Protection Specialist (ABA Consortium)

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to protect, advocate and promote durable solutions for displacement affected populations. 

DRC has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, currently DRC employs over 800 staff in Ukraine and implements emergency response in the Protection, Livelihoods, Shelter/NFIs and Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (humanitarian mine action) sectors, using direct interventions, support to duty bearers and civil society organizations (CSOs), and partnerships with CSOs. DRC will continue and adapt its durable solutions portfolio to the evolving context. 

Danish Refugee Council is currently looking for a highly qualified Protection Specialist in Mykolaiv.

About the ABA Consortium: The Area-Based Allocation (ABA) Consortium is designed to support local partners in Ukraine by facilitating access to quality funding and enabling them to scale up their programming without being burdened by excessive bureaucracy. The Consortium operates as a fund mechanism, incorporating a due diligence process, calls for proposals, fund disbursement, and tailored support throughout project implementation.

About the job

Under the supervision of the Consortium Programme Manager and in close collaboration with other protection technical colleagues, the Protection Specialist will be responsible for technical assistance, guidance, and monitoring of Protection focused projects. The Protection Specialist will work with CSO partners implementing protection activities across a wide range of Protection sub-sectors including General Protection, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and provide Protection Mainstreaming support to non-Protection partners.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Grant Management and Technical Compliance

• Participate in the technical review of protection proposals and budgets ensuring that the proposed activities are in line with protection guidance and technical standards.
• Review partner logframes and monitoring tools to ensure that they are in line with relevant protection guidance and technical standards.

Project implementation oversight:

• Conduct capacity assessments of protection partners and develop capacity development plans.
• Based on partner’s ongoing and planned programming, and organizational mandates and strategies, outline the key areas where partners require guidance and support to meet national and global standards.
• Provide capacity development, including trainings and mentoring, to CSOs implementing protection activities.
• Ensure that workplans developed by the partners are in line with protection technical guidance.
• Conduct technical monitoring visits and regular follow up meetings with partners implementing protection activities.
• Support non-protection partners with protection mainstreaming.
• Liaise with partners regularly on ongoing challenges, successes, and lessons learned, to provide the relevant support with partners for them to success with ongoing.

Representation and External Coordination:

• Coordinate with Protection colleagues from other consortium members to ensure alignment of practices and processes.
• Coordinate with other Protection technical colleagues, including Legal Aid, GBV and MHPSS Specialists to develop training packages and protection partnerships tools.
• Coordinate with the Protection Cluster and relevant AoRs as needed.

About you

To be successful in this role, we expect you to be a strong and strategic leader with a solid background in programme oversight, and stakeholder engagement, ideally in complex humanitarian or early recovery contexts. You have a proven ability to manage diverse teams, foster collaboration among partners, and ensure compliance with donor requirements. You bring a deep commitment to locally led responses and have demonstrated experience in supporting and strengthening the capacity of local actors — through mentoring, technical support, or tailored accompaniment — to enable sustainable and impactful programming.

Moreover, we also expect the following:

Required

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in protection programming.
• Knowledge and experience implementing protection programming in the areas of general protection, Legal Aid, Gender Based Violence and Psychosocial Support (PSS).
• Previous proven experience in programs implemented through local partners or in remote management.
• Proven experience in capacity building and training of local partners.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft office

Desirable:

• Knowledge and experience in protection proposal development.
• Knowledge in MEAL requirements for Protection programming.

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies: 

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process. 

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback. 

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation. 

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly. 

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: Three months probationary period, with 11-month extension following successful completion of probationary period.

Band: G1- non management

Designation of Duty Station: Mykolaiv

Start date: October 2025

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 26th of September