Child Protection Junior Officer (Knowledge management in child marriage)

Communications & PR

Adolescent girls remain highly vulnerable group due to the multifaceted protection, education, health, nutrition, and WASH-related issues that prevent them from reaching their full potential. They are often underscored by gender discriminatory norms, including gendered stereotypes of femineity and masculinity, which reinforce the inequities and power differentials.

While child marriage is becoming less common in Ghana and has seen a steady decline from about 40 per cent in 1980s to 19.3 per cent in 2017/2018, one in five girls is still married or in informal union (cohabitation) before the age of 18 years. The high prevalence of adolescent pregnancy, mostly unplanned, remains a serious protection concern. The adolescent birth rate is 75 per 1,000 adolescent girls. Over 38 per cent of girls aged 15–19 years reported having experienced at least one act of sexual violence.

To address these issues faced by adolescent girls, UNICEF Ghana has invested significantly in evidence generation and knowledge management in the areas of protection of children from violence and harmful practices, especially child marriage, gender and adolescents. There is a need to accelerate efforts to generate evidence in the area where there is knowledge gap, disseminate and use evidence in a strategic manner to inform programmes and policies to support adolescent girls to fulfil their potential.

Under the direct supervision of Child Protection Officer (NOB), the UN University Volunteer will contribute to evidence generation and knowledge management in the areas of child marriage, gender and adolescents. The UN University Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: 1. Support production of communication product in the form of a brief, infographic or flyer to provide an overview of key ongoing interventions, including the Ghanaians Against Child Abuse (GACA) social drive/campaign, the Child Protection Community Facilitation Toolkits and Promoting Adolescents Safe Spaces (PASS); 2. Support development, finalization and dissemination of the Most Significant Change Stories of the Promoting Adolescents Safe Spaces (PASS) initiative to capture how the initiative has made transformative changes in the lives of adolescent girls over the years; 3. Contribute to evidence generation activities in the areas of child marriage, gender and adolescents, including the Impact Evaluation of the Promoting Adolescents Safe Spaces (PASS) initiative; 4. Support organizing and participating in field visits related to child marriage, gender and adolescents to capture transformative human interest stories, document programme success, areas of improvement and key lessons learned; 5. Support organizing and participating in meetings, workshops and events related to child marriage, gender and adolescents, and document the meeting results; 6. Assist UNICEF Ghana to strengthen the collaboration with KOICA in the area of child marriage, gender and adolescents with improved linkages to the ongoing KOICA-support project in innovation and youth engagement “Start-up Lab” 7. Support any other tasks assigned by the supervisor

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the supervisor, the UNV will have opportunities to work closely with various members of the UNICEF Ghana Child Protection team, as well as other teams (Health; Education; Social Policy and Inclusion; Adolescents, Gender and Youth; Social and Behaviour Change; Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation; Communication and Advocacy; Partnership; etc.) Chances of interacting with other external partners at various levels will be also available, including the Government of Ghana and CSO/NGOs.

All work-related travel for the planning, implementation or monitoring of activities, including transportation, accommodation and security clearance and will be supported by UNICEF as per UNICEF rules. Human resource investment is at the heart UNICEF’s strategy to deliver results for children. UNICEF will find necessary opportunities to invest in capacity development of the UNV as a capable child protection professional, through supports to implement an annual learning and development training plan, online and off-line trainings and field visit opportunities. The post will be managed under the rules of UNICEF, and the UNV will benefit from work-related facilities and equipment provided by the office, including a laptop and a desk.

For every child, you demonstrate UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). • Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1) • Works Collaboratively with others (1) • Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1) • Innovates and Embraces Change (1) • Thinks and Acts Strategically (1) • Drives to achieve impactful results (1) • Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

or demonstrated interest in supporting and implementing development projects related to child rights, community development, youth empowerment and family strengthening;
• Fluent oral and written skills in English, including drafting, reviewing, editing and re-porting skills (speeches, press releases, programme briefs, factsheets, donor reports, social media, etc.) • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including a multicultural team of international and national personnel, grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, among others), email, and familiarity with database management; office technology equipment; and social media and other communicational applications; • Experience working in the UN or other international development organizations, including INGOs, is highly desirable; • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines; and • Have affinity with or interest in child rights, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN system.

Ghana is a very peaceful and beautiful country with an affable citizenry. The living condition in Accra, where the assignment is based, is a family duty station and relatively good. The UNV will be responsible for arranging his or her own housing and other living essentials such as food, water, electricity, etc. The UNICEF Ghana orientation package will be shared with the successful UN volunteer once confirmed. Transport, medical, education and other services are at a high level compared to other countries in the region. At sea level, the climate of the country is tropical-hot and humid with average yearly temperatures of about 27oC (80oF) and little daily variation. At the interior's higher altitudes, the average yearly temperature is 20oC (68oF), and nights are generally cool. Annual rainfall varies from 500 centimetres (200 in.) on the southwestern slopes to 100 centimetres (40 in.) in the northern lowlands. The rainy season runs from October to May. The total population of Ghana is about 33,000,000. Ghana is a Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) country. Regarding accommodation and food, houses and apartments can be rented from 200$ to 1000$ per month and meals at the restaurant cost between 10$ and 60$. Food, household commodities and clothing can be found in shops and local markets at reasonable prices. An entry visa is required for all travellers and must be obtained prior to arrival from an embassy. The Cedi is the local currency and according to the UN exchange rate system, a USD 1 is equivalent to 13.45 GHS in April 2024. Some commercial banks are operating in the country and Visa cards are accepted in very limited hotels.

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Added 9 days ago - Updated 4 hours ago - Source: unv.org