Child Protection Officer at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Child Protection Officer - NOB

Job Number: 510299
Location: Maiduguri, Borno

Job organizational Context

• The Child Protection Officer GJP is to be used in a Country Office (CO) where the Child Protection Program is a major or key component of the Country Program (or UNDAF). The Child Protection Officer reports to the Chief, Child Protection or Child Protection Specialist who is at Level 5/4/3.

Purpose for the Job

• The Child Protection Officer reports to the Child Protection Specialist for supervision. The Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for child protection programs/projects within the Country Program from development planning to delivery of results, preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical and administrative program tasks to facilitate program development, implementation, program progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting.

Key Functions, Accountabilities and Related Duties/Tasks
Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• Support to program development and planning
• Program management, monitoring and delivery of results
• Technical and operational support to program implementation
• Networking and partnership building
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Support to program development and planning:

• Conduct/update situation analysis for the program sector/s for development, design and management of child protection related programs/projects. Research and report on development trends and (economic, social, health etc) data for use in program development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results.
• Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral program goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of child protection and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical, program, operational and administrative transactions, preparing related materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support program planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results.
• Prepare required program documentations/materials/data to facilitate the program review and approval process.

Program management, monitoring and delivery of results:

• Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision.
• Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programs/projects and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of program management.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral program resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity.
• Report on critical issues/findings to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare regular/mandated sectoral program/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of program progress.

Technical and operational support to program implementation:

• Conduct regular program field visits and surveys and/or exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support, take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices on child protection and related issues to support program implementation, operations and delivery of results.

Networking and partnership building:

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate program implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on child protection.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for child protection programs.
• Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of child protection programs/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable program results.
• Research and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

Impact of Results

• The efficiency and efficacy of support provided by the Officer to program preparation and planning and implementation of programs/projects, contributes to achievement of sustainable results to create a protective environment for children against harm and all forms of violence and ensures their survival, development and well-being in society. Success in child protection programs and projects in turn contribute to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide program services for mothers and children that promotes greater social equality in the country.

Competencies and level of proficiency required (based on UNICEF Professional Competency Profiles)
Core Values:

• Commitment
• Diversity and inclusion
• Integrity

Core Competencies:

• Communication (I)
• Working with people (II)
• Drive for results (I)

Functional Competencies:

• Formulating strategies and concepts (I)
• Analyzing (II)
• Applying technical expertise (II)
• Learning and researching (II)
• Planning and organizing (II)

Recruitment Qualifications
Education:

• A University Degree in International Development, Human Rights, Psychology, Sociology, International Law or other social science field is required.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years of professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection and/other related areas at the international and/or in a developing country is required.
• Relevant experience in child protection and related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset. Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset

Application Closing Date
2nd February, 2018.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online