Sponsorship Officer

Organization

Help a Child is a Christian international NGO specialized in community development with its headquarters in the Netherlands. Founded in 1968, Help a Child’s mission is to improve the wellbeing of children living in poverty and crisis through supportive communities. Currently, Help a Child is operating in Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, South Sudan, DR Congo, Rwanda, Somalia and India. Help a Child has been operating in Malawi since 2009.

We have been working with our partners in various regions of Malawi to implement community development programs that promote the well-being of children by empowering their families and communities. In cooperation with local NGO partners, Help a Child Malawi improves the resilience of households by implementing the Child Centered Community Development (CCCD) program. In this holistic program, various thematic interventions are combined. They focus on early childhood development, education & child rights, as well as youth development and economic empowerment.

Position

Sponsorship Officer

The position is responsible for providing technical and administrative support for sponsorship processes inline with country office goals and objectives, providing a motivating experience for sponsors and a positive sponsorship experience for children. 

He/she ensures that the sponsorship systems and processes are managed according to policies and standards, and that sponsorship database information is accurate, up-to-date, and utilized for management decision making. 

He/she supports in the compliance of time and quality of content for sponsorship correspondence and sponsor communications.

Sponsorship Management and compliance

• Facilitate Community entry processes for sponsorship programs.
• Lead the identification and enrolment of children into the sponsorship program inline with global CAM requirements.
• Update and manage the Sponsorship database and files for all children.
• Ensure that the sponsorship system (Salesforce) is maintained and operated according to the organization’s prescribed quality standards.
• Develop and implement retention strategies for sponsored children.
• Follow up on the status of CAM children and update eligibility dynamics on quarterly basis.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and data security in respect of all records, in particular, children biography, sponsors data and other sensitive information.
• Lead and coordinate all administrative and clerical processes on all matters related to the retention, monitoring and graduation of sponsored children.

Communications

• Management of high quality and timely process flow of child inventory and sponsor/child correspondence to ensure that all sponsorship materials are satisfactorily processed and responded to within the content and time standards.
• Facilitate timely correspondences for all scheduled events inline with quality guidelines of the sponsorship program.
• Ensure fast, efficient and comprehensive action on requests for information.
• Produce periodic multi-media content (take pictures, capture videos and feature stories for CAM children) for donor relations and child progress reporting.

Child safeguarding

• Remain alert and responsive to any child safeguarding risks and promote strong safeguarding practices inline with help a child’s child safeguarding policy and procedures.
• Integrate child safeguarding in all CAM processes.
• Reinforce Child Safeguarding in all program activities by monitoring sponsorship staff and community volunteer encounters with children.
• Develop appropriate content that does not affect the dignity of the children.
• Report any safeguarding suspicion, concern, allegation or incident immediately following Safeguarding reporting procedures.

Reporting

• Develop reports from the sponsorship system and database,
• Analyse sponsorship information, interpret trends and generate insights and observations for management decision and action, including recommendations to improve CAM Children and CAM Households efficient integration and quality participation in program processes.
• Review the quality of sponsorship monitoring and reporting systems, tools, practices and processes.
• Assists in the preparation of monthly and annual CS narrative and statistical reports.

Capacity Building

• Periodically share Sponsorship process information to improve awareness and knowledge of staff, community stakeholders and CAM households in sponsorship matters
• Continuously build the capacity of Community Facilitators through trainings, mentorship and coaching to improve their competencies in the sponsorship approach, quality of correspondence materials and sponsor communications.
• Provide effective guidance and orientation to Community Facilitators on technical aspects of sponsorship such as enrolment management, monitoring and child follow-ups, community awareness and the overall sponsorship management of correspondence and communication processes.
  
  

Community liaison

• Create structured periodic contact with sponsored children and CAM households to maximise program participation and integration.
• Design and organize programs for continued information dissemination and orientation about sponsorship to the community at large for effective and sustainable support the program.
• Manage a structured grievance redress and accountability system inline with the organisation’s Community Based Complaints and Feedback Mechanisms (CBCFM) Framework.

QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE 

Education
A bachelor’s degree in education, communication, child development.

OR

A bachelor’s degree in community development or related field and/or equivalent relevant work experience

Skills and Experiences

• 3 years progressive work experience with direct contact with children OR managing sponsorship programs.
• Demonstrated experience in handling information and data base systems.
• Experience in designing and facilitation of training programs.
• Above average computer proficiency in database systems and general office software applications (i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook);
• Above average understanding of the principles and practices of effective sponsorship management.
• Familiarity with process-oriented operations and workflows

Competencies

• Child friendliness: This position requires direct contact with children at 70%. Ability to work with children is crucial.
• High degree of problem-solving skills and autonomy
• Desire to learn process management tools; process management experience a plus
• Strong Communication and Interpersonal Skills: Effective communication is essential for building relationships with communities and negotiating agreements.
• Negotiation Skills: The ability to negotiate effectively with community members and CAM households is crucial for securing favourable agreements.
• Organizational and Time Management Skills: Managing multiple sponsorship agreements and deliverables requires strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize tasks.
• Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills: The ability to analyse sponsorship data, identify problems, and develop solutions is important for improving sponsorship performance.

Desirable

• Above average computer proficiency.
• Experience managing or facilitating sponsorship programs

Offer 

Help a Child offers the opportunity to become part of an ambitious, child-centered, and Christian international NGO with a dedicated team of professionals motivated to maximize impact. Help a Child offers a fair pay and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors. Additionally, you will be offered a fixed term one (1) year contract. Depending on funding, performance, and fit with the staff, the contract may be extended. 

How to apply

Interested and qualified candidates are kindly invited to apply before DATE 

In your cover letter, please reflect on your motivation for wanting to become part of the Help a Child organization including a reflection on Help a Child being a child-centered and Christian organization. 

The interviews will be at our office in Malawi, plot #14/189,  Area 14 - Lilongwe. 

Help a Child is committed to keeping children safe. All staff is required to sign and adhere to the Help a Child’s Integrity Policy. Recruitment is subject to the successful completion of all applicable background checks, including criminal record checks. In this recruitment process, we ask the candidate for consent for obtaining the Statement of Conduct. We also participate in the SCHR Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.