Senior Child Protection Specialist

Senior Child Protection Specialist

Cambodia

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req25701

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Posted on: 23/10/2026

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Senior Child Protection Specialist

ChildSAFE Cambodia

1. Background

ChildSAFE is a U.S. Department of State-funded initiative led by Catholic Relief Services that seeks to strengthen child protection systems through improvements in workforce capacity, case management, information systems, data use, and service delivery.

In Cambodia, Palladium will work with relevant government institutions and child protection stakeholders to assess the digital readiness and interoperability of priority child protection information systems and applications (for example, Primero/CPIMS managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY), OSCaR used by NGO case management partners, and the interoperability layer linking them), including current case management workflows, institutional roles, staffing capacity, connectivity, equipment, data quality, cybersecurity and data-protection needs, training requirements, and user-support structures. Drawing on the assessment findings, Palladium will support government stakeholders to develop and validate a practical roadmap, for endorsement by the Royal Government of Cambodia, for strengthening and harmonizing priority digital child protection case management systems, with clear activities, responsibilities, sequencing, resource requirements, and implementation considerations. The work will build on existing investments by MoSVY, UNICEF and other partners in Cambodia's child protection case management and information systems, and will align with national child protection policy frameworks, including the Child Protection Sector Strategic Implementation Plan and its successor, as well as applicable digital government and data protection requirements.

ChildSAFE Cambodia will be supported by technical personnel with expertise in data and information systems, and assessment methods, together with project coordination, finance, and operational support.

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The Senior Child Protection Specialist will provide the Cambodia team with technical expertise in Cambodia's social work and child protection ecosystem, including key stakeholders/implementers, case management, referral pathways, safeguarding, and frontline service delivery. Working under the direction of the ChildSAFE Cambodia Country Team Lead and in close coordination with the Senior Digital Systems Specialist, HQ ChildSAFE Project Director, and Senior Digital Advisor, the consultant will lead analysis of the policies, practices, workflows, roles, forms, supervision arrangements, and service-delivery realities that information systems must support. The consultant will ensure that the digital readiness and interoperability assessment and the resulting roadmap are grounded in sound child protection practice, the needs of children and families, and the operational realities of government and partner social workers and case managers.

The consultant will work closely and iteratively with the Country Team Lead, Senior Digital Systems Specialist, designated government counterparts, Catholic Relief Services, UNICEF and other partners supporting MoSVY's child protection information systems, and project coordination, finance, and operations personnel. The consultant will bring practical knowledge of Cambodia's child protection system and social work practice; facilitate meaningful participation by government technical counterparts, frontline users, and relevant stakeholders; and regularly test emerging observations and interpretations with the appropriate government counterparts to ensure that the analysis accurately reflects current government policy, terminology, institutional responsibilities, and operational practice. Where documented policy, stakeholder perspectives, and observed practice differ, the consultant will clearly identify and validate those differences rather than independently resolving them. The consultant will translate the resulting child protection findings into clear requirements and recommendations for the assessment and roadmap.

Beyond technical analysis, the Senior Child Protection Specialist will serve as Palladium's senior technical voice on child protection practice in Cambodia. As delegated by the Country Team Lead, the consultant will represent Palladium in government-led and development partner technical forums, contribute credible, evidence-based perspectives to policy dialogue with MoSVY and other relevant ministries, and build the trust and working relationships needed for government ownership of the assessment findings and roadmap. The consultant will favor co-design with, and knowledge transfer to, government counterparts so that recommendations are owned and sustained by the Royal Government of Cambodia rather than seen as external products.

Role boundary: The Senior Child Protection Specialist will lead analysis of child protection policy, case-management practice, social work workflows, safeguarding, referral pathways, supervision, service delivery, and frontline-user needs, and will provide child protection quality assurance for the assessment and roadmap. In developing this analysis, the specialist will engage designated government counterparts in coordination with the Cambodia Country Team Lead (including representing Palladium in technical working groups and technical-level meetings, as delegated), confirm that interpretations reflect current government policy and practice, and identify any areas that require further validation or senior government direction. The Senior Digital Systems Specialist is accountable for the systems, data, interoperability, infrastructure, privacy, cybersecurity, and other digital analyses and for overall technical integration of the assessment and roadmap inputs. The Country Team Lead is accountable for country-level workplan execution, senior stakeholder engagement, government ownership, and coordination. The Senior Child Protection Specialist will not independently lead software, architecture, interoperability, or cybersecurity analysis, but will work closely with the Senior Digital Systems Specialist to ensure that technical recommendations support safe, practical, and child-centered case management.

