Gender, Protection and Accountability (GPA) Officer (Contract duration of two months with possibility of extension)

About the job:

The Gender, Protection and Accountability Officer is responsible for strengthening and operationalising gender equality, protection mainstreaming, safeguarding, and accountability systems across ZOA programmes. The role ensures that Feedback and Complaints Mechanisms (FCM/CRM), PSEA, protection risk mitigation, and gender-responsive programming are effectively implemented in line with ZOA policies, donor requirements, and humanitarian standards.

The post holder plays a key role in ensuring that affected populations, especially women, girls, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, can safely access services, provide feedback, and influence programme decisions.

Responsibilities:

Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)

• Lead the implementation and day-to-day management of ZOA’s Community Feedback and Complaints Mechanism (CFM/CRM), including helpdesks, hotlines, suggestion boxes, community meetings, and partner-led mechanisms.
• Ensure timely logging, documentation, tracking, referral, and closure of complaints and feedback in the CRM database in line with SOPs.
• Analyse feedback and complaints trends and share regular reports with programme teams and management to inform adaptive programming.
• Ensure complaints are responded to in a timely, confidential, and survivor-centred manner.
• Support partners to establish and operate effective, accessible, and inclusive feedback mechanisms.

Protection and Safeguarding (Including PSEA)

• Support the integration of protection principles (Do No Harm, safety, dignity, inclusion, and confidentiality) across all project activities.
• Actively support the prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment (PSEAH) through awareness raising, risk analysis, and mitigation actions.
• Support the MPQ and Country Integrity Coordinator in handling sensitive complaints, including safeguarding, fraud, or misconduct cases, in line with ZOA policies.
• Coordinate referral of protection cases to appropriate internal or external services, ensuring confidentiality and survivor consent.
• Contribute to protection risk assessments and mitigation planning at project and community levels.

Gender Equality and Inclusion

• Support gender analysis and protection analysis during project design, implementation, and evaluation phases.
• Ensure programmes are gender-responsive and inclusive of women, men, girls, boys, and persons with disabilities.
• Support the integration of gender and protection indicators in project log frames and MEAL plans.
• Promote meaningful participation of women and marginalised groups in community structures and feedback mechanisms.

Capacity Building and Awareness Raising

• Design and deliver training for staff, partners, and community members on AAP, PSEA, Code of Conduct, gender, and protection.
• Support the onboarding and continuous capacity strengthening of staff and partners on safeguarding and accountability requirements.
• Work closely with HR to support Code of Conduct dissemination and compliance.

Programme Quality, MEAL, and Reporting

• Work closely with the MEAL team to ensure CRM data is accurate, up to date, and usable for programme planning, reporting, and learning.
• Support donor and internal reporting on accountability, gender, and protection components.
• Participate in assessments, evaluations, and reviews, including joint evaluations and protection or gender-focused studies.
• Contribute to lessons learned, best practices, and learning events related to accountability, gender, and protection.

Coordination and Representation

• Represent ZOA in relevant coordination forums, working groups, and networks (e.g. Protection, PSEA, AAP) as requested.
• Maintain effective working relationships with partners, community leaders, service providers, and referral actors.

Evaluation

• Ensures the conduct of assessments in areas of protection and gender analysis
• Supports the MPQ in the selection of external evaluators related to gender analysis/protection and supports in meetings on field/in-country logistics/HR requirements of external evaluators towards successful completion of quality external evaluation.
• Supports the MPQ in the conduct of internal assessments.

Learning

• Maintains and updates ZOA CRM data base under the specification of the MPQ.
• Ensures that data base is usable for ZOA planning i.e., country strategic plan, project plan)
• Ensures synergy between CRM and project teams and other stakeholders through joint analysis of CRM reports and effective communications.
• Ensures that lessons learned workshops are conducted and outputs feedback to ZOA as knowledge.

Supervises

• Provide technical supervision and support to CRM focal points, volunteers, interns, assistants and enumerators involved in accountability and protection activities.

Requirements:

Required Qualifications and Experience

• University degree in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Humanitarian Affairs, or a related field.
• Minimum of 2–3 years’ experience in accountability, protection, gender, or safeguarding roles within humanitarian or development programmes.
• Strong knowledge of CHS, AAP, PSEA, safeguarding, and protection principles.
• Experience managing feedback and complaints mechanisms and sensitive case handling.
• Experience working with partners and community-based structures.
• A candidate  with strong experience in gender and protection programming is an added advantage

Competencies

• Strong interpersonal, facilitation, and communication skills
• Ability to handle sensitive issues with confidentiality, professionalism, and cultural sensitivity.
• Analytical skills for reviewing feedback data and identifying trends.
• The candidate is expected to support the identity, vision and mission of ZOA.
• Strong knowledge of and expertise in data analysis and presentation (Graphs, Maps, pivot tables)
• Strong knowledge in Kobo, Microsoft Excel for tools development, data analysis and management
• Experience in the use of RR collect; any GIS software or database preferred.
• Strong report writing and documentation skills.
• University Graduate or Technical course diploma holders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Good understanding of Core Humanitarian Standards, PSEA, Accountability to Affected populations.
• Ability to operate as part of a team in a multi-cultural, value-driven work environment, and to perform tasks with sensitivity to local culture.
• Ability to manage own workload and deadlines, and maintain ethical and professional conduct
• Knowledge of spoken and or written Hausa and/ or Kanuri is an added advantage.
• Willingness to travel within ZOA areas of operation

Skills/Attitudes

• Data presentation and analysis skills (both qualitative and quantitative)
• Report writing
• Organized and eye for detail
• Pro-active
• Able to manage stress and work under pressure
• Team player
• Special requirements
• Based in Bama 
• Willingness to travel within ZOA areas of operation

Special circumstances

Willingness to travel to other field offices, visit, and train local partners. Willingness to accept additional job responsibilities, especially in emergency relief situations, as and when requested to carry out any necessary tasks.

Salary and other terms of employment:

Negotiable.