Position description
AboutProtect Humanitarians**:** We protect, support and advocate for humanitarian personnel worldwide. We promote good practices in Duty of Care for staff and volunteers working on the frontlines. We provide Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and legal advice to humanitarian personnel and NGOs. We advocate for justice alongside victims and amplify the voices of survivors. We create new ways to effectively protect and support humanitarians on the frontlines. More: www.protecthumanitarians.org
Purpose of the role
The Coordinator will lead the establishment and development of the Global Humanitarian Survivor Network. The role’s core purpose is to empower survivors to shape change in how the humanitarian sector supports and protects its people.
The Coordinator will create the structures and spaces that enable safe participation, collective leadership, and advocacy grounded in lived experience. Working with Protect Humanitarians and global partners, the Coordinator will ensure the network grows into a strong, inclusive, and sustainable initiative — amplifying survivor voices and driving systemic change across the humanitarian community.
The Coordinator will work under the direct supervision of the Protect Humanitarians’ Executive Director and work closely with PH’s MHPSS coordinator, legal officer, and research coordinator. Externally, the Coordinator will humanitarian survivors and families of humanitarian victims, as well as partners to the project.
The initiative is supported by the European Commission (DG ECHO) under the Protect Aid Workers consortium which includes ACF, GISF, LAW and Protect Humanitarians.
Key Responsibilities
The Coordinator of the Humanitarian Survivor Network oversees the following core areas:
- Foundational setup & governance development
- Coordinate onboarding and orientation of the core group of humanitarian survivors and family members of victims, as well thematic group members.
- Design and organize the first in-person convening of the global humanitarian survivor network, ensuring accessibility and trauma-informed facilitation.
- Establish regular meetings (virtual and in-person), agendas, documentation, and secure digital platforms.
- Facilitate co-creation of governance frameworks and operational SOPs (decision records, risk assessments, communication protocols).
- Safeguarding, psychosocial wellbeing & participation safety
- Serve as safeguarding focal point, maintaining policies for informed consent, confidentiality, data protection, and SEAH prevention.
- Ensure access to psychosocial support (counseling, referral networks, peer support).
- Provide trauma-informed facilitation and supervision of group processes.
- Maintain anonymous and confidential channels for reporting harm or distress.
- Survivor engagement, reintegration & capacity strengthening
- Facilitate safe participation of survivors and families across regions and identities.
- Design and coordinate capacity-building programs covering, amongst others:
- Peer leadership and advocacy skills;
- Psychosocial resilience and self-care;
- Workplace reintegration – support survivors re-entering employment or volunteering safely;
- Family and community reintegration – peer groups and training on re-establishing relationships post-trauma;
- Legal literacy and rights awareness.
- Oversee the small micro-grant or mentorship scheme to support survivor-led advocacy projects.
- Support the initiation of the residence program for humanitarian workers.
- Thematic coordination & program delivery
- Coordinate thematic working groups (amongst others: family support, workplace re-integration, advocacy, accountability & justice).
- Support groups to define workplans and deliverables.
- Document outcomes and learning from each thematic stream for internal and external dissemination.
- Research & survivor knowledge development
- Liaise with PH’s research partners to integrate survivor and family participation in research design and implementation.
- Support creation of a Knowledge Hub that documents lived experience, analysis, and survivor-authored publications.
- Ensure research processes respect ethical standards — informed consent, anonymity, trauma-informed data collection.
- Coordinate survivor co-authors, peer reviewers, and contributors to joint publications, advocacy briefs, and policy tools.
- Institutional linkages & partnerships
- Liaise with the DG ECHO Protect Aid Workers financial grant mechanism, led by Action Contre la Faim (ACF):
- Serve as connection point for inclusion of survivors into the network.
- Support referrals to emergency support (upon survivor consent).
- Track anonymized lessons and share findings to improve accessibility.
- Liaise with PH’s Community of Practice (CoP) on Staff care and MHPSS:
- Act as liaison between the survivor network and the Community of Practice, sharing survivor-led insights and ensuring technical alignment.
- Coordinate input into joint training and learning materials.
- External partnerships:
- Establish and develop relationships with NGOs, networks, legal aid groups, psychosocial service providers, and research institutions.
- Monitoring, learning, and adaptation
- Develop and maintain M&E tools measuring participation, thematic progress, and survivor wellbeing.
- Conduct periodic feedback sessions to assess satisfaction and inclusion.
- Prepare regular reports and learning summaries.
- Use findings to improve facilitation, safeguarding, and program design.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree (or equivalent experience) in humanitarian affairs, psychology, social sciences, human rights, or related field.
- At least 5 years of experience in humanitarian protection, safeguarding, survivor support, or psychosocial coordination.
- Proven record of facilitating survivor-centred or victim-led groups and networks.
- Certification in psychotherapy. Strong understanding of trauma-informed programming and MHPSS frameworks.
- Experience with safeguarding/SEAH response systems and multi-stakeholder coordination.
- Excellent facilitation, communication, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Fluency in English; other key languages an asset.
- Integrity, empathy, discretion, and commitment to survivor leadership and inclusion.
What we offer
- Meaningful work with a fast-paced mission-driven organization at the forefront of humanitarian protection and survivor-led advocacy.
- Contract under Belgian law, with salary aligned to experience and qualifications.
- Initial 8-month contract, with strong potential for extension based on performance.
- Location: Brussels, Belgium (preferred). Remote work from another location is possible for exceptional candidates, provided there is a willingness to travel regularly to Brussels for coordination.
- Flexible working arrangements, including adaptable hours and supportive conditions for work-life balance.
- Opportunities for professional growth in global coordination, trauma-informed facilitation, and network development.
- Connection to an international community of humanitarian organizations, survivor advocates, and mental health professionals across the world.
Application instructions
Qualified candidates should submit their CV and motivation letter with the subject line “Coordinator, Humanitarian Survivor Network”. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and should be received no later than 31st October 2025.
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