Access to Justice/Justice for Children Consultant for UNICEF WCARO - Home Based 11months

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, A voice.

How can you make a difference?

In 2021, the Child Protection Section in the UNICEF West and Central Africa regional office received funds from the European Union for “Access to Justice for Children on the Move and other vulnerable children in West Africa,” a three-year regional and multi-country (i.e. Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria) programme to improve children’s access to justice and child protection services for 41,389 children on the move and other vulnerable children. The three-year programme (May 2021-30 April 2024) promotes multisectoral service provision including child friendly justice to children in contact with the justice system in the six targeted countries. This programme aims to build sustainable systems that work at several levels to achieve the following results:

• Legislation and policies, to prevent immigration detention of children on the move and unnecessary pre-trial and post-trial detention of both children on the move and other vulnerable children, are in place.
• The availability of appropriate family, community-based care and guardianship mechanisms for unaccompanied children/adolescents on the move and other vulnerable children is enhanced.
• Children in detention, children in conflict with the law, children at-risk or who experienced violence, abuse, and exploitation (including children on the move and vulnerable children) have access to quality, age-appropriate, gender-sensitive and child friendly justice services which address their needs.

The above-mentioned work requires a consultant who is an expert in access to justice and justice for children for coordination of this multiyear programme, providing the technical expertise at regional and country office level for optimal programme implementation, learning and coordination across countries, monitoring and and reporting.

The consultant is also required to provide expert technical support related to access to justice for children in the WCAR context more broadly, and in line with the Child Protection Strategy (2021-2030) and UNICEF’s ‘’Reimagine Justice for Children” (2021) agenda. This includes technical review and inputs to country, regional and global technical guidance concerning access to justice across the WCAR context.

Duration: The consultancy is required from 1st August 2023 until 30th June 2024.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in law with an emphasis on international, human rights or humanitarian law.
• A minimum of height (8) years of solid professional experience at the national and international levels in programme formulation, strategic planning, design, management and evaluation concerning justice for children, delivering on results, monitoring and reporting.
• Experience working with UNICEF at country, regional or headquarters level in justice for children and child protection and provision of technical expertise in this regard.
• Knowledge of UNICEF’s policies and approach to access to justice and justice for children.
• Experience managing complex EU programmes is desired.
• Ability to analyze, synthesize information and communicate outcomes clearly to different stakeholders.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ability to work independently and in a team, high-level technical and report-writing skills.
• High level of knowledge of the issues and complexities of justice for children.
• Knowledge of the institutions of the UN system particularly those concerning justice.
• Ability to work in an international or multicultural environment.
• Fluency or proficiency in English and French (oral and written) is required. Knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.