The Aga Khan Foundation, Afghanistan (AKF (Afg)) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of international, private, non-denominational development agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities for people in some of the poorest parts of the developing world. The Network’s organizations have individual mandates that range from the fields of health and education to architecture, rural development and promotion of private-sector enterprise and institutions that seek to empower communities and individuals, usually in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities.

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a non-denominational international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. Created as a private, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, it has branches and independent affiliates in 19 countries.

AKF seeks to provide sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and ill health. In Afghanistan, AKF works with rural communities in mountainous, remote or resource poor areas to improve quality of life in the areas of natural resource management, market development, governance, education, and health.

POSITION OBJECTIVE
AKF (Afg) is committed to ensuring that its staff, operations, and programs do no harm to children and vulnerable adults, and do not expose them to abuse or exploitation. This commitment also includes protecting staff from inappropriate behavior such as bullying and harassment.
The regional Safeguarding Officer will be responsible for systematically embedding various aspects of safeguarding into the organizational systems and processes. This role will involve a combination of capacity building and monitoring, while also enforcing compliance and accountability management.
The Safeguarding Officer will assist the National Safeguarding Coordinator in delivering capacity-building training to staff, beneficiaries, partners, and other stakeholders. Responsibilities include providing case management support, liaison and collaboration, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, and response. Technical reporting will be directed to the National Safeguarding Coordinator, while day-to-day administrative reporting will be to the respective Regional Director (RD).

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Training and Awareness:
Organize and deliver safeguarding training for staff, interns, volunteers, partners, beneficiaries and stakeholders.
Ensure that everyone involved understands their roles and responsibilities regarding safeguarding.
Design and conduct induction or short training event on safeguarding (half day) as well as longer refresher trainings.
Organizing safe programming and accountability towards affected people training for the AKF and partner staff members.
Case Management:
Act as the point of contact for safeguarding concerns, providing advice and support.
Manage referrals from AWAZ Afghanistan and cases coming from safe call and other reporting channels.

Lead or provide technical support to the investigation of safeguarding incidents and coordinate responses with relevant stakeholders.
Maintain detailed, confidential records of all safeguarding concerns and actions taken.
Liaison and Collaboration:
Work and collaborate closely with peer in safeguarding matters.
Work closely with AKDN agencies, and other organizations including local partners to ensure effective safeguarding procedures.
Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Coordinate with national, regional, area, and district offices SG focal points to improve SG practices.
Support program team to work with partners, as well as with children and communities to  develop strategies for establishing or strengthening complaints mechanism
Coordinate safeguarding self-assessments, risk assessments, undertaking partner due diligence, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Safe Program, and other monitoring activities to ensure compliance with the minimum standards.
Monitoring and Reporting:
Monitor safeguarding activities and ensure compliance with safeguarding standards.
Conduct regular visits to the regional, area, and district offices to ensure that the SG reporting system is working, and beneficiaries know how to report SG cases.
Maintain detailed and confidential records of safeguarding concerns, actions taken, and outcomes.
Support staff to work with partners, as well as with children and communities to develop strategies for establishing or strengthening the complaints mechanism
Be the first point of contact for anyone wishing to make a complaint/raise a safeguarding concern.
Update the case and risk register and collate information from departments, as well as the case register, into an analysis that the National Safeguarding Coordinator can use to monitor progress with safeguarding.
Provide safe programming support to AKF programs and projects.
Close coordination with regional gender coordinators and HR.
To carry out the responsibilities of the role in a way that reflects AKF (Afg)'s commitment to safeguarding staff, and beneficiaries and protecting children from harm and abuse in accordance with AKF (Afg)s Safeguarding policy.
To report any suspicions or actual violations of the Safeguarding Policy and/or Child Safeguarding Policy as per the training given.

OCCASIONAL SIGNIFICANT DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To be part of the management team in the respective region and will represent the safeguarding unit.

JOB SPECIFICATION
Bachelor’s degree in social science, law, or any other related field.
Minimum two years of experience in child protection, safeguarding, social mobilization, human resources, or in the education sector.
Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills, including report writing in English. Familiar with safeguarding and child protection protocols.
Experience in planning and conducting training sessions across various levels, including field workers, community-based staff, project staff, senior management teams, and beneficiaries.
Good knowledge of Microsoft Office applications. The ability to operate Microsoft Project would be an asset.
Willing to travel and work in challenging working environments.

REQUIRED CORE COMPETENCIES
Good team player and ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues.
Accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, and achieving and role-modeling of AKF (Afg)s values.
Demonstrated ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
Willingness to learn and receive constructive feedback.

Builds and maintain effective relationships with relevant stakeholders.
Exhibits honesty, promotes openness and transparency, and upholds the highest standards of integrity.
Ability to critically analyze and provide constructive recommendations.

APPLICATION
Interested applicants should submit their CV along with a cover letter to bamyan.hr@akdn.org no later than 12th July 2025.

Important Notes:
Please quote the Vacancy Number as the Subject of the e-mail when applying.
No supporting documents (e.g., diplomas, recommendation letters, identification card(s) etc.) are required at this stage.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for further assessment.
Salary scale: Grade D based on NTA Salary scale.
Candidates from the region are preferred.

The Aga Khan Foundation Afghanistan (AKF- Afg) promotes a transparent and equitable recruitment process. We reiterate that all services related to job applications, including processing, seminars, and training programs, are provided free of charge. 

Our official job announcements are posted on the ACBAR website (acbar.org/jobs). Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their applications through our designated email address: jobs.afghanistan@akdn.org. Each job vacancy is assigned a unique identification number for your reference and upon submitting your application, you will receive an automatic confirmation acknowledging its receipt, immediately. 

AKF- Afg recruitment and selection process reflect our commitment to equal opportunity and protecting children and at-risk adults, beneficiaries, partners, community members and employees from safeguarding violations. AKF (Afg) participates in the Scheme for the disclosure of safeguarding-related misconduct within the humanitarian and development sector (Misconduct Disclosure Scheme). In line with this Scheme, AKF (Afg) will contact previous employers of job applicants to request information about any investigations or findings of misconduct concerning allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment (sexual misconduct) against the applicant, during or after their employment. AKF (Afg) further implements a range of procedures and vetting checks including criminal records disclosures to ensure everyone associated with AKF (Afg) is kept free from harm and abuse is prevented.
 
Protection from Sexual Exploitation Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) is the responsibility of everyone, and all selected individuals will be required to always comply with AKF (Afg)s Safeguarding Policy. 

By submitting the job application, the applicant confirms to have understood and consented to AKF (Afg) contacting the applicant’s prior employers, during AKF (Afg)’s recruitment process, to request any such information and maintain this information on file for Recruitment and Human Resources Management purposes.

We request all job seekers to be attentive and report any instances of individuals or entities claiming to charge fees on behalf of AKF Afghanistan to AKFA.HR@akdn.org. Our commitment to ethical practices ensures that your career aspirations are supported without any financial burden during recruitment.

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply for this position.