3. Scope of Work

3.1 Child Protection and Case-Management Assessment

• Contribute child protection and social work content to the assessment methodology, tools, interview guides, document-review framework, and evidence matrix, aligned with the approved Cambodia workplan.
• Review relevant laws, policies, standards, procedures, forms, training materials, and prior assessments governing child protection case management, referrals, safeguarding, supervision, and service delivery, and discuss their current interpretation and application with designated government counterparts.
• Conduct or support interviews, focus groups, workflow observations, and consultations with government social workers, case managers, supervisors, service providers, NGO partners, and other authorized stakeholders.
• Assess how current policy and practice support identification, intake, assessment, case planning, referrals, service coordination, follow-up, review, transfer, and case closure, including variations across institutions or levels of the system.
• Map the roles of the multi-sectoral and sub-national actors involved in child protection case management and referral, including MoSVY and provincial and district social affairs offices, Commune Committees for Women and Children (CCWCs), sub-national administrations with functions transferred under decentralization and deconcentration (D&D) reforms, the Ministry of Women's Affairs, police and anti-trafficking units, courts, health and education services, and NGO case-management partners.

3.2 Workflow, Referral, and Frontline-User Analysis

• Map case-management and referral workflows, decision points, roles, handoffs, approvals, forms, information needs, and accountability across relevant actors and levels.
• Identify bottlenecks, duplication, gaps, informal workarounds, and differences between approved procedures and frontline practice that affect continuity, quality, timeliness, or safety of services.
• Document the informal tools frontline workers actually use to record and share case information (for example, paper registers, spreadsheets, Telegram or Facebook Messenger groups, and personal phones), the reasons for their use, and the associated safeguarding risks, without judgment, so that recommendations address real practice.
• Assess the reporting burden on NGO case-management partners that report both to government systems and to their own donors, and its effect on data quality and system uptake.
• Assess the practical needs and constraints of frontline users, including workload, staffing, supervision, skills, language, connectivity, equipment, training, and ongoing user support.
• Examine how case information is created, used, shared, and protected in practice, including consent, confidentiality, referral feedback, access to sensitive information, and safe information sharing.
• Translate child protection practice and user needs into clear functional requirements and practical considerations for the Senior Digital Systems Specialist's systems, data-flow, and interoperability analysis.

3.3 Safeguarding, Ethics, and Responsible Case Information

• Assess whether case-management practices and proposed system changes reflect child-centered, survivor-centered, do-no-harm, confidentiality, informed-consent, and best-interests principles.
• Identify safeguarding and ethical risks associated with case documentation, referrals, information sharing, user access, and use of child-level data, and recommend proportionate practice and procedural safeguards.
• Ensure that consultations and assessment activities involving sensitive child protection information follow approved protocols and avoid unnecessary collection or exposure of personal data.
• Before fieldwork, confirm whether any consultations require ethics review or specific government approval, and establish a disclosure and referral protocol for child protection concerns that arise during the assessment. Direct consultations with children or survivors should take place only where clearly necessary, by trained personnel, with informed consent and appropriate support in place.

3.4 Child Protection Synthesis and Roadmap Inputs

• Synthesize findings on case-management practice, referral pathways, workforce capacity, supervision, safeguarding, service delivery, and frontline-user needs, distinguishing confirmed evidence, government interpretations, other stakeholder perspectives, unresolved questions, and risks. Review emerging findings with designated government counterparts before finalizing the analysis, and clearly document any areas where official policy, current government thinking, stakeholder perspectives, and observed practice do not fully align.
• Develop practical recommendations to strengthen child protection workflows, forms, roles, guidance, training, supervision, referral coordination, and responsible use of case information.
• Provide child protection inputs to the roadmap, including proposed activities, sequencing, responsible entities, workforce and capacity needs, change-management considerations, sustainability, and implementation risks.
• Identify workforce and continuity risks that affect implementation of the roadmap, including the limited number of government social workers, reliance on donor-funded NGO case workers, and turnover of CCWC members following the commune and sangkat council elections expected in 2027, and reflect these in roadmap sequencing and capacity-building recommendations.
• Review proposed digital and interoperability recommendations with the Senior Digital Systems Specialist to confirm that they reflect approved case-management practice, are feasible for frontline users, and do not create unintended safeguarding or service-delivery risks.
• Present child protection findings and recommendations in accessible language and revise inputs following Palladium, government, CRS, and stakeholder review and validation.

3.5 Team Collaboration and Quality Assurance

• Coordinate closely with the Country Team Lead and Senior Digital Systems Specialist so that child protection consultations, workflow analysis, systems analysis, and deliverables are properly sequenced, integrated within the approved Cambodia workplan, and build on existing work without duplication.
• Provide concise progress updates, flag practice gaps, safeguarding concerns, evidence limitations, or implementation risks, and escalate matters requiring project or stakeholder direction.
• Support the Senior Digital Systems Specialist to integrate child protection policy, case-management practice, frontline-user, operational, and safeguarding considerations into the technical assessment and roadmap.
• Maintain organized notes and source documentation and contribute to internal quality review of assessment and roadmap outputs.

