              Mogadishu; Somalia       

 

Job summary:

The Senior Child and Youth Development Officer provide technical leadership, professional supervision, and quality assurance for child and youth development interventions under SOS Children's Villages Somalia's Alternative Care Programme. The role ensures that children and young people without parental care, or at risk of losing it, receive safe, rights-based, child-centred, and development-oriented support in line with the SOS Care Promise, organizational standards, national law, and international child protection principles. This includes technical oversight of case management, individualized development planning, child and youth participation, psychosocial wellbeing, education, life skills, family strengthening, reintegration and reunification, transition planning, aftercare, and independent living preparation.

 

The postholder supervises and mentors Social Workers and the Youth Development Officer, builds the capacity of caregivers and staff, and cultivates partnerships that expand development opportunities for youth. They also contribute to programme planning, monitoring, reporting, and continuous quality improvement. Working closely with the Alternative Care Coordinator, programme teams, children, young people, caregivers, government authorities, schools, service providers, community and civil society organizations, employers, and vocational and educational institutions, the role drives holistic, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes for children and youth.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership and Programme Quality

• Provide technical leadership and guidance for child and youth development within the Alternative Care Programme.
• Support the Alternative Care Coordinator in programme planning, implementation, review, and quality improvement.
• Ensure services comply with the SOS Care Promise, SOS policies and standards, national legislation, and relevant alternative care and child protection principles.
• Promote family-based and community-based care and prevent unnecessary family separation.
• Provide technical guidance across relevant alternative care modalities, including Family-Like Care, Foster Care, Kinship Care, and Supervised Independent Living.
• Ensuring child and youth development is integrated across alternative care services.
• Contribute to development and review of programme guidelines, SOPs, tools, standards, and technical resources.
• Promote evidence-based, trauma-responsive, inclusive, participatory, and developmentally appropriate practice.
• Identify quality gaps and support implementation of corrective and improvement measures.

                     Case Management and Individual Development Planning

• Provide technical supervision and oversight of case management delivered by Social Workers.
• Ensure quality assessment, care planning, placement, case review, referral, follow-up, transition, and case closure.
• Review and provide technical guidance on assessments, case plans, Individual Development Plans (IDPs), care plans, transition plans, and aftercare plans.
• Ensure individual plans reflect the best interests, needs, strengths, aspirations, views, and developmental stage of each child and young person.
• Ensure regular case reviews and multidisciplinary case conferences for complex or high-risk cases.
• Support Social Workers in managing complex cases and ensure appropriate escalation and referral.
• Strengthen referral pathways to health, education, MHPSS, legal, disability, livelihood, and other specialized services.
• Ensure accurate, timely, confidential, and quality case documentation.
• Monitor case management quality and ensure identified gaps are addressed.

  Child Protection and Safeguarding

• Ensure child protection and safeguarding are integrated into all alternative care and programme activities.
• Promote a safe, protective, respectful, and inclusive environment for children and young people.
• Ensure compliance with SOS Child Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct, PSEA requirements, and relevant procedures.
• Provide technical support in identifying, reporting, referring, documenting, and following up safeguarding and child protection concerns.
• Ensure incidents are appropriately escalated and managed in accordance with established procedures.
• Strengthening prevention and response to abuse, neglect, exploitation, violence, bullying, discrimination, and other protection risks.
• Support safeguarding and protection risk assessments across care settings and programme activities.
• Ensure children and young people know their rights, complaints and feedback mechanisms, and safe reporting channels.
• Promote confidentiality and responsible handling of child and youth information.

 Child Development, Wellbeing and Participation

• Lead holistic child development interventions addressing physical, emotional, social, educational, cognitive, and psychosocial wellbeing.
• Ensure interventions are age-, gender-, ability-, and developmentally appropriate.
• Promote positive parenting, positive discipline, resilience, healthy relationships, emotional wellbeing, and social skills.
• Work with caregivers, Social Workers, teachers, health providers, and other professionals to address developmental needs.
• Promote meaningful child participation in decisions affecting children and ensure their views are reflected in individual planning.
• Identify children requiring specialized services and ensure appropriate referral and follow-up.

Youth Development and Empowerment

• Lead youth development interventions for adolescents and young people, including those transitioning from alternative care.
• Provide technical oversight of youth coaching, mentoring, life skills, leadership, communication, decision-making, financial literacy, employability, and self-management initiatives.
• Support young people to develop education, career, livelihood, and independent living pathways.
• Ensure youth development plans reflect individual strengths, interests, aspirations, competencies, and opportunities.
• Promote meaningful youth participation, leadership, representation, and peer engagement.
• Establish partnerships with employers, private-sector organizations, TVET institutions, universities, internship providers, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate opportunities for internships, apprenticeships, vocational training, employment, entrepreneurship, scholarships, and mentorship.
• Strengthen youth networking, peer support, leadership, community engagement, and self-reliance.
• Monitor youth development outcomes and address identified gaps.

Transition, Independent Living and Aftercare

• Provide technical leadership for transition planning for young people approaching adulthood or leaving alternative care.
• Ensure transition planning starts early and is regularly reviewed.
• Ensure transition plans address education, employment, housing, financial management, health, psychosocial wellbeing, social networks, documentation, personal safety, and community integration.
• Support young people to develop practical independent living and self-reliance skills.
• Coordinate appropriate aftercare and follow-up support for eligible young people.
• Strengthen post-exit tracking and monitoring of youth outcomes.
• Identify and address gaps in transition and aftercare services.
• Promote sustainable transition outcomes and reduce dependency on programme support.

