Gender and Safeguarding Officer, Next Creata

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Gender and Safeguarding Officer, Next Creata
Reports to: Next Creata – Coordinator & Communication Lead
Works closely with: MEAL Officer, Downstream Partner Manager, Curriculum & Training Manager, Master Trainers
Duty Station: Next Media Park, Kampala (with frequent travel to regional training hubs and downstream partner sites)
Contract Type: Full-time

Background

The Next Creata Program, implemented by Next Creata under the Uganda Creatives Program (with Bayimba Foundation, ITC, and Mastercard Foundation), empowers 40,000 young women in Uganda to access dignified and fulfilling work in the creative economy.

The program promotes women’s participation in digital media, production, and creative entrepreneurship — while ensuring that all interventions are safe, inclusive, and gender-transformative.

The Gender and Safeguarding Officer plays a crucial role in ensuring that gender equity, protection, and inclusion are mainstreamed across all program activities. This role ensures compliance with the consortium’s safeguarding standards and supports downstream partners to uphold a zero-tolerance policy for sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH).

Purpose of the Role

To lead the integration of gender equality, safeguarding, and inclusion principles across the Next Creata Program, ensuring safe participation for all beneficiaries particularly young women, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and marginalized groups — while strengthening the safeguarding capacity of partners and trainers.

Key Responsibilities

A. Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusion

• Develop and operationalize a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) framework for the program, aligned with ITC and Mastercard Foundation standards.
• Integrate gender-sensitive approaches into curriculum design, training delivery, communications, and partner engagements.
• Ensure the program effectively addresses barriers facing young women in accessing creative work opportunities (e.g., caregiving roles, mobility, discrimination).
• Conduct gender analyses and contribute to designing interventions that promote equality in participation and leadership.
• Advise the Program Lead and team on gender indicators, outcomes, and reporting requirements.

B. Safeguarding and Protection

• Lead the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy across all Next Creata and partner operations.
• Establish and maintain safe, confidential, and accessible reporting channels for program participants and staff.
• Train all program staff, trainers, mentors, and downstream partners on safeguarding principles, SEAH prevention, and child protection.
• Ensure that recruitment, training, and field engagement processes include safeguarding risk assessments.
• Oversee investigations of reported safeguarding incidents in coordination with the Program Lead and consortium Safeguarding Desk.
• Maintain a secure incident register and ensure timely documentation, escalation, and closure of cases.

C. Partner and Capacity Support

• Build capacity of downstream partners and training hubs on gender equity, protection, and inclusive practice.
• Support the MEAL Officer in integrating gender and safeguarding indicators in monitoring frameworks and data collection tools.
• Ensure partners designate and train Safeguarding Focal Points within their teams.
• Conduct regular compliance and safety audits of partner training spaces to ensure adherence to minimum safeguarding standards.

D. Awareness and Advocacy

• Lead internal and external campaigns promoting gender equality and safe participation in the creative economy.
• Collaborate with the Communications team to ensure visibility materials and media content are gender-responsive and empowering.
• Represent Next Creata in consortium gender and safeguarding forums, ensuring alignment with wider sector best practices.
• Document and share success stories that highlight women’s empowerment and inclusion milestones in the program.

E. Reporting and Compliance

• Prepare quarterly gender and safeguarding progress reports for submission to the Program Lead and consortium.
• Track gender-disaggregated data and safeguarding cases for reporting to the Mastercard Foundation and ITC.
• Contribute to donor reports, ensuring inclusion of qualitative insights on women’s participation and protection outcomes.

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Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies, Social Work, Human Rights, Development Studies, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in gender mainstreaming, child protection, or safeguarding within development, education, or creative sector programs.
• Proven experience implementing safeguarding frameworks, conducting investigations, and providing gender inclusion training.

Core Competencies

• Ethical Integrity: Demonstrates discretion, empathy, and impartiality in managing safeguarding issues.
• Gender Sensitivity: Deep understanding of intersectional gender issues and practical ways to operationalize equality.
• Accountability: Ensures timely and accurate reporting of cases and compliance.
• Cultural Competence: Sensitive to diverse cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic contexts in Uganda.
• Collaboration: Works effectively with multidisciplinary teams and external partners.

Personal Attributes

• Empathetic and trustworthy; maintains strict confidentiality.
• Strong moral compass and respect for diversity.
• Excellent communicator with a calm, supportive demeanor.
• Passionate about women’s empowerment, youth inclusion, and safe workspaces.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented with the ability to respond under pressure.

Expected Deliverables

• Approved Gender and Safeguarding Implementation Plan.
• Functional safeguarding reporting and referral system.
• Gender-disaggregated reporting integrated in all MEL submissions.
• Quarterly gender/safeguarding compliance reports and learning briefs.
• Annual gender audit and case resolution summary.