The Organisation
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.
We won’t stop until we are all equal.
Position: Regional Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPHA) Specialist
Reports to: Regional Head of Humanitarian Preparedness and Response. Technical supervised by the Global Hub CPHA Unit.
Functional Area: Programs/Humanitarian
Location: Based in any of the countries covered by the Plan Regional Office of the Americas (ROAH), with frequent travel to Cluster/Country Offices and other countries within the Region, and eventually outside the region.
Elegible countries are: Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Mexico.
Start date: October 2026
Level: 16
Contract duration: Initial contract duration 8 months
Local contract (based on the salary scale of the Country).
ROLE PURPOSE
Plan International is an independent child rights and humanitarian organisation committed to children living a life free of poverty, violence and injustice. Our purpose is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 80 years and are now active in more than 70 countries.
Plan International has committed in our global strategy with increased humanitarian ambition to scaling up humanitarian action, including in the Americas. At the heart of humanitarian action lies a simple yet powerful purpose: saving lives and alleviating human suffering. This is guided by the four humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, that encourages humanity to provide vital humanitarian assistance to those in urgent need, no matter who they are or where they are. Crises and emergencies provide an opportunity to call on humanitarian actors, including governments, donors and other agencies, to respond effectively to the needs and rights of all children. The specific needs of girls, boys, and civilians are critical and humanitarian advocacy is also essential in helping to better support them.
The Regional Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPHA) Advisor will lead and provide strategic guidance on child protection initiatives in emergencies across the Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This role focuses on enhancing the quality and impact of CPHA programming through technical support, coordination with local and international stakeholders, humanitarian advocacy for children’s rights in crises, and strategic leadership in response to emergencies within the region of Americas.
This role is critical in Plan’s ability to influence as a humanitarian organisation, strengthen our humanitarian profile, liaise with humanitarian peers, and mobilize support to better meet the needs of crisis-affected children in the Americas.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Leadership and Strategy
· Provide strategic direction and coordination for the development and implementation of Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPHA) programs across the region.
· Design and lead the CPHA regional program portfolio, ensuring alignment with broader global strategies.
· Oversee the quality of regional CPHA responses and ensure their adherence to global standards and best practices.
· Support Country Office child protection needs assessments and the development of tailored interventions in CPHA.
· Deploy to support Country Offices within the region in CPHA.
2. Advocacy and External Relations
· Identify and represent Plan International in key regional and global CPHA spaces (e.g. UN, Clusters, HCTs, donors, peer agencies).
· Help to lead and organize peers at other humanitarian organisations on shared influencing efforts.
· Build and maintain relationships with regional agencies, donors, UN bodies, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
· Engage with donors and UN agencies to support strategic alliances, particularly with regional staff across the Americas.
· Participate, if requested by the Regional Head of Humanitarian Preparedness and Response, in regional and global humanitarian and advocacy working groups (e.g. R4V, REDLAC, LAC RMD Coalition).
· Lead advocacy efforts to elevate the visibility and impact of Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPHA) programs within the region as well as the situation of children in crises throughout the Americas.
· Liaise regularly with the Global Humanitarian Policy, Advocacy, and Diplomacy Unit to build a region-specific humanitarian advocacy strategy and undertake actions.
· Maintain regular, ongoing coordination with Country Offices to support context-specific advocacy and policy work on the situation of children.
· Define key humanitarian advocacy opportunities and targets at national and regional levels and mobilize international advocacy support for these
· Assist Country Offices in advocacy planning, including stakeholder mapping and contextual analysis.
· Support operational research, document good practices and develop policy briefs and advocacy documents.
· Support in compiling and systematizing evidence and stories from the region to support advocacy and public engagement regarding the situation of children and girls.
· Oversee regular child protection monitoring is conducted at country office level, collate and compile findings, produce and disseminate analysis reports on the needs and vulnerabilities of children affected by crises, with a focus on girls.
3. Resource Mobilization and Program Management
· Support Country Offices in developing proposals and securing funding for CPiE initiatives and the mainstreaming of CPiE in multisectoral initiatives.
· Co-design project proposals for regional initiatives, ensuring they meet strategic goals and leverage local insights.
· Oversee the implementation of CPHA programs, ensuring quality control, adherence to timelines and budgets.
· Identify and develop multi-country initiatives and represent the organization in key cluster and sub-regional meetings and events.
4. Capacity Building and Technical Support
· Provide ongoing training, coaching, and mentorship to country program staff and partners on CPHA.
· Ensure the implementation of CPHA guidance and tools tailored to the context of each country within the region.
· Promote knowledge sharing and learning across the region through regular meetings and forums.
5. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
· Establish robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to measure program effectiveness and impact at regional level.
· Lead the global and regional evidence collection initiatives and provide analysis on data collected.
· Ensure that learning from CPHA programming is captured, documented, and disseminated across the organization.
· Use data and evidence to inform and adjust program strategies and interventions.
6. Safeguarding
· Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Master’s degree in Social Work, Social Sciences, International Development, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in Child Protection in Humanitarian action, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
- Proven experience in program development, team management, and capacity building in diverse and complex settings.
- Experience in humanitarian affairs or related advocacy and representation
- Strong understanding of the humanitarian landscape and child protection standards in the America’s context.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with fluency in Spanish and proficiency in English, French is desirable.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND DEMANDS:
- Position may be based in any of the countries with frequent travel to program sites and other countries within the region and eventually outside the region if requested by the Regional Head of Humanitarian Preparedness and Response.
- The position will be working at home when it is not traveling to the offices.
- Foreseen travel requirement: 60%.
PLAN INTERNATIONAL VALUES AND LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS
We work to achieve a lasting impact
- I express a clear purpose to staff and set high expectations for our work and its impact.
- I create a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenges and new ideas
- I...