Organization Mission

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Context

Registering children at birth is the first step in securing their recognition before the law, safeguarding their rights, and ensuring that any violation of these rights does not go unnoticed. A birth certificate serves as the first official proof of legal identity. It is often required to access essential services such as health care, education and social protection. Moreover, legal identification can act as a protective barrier against early and forced marriage, child labour, or being conscripted into the armed forces.

Despite its importance birth registration rates in Afghanistan remains low. According to the Multi-Cluster Indicator Survey (MICS 2023) only 47.8% of children under the age of 5 are registered, with significant disparities between regions and urban and rural areas. Although Article 17 of Afghanistan’s Civil Registration Law mandates that “all parents are responsible for registering their child within three months”, implementation remains weak due to limited awareness, accessibility challenges and systemic barriers. This gap undermines effort to protect children and ensure their access to rights and services.

To address these challenges and increase birth registration, UNICEF Afghanistan and in its implementing, partners engage with the National Statistics and Information Authorities (NSIA) are working to strengthen both the supply and demand side of birth registration with a focus on increasing access to birth registration services in health services delivery points in targeted provinces and districts. Community engagement and awareness-raising initiative will be central to this program to help families understand the important link between registering their children and protecting them.
To support the scale up of this initiative UNICEF is seeking a UNV, Child Protection officer for birth registration. Under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist, the Child Protection Officer will facilitate the scale up and implementation of a programme that aimed at increasing birth registration in Afghanistan. Focusing on two priorities 1) strengthening functionality of the birth registration system in Afghanistan, and 2) increasing public demand for birth registration.

This initiative will directly contribute to the realization of SDG Target 16:9 as well as Afghanistan’s National strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Child Protection Specialist and in close coordination with the UNICEF Health Section, NSIA, CRVS, the Child Protection Officer will undertake tasks:
1) Support development and planning for birth registration
• Contribute to the development of a strategic road map and action plan to promote birth registration in Afghanistan.
• Assess the current birth registration system, including the review of existing legal, policy, and operational frameworks related to CRVS (civil registration and vital statistics) and identify key barriers and challenges affecting services delivery.
• Produce a comprehensive analysis of the functionality of CRVS centers across the country.
• In collaboration with the Health Section, conduct a mapping of health facilities currently undertaking birth registration and identify a focal points (e.g midwife) to support birth registration effort in coordination with Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) .
2) Support the programme management, monitoring, and delivery of results on birth registration
• Assist in preparing analytical documents, concept notes, proposals, and reports related to birth registration.
• Support data management effort including tracking the number of registered births and coverage rates.
• Plan and implement capacity building initiatives on birth registration for UNICEF’s partners and health facilities staff.
• Lead the procurement and distribution of birth registration materials, ensuring monitoring, proper usage and timely reporting.
• Collaborate with key partners to develop harmonized IEC materials including key messages on the importance of birth registration for demand creation.
3) Support UNICEF’s partnership building in the CRVS sphere
• Lead coordination and liaison with the NSIA and Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to strengthen collaboration and delivery of birth registration services
• Revitalize multi-stakeholder coordination meetings between the relevant entities.
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the child protection specialist as a direct supervisor.Results/Expected Outputs
Work Assignments Overview Deliverables/Outputs
Support the programme development and planning for birth registration An assessment report on the current birth registration system including mapping of CRVS and health facilities A
A comprehensive action plan for improving birth registration coverage including its linkages with health system
Support the programme management, monitoring, and delivery of results for birth registration Training plan and materials on birth registration
A set of harmonized IEC materials including key messages on the importance of birth registration for demand creation
Procurement of birth certificates and related materials
Quarterly report on the number of birth registration
Support UNICEF’s partnership building in the CRVS sphere Attendance of relevant meetings.

Required Skills and Experience

of professional experience in child protection and/or social development programming, particularly in birth registration and CRVS systems. Experience working with government authorities is an asset. Fluency in written and spoken English.Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, among others), email, and internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment;
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines;
• Desirable:
• Sound security awareness;

Core Competencies

Accountability
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Building Trust
• Communication
• Ethics and Values
• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Respect for Diversity
• Working in Teams
• Good drafting skill
• Good teamwork skill
• Ability to deal with people of diverse backgrounds
• Ability to work under pressure

Living Conditions

The position is based in Kabul with travel to provinces as required.
UN Volunteers are entitled to a Volunteer Living Allowance, insurance, and other benefits as per UNV policies.
Host entities provide duty of care, security support, and necessary working tools for the assignment.

You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator.
The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.”