Child Friendly Municipalities Coordinator

Volunteering Teaching & Training Medical & Health

Overview

Coordinate the implementation and monitoring of children's rights initiatives at the municipal level.

You have:

• Perfect command of French, English, and local languages;
• Very good knowledge of common computer applications and office software, and especially those related to database management and analysis.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and a proactive approach;
• Proven analytical and synthesis skills to report results;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multicultural environment
• Ability to meet deadlines and aptitude for working in the field with communities;
• Experience/internship in an association setting and/or short-term training, particularly in local development and decentralization, would be an asset.

Contract

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The Child Friendly Municipalities Initiative is a citizen advocacy and collective engagement approach designed to make children's rights a central priority for decentralized territorial authorities (CTDs) and a central priority.

Through this Initiative, local elected officials commit to implementing local public policies that guarantee the full realization of the rights of children and adolescents within their territory. Therefore, making a municipality "child-friendly" means to:

- Recognize the importance of investing in the well-being and in the best interests of children and adolescents; - Ensure that children's rights are promoted, developed and respected there; - Make the well-being and interests of children the center of all local decisions; - Emphasize on the specific interests and needs of girls, boys and children living with a disability.

The Child-Friendly Municipalities (CFM) initiative thus represents an opportunity to address the challenges of child wellbeing in the context of decentralization. It is a response to this need, aiming to strengthen the capacities of local authorities, their roles as duty-bearers , by providing them with the tools to better integrate children's rights into municipal management structure, planning, budgeting, the provision of quality services, and increasing demand for these services through citizen participation and social accountability.

The objectives of the initiative are:

i. To accelerate the fulfilment of children’s rights at the community through decentralization. ii. to consolidate and sustain local interventions, particularly during the first 1000 days and the second decade and beyond. This national initiative aims to permanently embed children's rights in the local public policies of Cameroon's 360 municipalities. The current decentralization policy offers a unique opportunity to bring basic services closer to the populations and strengthen local governance. However, despite this framework, municipalities struggle to translate children's rights into concrete actions due to limited resources, weak technical capacity, and a lack of appropriate regulatory tools. Institutionalizing the Child-Friendly Municipalities Initiative would fill this gap by providing an operational framework that allows municipalities to better plan, budget, and monitor initiatives for children. This would ensure that municipal priorities are aligned with national and international priorities and commitments, while strengthening their capacity to address children's specific needs in key areas such as health, education, nutrition, and protection.

Currently, seven municipalities are officially engaged in the Child Friendly Municipality (CFM) initiative through memoranda of understanding signed with UNICEF. These municipalities are Lagdo (North), Mandjou and Garoua Boulai (East), Djohong (Adamawa), Bikok (Centre), Mokolo (Far North), and Bana (West).

Plans are underway to expand the initiative to six additional municipalities of strategic interest: Ngoura and Batouri (East), Ngaoundéré III (Adamawa), Garoua II (North), Moutourwa (Far North), and Limbé II (South West).

A guide to promoting children's rights in municipalities has been developed for multi-sectoral stakeholders. It is currently being updated in light of recent developments in decentralization. Since the 2022 fiscal year, UNICEF has invested financial, material, and human resources in the aforementioned municipalities. The initiative has also benefited from investments made by the municipalities themselves and by FEICOM. The impact on children's human development resulting from these capital flows will be evaluated through specific interventions.

UNICEF's participation in the JEICOM (International Economic Days of Municipalities) from June 2nd to 4th, 2025, was a crucial moment for sharing the achievements of the Initiative and launching its scaling-up. To date, approximately 198 out of 360 municipalities, or 55%, have expressed interest in joining the project. 

This underscores the importance of recruiting 03 UN Volunteer to coordinate the implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the process at the local level. These volunteers will base at : 

• 01 (Buea) • 01 (Maroua) • 01 (Yaounde)

Under the supervision and line management of the Chief Field Office, Social Policy Officer, Social Policy Specialist, depending of the case, the volunteer's work will consist of: o Develop a directory of municipalities pre-enrolled and enrolled in the Community Friendly Municipalities Initiative Children (CAE); o Disseminate tools for framing and implementing interventions; o Prepare, organize, and assist with capacity-building sessions for municipalities; o Monitor the implementation of interventions in municipalities using appropriate tools; o Relay community feedback to UNICEF focal points; o Coordinate technical support to municipalities; o Participate in the establishment of municipal monitoring and evaluation mechanisms; o Facilitate the collection of data and information for the development of tools and for monitoring and assessment o Develop an Excel spreadsheet to track process and performance indicators for all the municipalities enrolled. o UNV assigned to the UNICEF Buea Office is required to collaborate closely with NASLA institute in Buea and will collaborate with the PAC/Resource Mobilization Unit to coordinate and provide support for fundraising activities targeting the private sector, with particular emphasis on Douala, where many private entities have a significant presence. Expected results: o The participating municipalities have adopted the tools and are implementing them;
o A results framework for each municipality allows for the monitoring of process indicators and performance; o Support is provided to municipalities facing challenges during implementation; o Municipalities have strengthened capacities in children's rights and in the areas of the initiative CFM; o Data and information are available to reward deserving municipalities; • Monitoring and implementation reports are regularly sent.

• Care • Respect • Integrity • Trust • Accountability • Sustainability

Competencies  Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)  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)

• Very good knowledge of common computer applications and office software, and especially those related to database management and analysis. • Perfect command of French, English, and local languages; • Excellent written and oral communication skills and a proactive approach; • Proven analytical and synthesis skills to report results; • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multicultural environment • Ability to meet deadlines and aptitude for working in the field with communities; • Ability to listen, engage in dialogue and design practical solutions to problems faced by the municipal administration regarding procedures and regulations for managing municipal and community affairs; • Experience/internship in an association setting and/or short-term training, particularly in local development and decentralization, would be an asset.

The 03 UNV thus recruited will be based in Buéa (01), Maroua (01), Yaounde (01) The duration of the assignment is indicated above with the possibility of extension subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. The current Conditions of Service for national UN Volunteers will apply to UN Community Volunteers as an interim measure until a full review of the national Conditions of Service is undertaken, with the following modifications as per Interim Policy Note on UN Community Volunteers. UN Community Volunteers are expected to be recruited locally and work within their community, they are therefore not expected to travel to the duty station and are not eligible for a settling in grant. In addition, UN Community Volunteers should not require reintegration back into their locales upon completion of their service. Therefore, there is no entitlement to a resettlement allowance. The applicable volunteer living allowance is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health, and permanent disability insurance are included. Furthermore, in non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, a Well-Being Differential (WBD) will be provided monthly.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements Selected candidates for certain occupational groups may be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in line with the applicable host entity policy

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Potential interview questions

Added 7 days ago - Updated 3 hours ago - Source: unv.org