UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, an advocate

Since 1950, UNICEF has supported the most important transformation for children and adolescents in Brazil. UNICEF Brazil with its main office in Brasília and nine field offices UNICEF works in close partnership with national and sub-national governments, corporate partners, youth, and civil society organizations. For information of the work of our organization in Brazil, please visit our website: UNICEF Brazil

Child Protection is at the center of UNICEF’s mandate, and of our work in Brazil. We advocate with decision makers and key stakeholders to advance the rights of all children and adolescents, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential, while working with civil society, communities, families, and children.

How can you make a difference?

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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: i) 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. Fluency in Portuguese, Spanish, or other roman language is highly desirable as the post will require a commitment to achieve fluency in Portuguese (if not already acquired, which would be an asset).

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, or is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

• As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
• UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable from diverse populations are encouraged to apply.
• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
• Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
• UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.
• All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
• Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.