Chief Child Protection

Under the general guidance of the Deputy Representative, you will be responsible for managing and supervising all stages of child protection programmes, under international cooperation and humanitarian interventions,  from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable contributions to national and international standards to create a protective environment for children against all forms of violence as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/frameworks and UN intergovernmental bodies.

This includes:

Programme development and planning: Provide technical advice and operational support to the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis to ensure that current and comprehensive evidence-based data on child protection issues is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection, and to set programme priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans. Keep abreast of national, regional, and international development priorities on child protection to leverage UNICEF’s position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate and promote child protection interventions, policies and social behavioral change to achieve goals, while promoting gender equality.

Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results: Plan and collaborate on monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results in child protection programmes. Plan, approve, monitor, certify, and oversee the use of programme resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources. Prepare and submit child protection funding proposals and reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme progress and critical issues.

Advisory services and technical support: Provide technical advice to key government officials, I/NGO, UN system, LAC regional office, HQ and other country office partners on strategies and best practices to influence approaches/policies, support social/economic/political/legal development planning and implementation, and to support delivery of results on child protection, human rights, and other related issues. Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating all forms of violence and discrimination against women/children by advising on and advocating for strategies and approaches to promote and catalyze social changes for a protective environment for children.

Advocacy, networking and partnership building: Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local/national governments, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions, I/NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes/universities and private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on child protection. Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency (including UNCT) discussions and planning on child protection and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNSDCF process in development planning and agenda setting.

Innovation, knowledge, management, and capacity building: Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches, and good practices for sustainable child protection programme/project initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services. Organize, plan, and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of the child protection team, allies and stakeholders to promote sustainable results on child protection and programmes to prevent all forms of violence against children.

Management. Lead and manage the Child Protection team based in Brasília and the field offices, providing them with clear objectives and goals, ensuring teambuilding and effective working relations across office teams. Lead annual work planning of the child protection section, ensuring effective monitoring and evaluation of child protection results, supported by optimal use of financial resources (budget planning, management, and monitoring).

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, law, human rights, children’s rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of eight years (8) of international professional experience in planning and management of child protection programmes, in development and humanitarian contexts, is required, ii) Desirable experience in child protection programmes in MICs, iii) experience in other UN Agencies is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.  Proficient in Spanish and/or Portuguese. As the post will require a commitment to achieve fluency in Portuguese (if not already acquired).

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/580064