Child Protection Specialist (Workforce Development)

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work to translate that commitment into practical action, especially for the most disadvantaged children.
In the Pacific we work in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu: These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean, an area comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada.
Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria. All 14 Pacific island countries have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but only a third are on track with reporting obligations.

Context

UNICEF’s work in the Pacific includes responding to violence, exploitation and abuse perpetrated against children. Violence occurs at home, online and in schools. Progress has been made in building child protection systems across the region, but significant gaps remain, including protection for children who encounter the law, shifting harmful norms and enabling changes in behavior. There is also a need to establish a social workforce cadre that is trained to respond to cases of violence against children. By providing support directly to child protection systems in the region. UNICEF’s new programme (2023-27) builds on previous work and puts greater focus on preventing violence and harmful practices, supporting stronger and more inclusive systems, targeting interventions for children at greatest risk, ensuring access to responsive services and empowering families, parents, and caregivers. This can be achieved with the availability of a strong social service workforce.
UNICEF will address immediate, underlying, and structural causes by supporting, developing, and enhancing laws, policies and regulations as well as helping to build the capacity of child protection front line staff. This includes supporting the establishment of accredited qualifications, investing in long term capacity building/mentoring on the job, particularly to deal with the most difficult cases. UNICEF in partnership with academic institutions will develop up to date social workers curriculum to integrate new quality evidence-based child protection core modules into existing universities curricula, and to develop the capacity of university staff. This action will also develop the capacity of potential social workers that will respond effectively to child protection issues.
The UNV will support the USP in the coordination and social workforce curriculum development workstream as per the description of the tasks in section.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Child protection Specialist or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Child Protection Specialist (Workforce Development) will:
• Provide overall coordination, communication, technical guidance, liaison with partners/stakeholders and other support required for the partnership between UNICEF and the University of the South Pacific (Fiji Campus).
• Support the collection of primary and secondary information required for the analysis of the current social workforce in the region.
• Compile a list & content of all training offered Child Welfare & Protection (Govt/NGO’s/Institutions) to inform identify levels and pathways available – Nursing/Police, teachers, counsellors, Church.
• Support coordinate meetings and consultations with partners and core group meetings as required for reviewing the current social work curriculum at USP and other partnership components.
• Support the mapping of the curriculum and requirements needed for registration or certification at different levels and cadres; and ensure the proper documentation of this mapping.
• Organize and support data collection and validation workshops, Talanoa & Key Stakeholder Interviews, across the region.
• Any other related tasks as required by the Supervisor.
Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:
• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.
12. Results/expected outputs
• As an active UNICEF team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
• Successful implementation of the social workforce development workstream by:
• Functional mechanism for overall coordination, communication, technical guidance, liaison with partners/stakeholders on the social workforce development
• Collection of primary and secondary information/data required for the analysis of the current social workforce in the region.
• List & content of all training offered for Child Welfare & Protection (Govt/NGO’s/Institutions) to inform identify levels and pathways available – Nursing/Police, teachers, counsellors, Church.
• Coordinate meetings and consultations with partners and core group meetings as required for the review of the current social work curriculum at USP and other components of the partnership.
• Mapping of the curriculum and requirements needed for registration or certification at different levels and cadres; and ensure the proper documentation of this mapping.
• Organized and establish mechanism for data collection and validation workshops, Talanoa & Key Stakeholder Interviews, across the region.