Family Strengthening, Reintegration and Reunification

• Provide technical guidance to Social Workers on family assessment, tracing, reunification, and reintegration.
• Promote family-based solutions and prevention of unnecessary family separation.
• Ensure reintegration decisions are based on assessment, safety, preparedness, sustainability, and the best interests of the child.
• Support individualized family reintegration plans and follow-up.
• Monitor outcomes following reintegration and identify emerging risks.
• Strengthen collaboration with families, communities, government, and service providers to support sustainable family care.

Supervision, Coaching and Capacity Building

• Directly supervise Social Workers and the Youth Development Officer.
• Conduct regular individual and team supervision and performance review sessions.
• Review workloads, case management quality, professional conduct, and staff performance.
• Provide coaching and mentoring on case management, child and youth development, safeguarding, psychosocial support, and alternative care.
• Support staff in managing complex cases and professional decision-making.
• Identify capacity gaps and coordinate appropriate training and professional development.
• Assess capacity-building needs of Social Workers, Youth Development Officer, caregivers, CBOs/CSOs, and relevant stakeholders.
• Develop and facilitate training on child protection, safeguarding, alternative care, case management, child participation, positive parenting, youth development, life skills, MHPSS and trauma-responsive practice.
• Promote professional ethics, teamwork, accountability, staff wellbeing, and continuous learning.

Community Engagement and Partnerships

• Support community-based approaches that strengthen child protection and prevent family separation.
• Facilitate awareness and sensitization on child rights, safeguarding, positive parenting, alternative care, and youth development.
• Strengthening collaboration with community leaders, CBOs, CSOs, schools, government structures, and other stakeholders.
• Develop partnerships that improve services and opportunities for children and young people.
• Establish linkages with employers, businesses, TVET institutions, universities, internship providers, and other relevant partners.
• Maintain an updated mapping of service providers and youth opportunities.
• Support partnership agreements, concept notes, proposals, and programme initiatives as required.

 Monitoring, Reporting, Learning and Accountability

• Ensure accurate, timely, complete, and quality programme data and documentation.
• Monitor programme performance against targets, indicators, quality standards, and child/youth outcomes.
• Analyze data to identify trends, gaps, risks, and areas requiring corrective action.
• Contribute to monthly, quarterly, annual, donor, and management reports.
• Document good practices, lessons learned, case studies, success stories, and innovations.
• Support assessments, evaluations, audits, monitoring visits, and programme reviews.
• Promote child- and youth-friendly feedback and accountability mechanisms.
• Ensuring feedback from children, young people, caregivers, and communities informs programme improvement.
• Promote evidence-based decision-making and organizational learning.

Coordination, Representation and Compliance

• Represent SOS Children’s Villages Somalia in relevant child protection, alternative care, youth development, and social welfare coordination platforms as delegated.
• Participate in government, inter-agency, technical, and stakeholder meetings.
• Maintain effective coordination with the Alternative Care Coordinator and other SOS departments.
• Strengthen coordination among Social Workers, Youth Development Officer, caregivers, children and young people, programme staff, and external service providers.
• Ensure compliance with SOS policies, procedures, standards, donor requirements, and applicable legislation.
• Identify and report programme, safeguarding, operational, and child protection risks.
• Support risk mitigation and corrective action measures.
• Maintain confidentiality, accountability, transparency, and responsible use of programme resources.
• Perform other relevant duties assigned by the supervisor consistent with the position.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, Social Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, Education, Child Development, Community Development, Development Studies, or another closely related field from a recognized institution. A master’s degree in a relevant field is a strong added advantage.
• Minimum seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in child protection, child and youth development, social work, alternative care, social welfare, or related programming, including at least three (3) years in a supervisory, technical, or programme coordination role.
• Demonstrated experience in supervising and coaching staff, case management, individualized development planning, and working with children and young people in alternative care or vulnerable situations.
• Experience in youth development, transition to adulthood, independent living, aftercare, education, employability, TVET, livelihoods, family strengthening, reintegration, reunification, and family-based care approaches are highly desirable.
• Relevant professional training or certification in child protection, alternative care, safeguarding, case management, psychosocial support, youth development, trauma-responsive care, MHPSS, or programme management are an added advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in training, mentoring, programme planning, monitoring and reporting, partnership development, and coordination with government, NGOs, communities, service providers, and other stakeholders.

Technical Knowledge and Competencies

• Strong knowledge of child rights, child protection, safeguarding, alternative care, and family-based care principles, including the UN Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children.
• Strong knowledge and practical skills in case management, individualized development planning, child and youth participation, and child/adolescent development.
• Good understanding of youth development, transition to adulthood, independent living, aftercare, and pathways to education, employment and livelihoods.
• Knowledge of trauma-responsive care, psychosocial support, positive parenting, positive discipline, safeguarding and PSEA principles.
• Strong skills in programme planning, monitoring, reporting, data analysis, learning, and translating evidence into programme improvements.
• Strong partnership, networking, communication, coaching, mentoring, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Safeguarding Commitment

SOS Children’s Villages Somalia holds strict child safeguarding principles and a zero-tolerance policy for conducts of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse in the workplace and other places where the organization’s activities are rendered. Parallel to technical competence, recruitment, selection and hiring decisions will give due emphasize to assessing candidates value congruence and thorough background checks, police clearance reference check processes. SOS Children’s Villages organization is committed to safeguarding the rights of the children and therefore, is expected that every individual who joins with SOS Children’s Villages Somalia understand his/her responsibility in protecting and keeping children always safe.