Child Protection Officer

Volunteering Security

Overview

Assist with UNICEF child protection programme implementation in Angola.

You have:

• Masters with 2 years experience or Bachelors degree – with at least 4 years experience in International development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, statistics, demography, public health, gender or another relevant social science or related field.

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the Organization does — in programmes, 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 more children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, 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.

The UNICEF child protection programme in Angola works combines policy advocacy with field interventions that ensure immediate and long-term results for children. The Child Protection program pivots essentially around the prevention and response to violence against children, especially girls, and birth registration. Furthermore, the programme seeks synergies with other program areas, in particular social policy, through decentralization of social services, and by mainstreaming violence prevention in health, education and early childhood development programs.

The UNV Child Protection Officer will assist the UNICEF child protection section with the implementation of interventions on the strengthening of birth registration services and the child protection system to prevent and respond to cases of violence against children within the country programme for Angola.

The main purpose of this assignment is to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal 16.2 (SDG target 16.2 “end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children”) and 16.9 (“by 2030 provide legal identity for all including free birth registrations”).

The objective of this assignment is to contribute to strengthening UNICEF’s commitment to reduce the risk of violence in children's lives and provide effective responses for child survivors of violence in Angola, particularly girls. The UNV Child Protection Officer will assist the Child Protection section with the implementation of interventions that aim to support the effort of the government of Angola in strengthening its child protection system.

Under direct supervisor of the Chief Child Protection, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

a) Support to program development and planning

Participate in strategic and programmatic discussions on the planning, implementation and monitoring of the child protection programme in Angola.

Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral program goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of child protection and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.

Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming pro-cesses by executing/administering a variety of technical, program, operational and administrative transactions, preparing related materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support program planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results.

Prepare required program documentations/materials/data to facilitate the program review and approval process. Knowledge management: collecting data on child protection, identifying, organizing, storing and disseminating information related to the programme.

b) Technical and operational support to program implementation

Provide technical and operational support to colleagues and partners to ensure smooth implementation of the Child Protection Programme in Angola with a focus on the following two outcomes:

Scaling-up the registration of children under the age of five through the strengthening of the legal identity agenda in Angola, including for children with disability and other vulnerabilities. This stream of work will require for the UNV to work closely with the government agency in charge of birth registration to set up a coordination mechanism, undertake a thorough situation analysis and support government efforts in developing a roadmap for birth registration and improving its integration in health care and education programmes.

Violence against children: supporting evidence generation efforts; developing programmes that address social norms related to violence, particularly as it relates to children and caregivers with disability, and overseeing the development of programmes related to mental health and psycho-social support.

Conduct regular program field visits and surveys and/or exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support, take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks, and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.

Provide training and technical support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, and best practices on child protection.

c) Networking, resource mobilization and reporting

Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate program implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on child protection.

Ensure timely and accurate preparation of donors’ reports.

Support the section to prepare and consolidate their contribution to the country office annual report.

Under the guidance/supervision of the CP Section Chief, develop and prepare fund-raising/donor proposals in line with the Country Office fundraising strategy. This includes coordination with programme colleagues, gathering, compiling and consolidating information as well as writing/editing proposals and preparing proposals for management review/clearance as per country office standard operating procedures.

Write, produce and edit human interest stories for dissemination including for donor reporting requirements as well as social media.

Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client oriented.

Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations.

Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.

Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish prior-ities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.

Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working

Relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diver-sity and gender;

Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;

Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, remote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of operations; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary;

Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values

At least 3 years of experience in international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, statistics, demography, public health, gender or another relevant social science or related field.

Thirty years of almost continuous war had left the nation in disarray when peace accords were finally signed in 2002. By 2013, inequities characterize Angolan society; while the economy has been growing by more than 7 per cent annually, 38 per cent of Angolans live in poverty. The Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality for Angola, stands at a high 58.6. Led primarily by oil revenues, however, recent growth in Angola’s national domestic product has put the nation on a fast track to become a middle-income country, and infrastructure has been greatly improved. But progress for children has been uneven, and there have been setbacks. Life in rural areas continues to be tougher than in the cities. A million children are still outside the formal primary school system. Only one in three Angolan children gets registered at birth. Angola is classified as a “B “Duty Station. This means that the Country is safe, but we need to be cautious. The Security Focal point for our Office is the Chief Operations. The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) will cater for our safety. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. (Please complete with the required information as per country Living Conditions)

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Potential interview questions

Added 7 months ago - Updated 6 months ago - Source: unv.org