3.6 Strategic Engagement, Policy Dialogue, and Capacity Transfer

• As delegated by the Country Team Lead, represent Palladium at government-led and development partner technical forums related to child protection, case management, and the social service workforce, and provide concise readouts and recommended follow-up.
• Contribute evidence-based technical perspectives to policy dialogue with MoSVY and other relevant ministries, including on the successor to the Child Protection Sector Strategic Implementation Plan and related social service workforce and case-management standards, in line with positions agreed with the Country Team Lead.
• Build and maintain constructive working relationships with MoSVY departments, provincial social affairs offices, UNICEF, CRS, and NGO case-management networks, positioning the assessment as a contribution to existing government and partner efforts.
• Work alongside designated government counterparts in analysis and validation (for example, co-facilitating workshops and jointly reviewing findings) to strengthen government ownership and transfer practical skills.
• Advise the Country Team Lead on political and institutional sensitivities, stakeholder interests, and opportunities that may affect uptake of child protection recommendations.

4. Deliverables

Specific assignments will be authorized by Palladium within the approved level of effort. Expected deliverables include:

• Child protection inputs to the assessment inception package, including relevant policies and standards, stakeholder groups, consultation tools, workflow questions, and safeguarding protocols.
• Case-management and referral workflow materials, developed through consultation with and review by designated government counterparts, including role and process maps, findings on policy-to-practice gaps, frontline-user needs, workforce and supervision constraints, safeguarding risks, and a record of government feedback and any unresolved differences requiring further validation or decision.
• Written child protection findings and recommendations for incorporation into the draft digital readiness and interoperability assessment report.
• Reviewed and finalized child protection inputs to the digital readiness and interoperability assessment report, supporting completion of the report by 1 July 2027 or earlier.
• Child protection inputs to the roadmap, including recommendations on case-management practice, referral pathways, workforce capacity, training, supervision, safeguarding, change management, responsible information use, sustainability, and implementation risks.
• Final child protection inputs incorporated into the validated Cambodia roadmap, due 1 September 2027 or earlier.
• Presentations, briefing materials, consultation notes, decision logs, and concise progress updates as requested.
• Short briefs (two to four pages) in Khmer and English summarizing key child protection findings and recommendations for government and development partner audiences.
• Khmer-language quality assurance of child protection terminology in key outputs submitted for government review and endorsement, consistent with MoSVY usage.

5. Working Arrangements

• The consultant will work under the direction of the ChildSAFE Country Team Lead and in close coordination with the Senior Digital Systems Specialist, HQ ChildSAFE Project Director, and Senior Digital Advisor.
• When representing Palladium externally, the consultant will speak to agreed technical positions, keep the Cambodia Team Lead informed, and will not make commitments on behalf of Palladium, CRS, or the donor.
• The consultant will maintain regular communication with the Country Team Lead and relevant technical staff, provide timely notice of child protection, safeguarding, evidence, or implementation risks, and promptly escalate significant gaps, delays, resource constraints, scope questions, or decisions requiring Palladium direction or approval.
• All workdays, travel, activities, data access, and stakeholder engagement must be authorized in advance by Palladium.
• The consultant will comply with Palladium and client requirements related to safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection, conflicts of interest, professional conduct, and secure handling of project information.
• Technical conclusions and recommendations will be subject to Palladium quality review and stakeholder validation. Material changes to scope, budget, procurement, public commitments, or approved timelines require Palladium approval.
• Any travel must be approved in advance and undertaken in accordance with the consultancy agreement and applicable Palladium procedures.

6. Required Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree in social work, child protection, social sciences, psychology, law, public policy, or a related field. Substantial relevant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.
• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in child protection, social work, case management, safeguarding, referral systems, or child protection systems strengthening, including senior advisory or leadership roles involving national government and development partners.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Cambodia's child protection and social welfare system, including relevant government institutions, policies, case-management processes, and service-delivery arrangements, together with experience working collaboratively and diplomatically with government technical counterparts to validate analysis and develop recommendations that reflect current policy and operational practice.
• Established professional credibility and working relationships with MoSVY, provincial social affairs offices, UNICEF, and NGO case-management partners, and a track record of representing an organization in government-led technical working groups and policy dialogue.
• Experience assessing or strengthening child protection case management, referral pathways, social service workforce capacity, supervision, safeguarding, or related operational systems.
• Experience mapping workflows, facilitating consultations with government and frontline practitioners, analyzing policy-to-practice gaps, and translating findings into practical recommendations or implementation plans.
• Strong understanding of child-centered and survivor-centered practice, best-interests principles, confidentiality, informed consent, responsible information sharing, and do-no-harm approaches.
• Familiarity with digital case-management systems or child protection information management systems is an advantage; deep software, architecture, or interoperability expertise is not required.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with information-systems specialists and explain child protection practice and frontline-user needs to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong facilitation, analytical, and report-writing skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in Khmer and English.
• Commitment to safeguarding, confidentiality, responsible data use, and respectful collaboration.

7. Acceptance of Deliverables

Deliverables will be considered complete upon review and written acceptance by the ChildSAFE Project Director or another Palladium representative designated in the consultancy agreement. Palladium may request reasonable revisions to ensure that outputs are clear, complete, and responsive to the authorized assignment.

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