Child Protection Specialist

Under the supervision of the Regional Advisor Child Protection, the incumbent will provide high quality technical advice to governments, country offices and key stakeholders on child protection system strengthening, justice for children and children without family care informed by best available evidence and sector/international standards.

The incumbent will nurture regional and country specific collaborations to inform policies, resource allocation and capacity building programmes.

The Child Protection specialist will contribute to inclusive child protections services for migrant/refugee children and children with disabilities and will champion gender equality in all strategies and interventions.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• The incumbent will be accountable for ensuring that child protection system strengthening and justice for children programmes and policies in the MENA region are designed and implemented in line with sector standards, International Humanitarian Law, and International Human Rights Law.  This will be done through high-quality, solution oriented technical assistance to country offices and partners, informed by data and evidence.   The Child Protection specialist will be accountable for co-designing practical solutions and supporting advocacy under the leadership of concerned country representatives and the Regional Director/ Deputy Regional Director
• Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholder on strategies to strengthen child protection systems.
• Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholder on justice for children reform.
• Develop technical assistance collaborations, strategies, and tools for a rigorous public policy approach to child protection.
• Ensure child protection systems strengthening and justice for children contribute to concrete outcomes for children (reducing violence, abuse, and exploitation)
• Provide technical leadership for protection and wellbeing of children without family care.
• Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholder on strategies to strengthen child protection systems.
• Establish systematic policy dialogue and learning exchanges with governments and civil society on evidence-informed approaches to child protection system strengthening.
• Advise governments, regional bodies, and donors on strategies to strengthen the social service workforce.
• Develop collaboration with academic institutions and social workers associations aimed at developing social work practice in child protection.
• Contribute to the design of information management systems relevant to child protection.
• Define strategies for services integration in collaboration with other sectors (social protection, health, education) to maximize results for children.
• Ensure child protection systems strengthening and justice for children contribute to concrete outcomes for children (reducing violence, abuse, and exploitation)
• Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholder on justice for children reform.
• Lead the UNICEF Justice for Children agenda informed by international standards and organizational guidance.
• Contribute to the design of country-specific scalable and sustainable alternatives to deprivation of liberty for children in conflict with the law, supported by access to reintegration programmes and services and therapeutic approaches.
• Contribute to structured and sustained advocacy to end the unlawful and arbitrary detention of children, immigration detention, of children, and detention due to association, with armed groups or for national security reasons.
• Provide technical advice to country offices governments on child and gender sensitive policies, procedures, and services for survivors of sexual violence abuse and exploitation.
• Promote prevention and early intervention in child offending including through the child protection services, community engagement and allied systems.
• Develop technical assistance collaborations, strategies, and tools for a rigorous public policy approach to child protection.
• In collaboration with Social Policy, develop country-specific approaches to public finance to child protection/justice for children (costing, financing, public expenditures reviews) aimed at the implementation of laws, policies, and procedures.
• Promote public and private investment on the social service workforce (policy framework, accreditation, training, retention)
• Contribute to the development of child protection information management systems.
• Promote inclusive and gender transformative child protection and child justice systems.
• Assess child protection and justice for children’s policies and practices with regard to gender equality.
• Contribute to the design of gender sensitive and transformative approaches to child protection and access to justice.
• Promote disability inclusive skills for children with disability within the child protection system and justice for children   .
• Provide technical leadership for protection and wellbeing of children without family care.
• Led the regional agenda for children without family care.
• Promote policy dialogue and a community of practices on family and community-based care.
• Contribute to the development of system for the care and protection of children without parental care.

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

Education:

• An Advanced University degree in international development, public health, human rights, psychology, social work, sociology, international law, or other social science field is required.

Work Experience:

• At least 8 years of relevant national and international experience in strengthening child protection systems and/or justice for children. Candidates with a strong social policy background and good understanding of child protection systems can be considered.
• Good understanding of public finance for children, justice for children and public policy is essential for this work.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/573776