Child Protection Officer in charge of PSEA, NOB, Fixed Term, Cotonou (Benin) (For national of Benin Only)

Contract

This is a NO-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-2 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 future

How can you make a difference?

The Child Protection Officer in charge of PSEA reports to the Chief child protection for supervision. The incumbent provides professional technical, operational, and administrative assistance throughout the programming process the development and preparation of the office’s child safeguarding/PSEA activities from development planning to delivery of results. He/She prepares, executes, manages, and implements a variety of technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate the office’s PSEA agenda regarding programme development, implementation, programme progress monitoring, evaluating, and reporting in accordance with UNICEF’s regulations and Global, Regional and Country office action plan and inter-agency commitments.

Management and coordination

• Strategy or Action Plan: assist in developing and implementing the Office’s PSEA action plan and support its integration into and documentation in office programming and management, and monitoring benchmarks, for verifiable results, taking cognizance of recent developments and lessons learned.
• Standard Operating Procedures: assist in country office efforts for the creation of Office-Specific SOPs, as clearly articulated processes under the global framework for advice, coordination, monitoring, prevention, detection or response.
• Intra-office Coordination: assist in the coordination of the country office’s different units, and in creating/managing consolidated reporting of implementation of Strategy or action plan.
• Inter-Office reporting: contribute to the Office’s input to regional or global initiatives, including audit and Board reports, for timely and efficient organization-wide coordination.
• Inter-agency Coordination: collaborate with agency counter parts, contributes to the office’s inputs to relevant local and international inter agency initiatives, and supports/serves as liaison for the country network and focal points on PSEA, contributing to timely and efficient network-wide coordination. Participate in inter-agency meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues for the preparation of inter-agency workplan on PSEA, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies and planning processes.
• Community engagement: in collaboration with colleagues working on Accountability to Affected Populations or C4D at UNICEF or in sister agencies, records or assists in mapping/map community engagement projects and feedback or complaint mechanism, assists in assessment of/assess further project/mechanism needs, assist in/create/manage development of new or improved projects or complaint/feedback mechanism through community consultation, for safe, inclusive, and participatory mechanisms.

• Knowledge management: in collaboration with any applicable knowledge management specialist, maintains/creates a PSEA knowledge management repository for the above resources and other global resources or best practices/lessons learned, for current, useful and reliable reference.

• General: contributes to meet other related Child safeguarding/PSEA responsibilities.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results on PSEA/child safeguarding

• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes on PSEA and child safeguarding by executing and administering a variety of technical, programme, operational, and administrative transactions, preparing related materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating of results.
• Prepare required programme documentations, materials, and data on PSEA and child safeguarding to facilitate the programme review and approval process.
• Monitor and report on the use of resources on PSEA (financial, administrative, and other assets), verifying compliance with approved allocations, organizational rules, regulations, procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on critical issues and findings to ensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Conduct regular programme field visits and surveys and 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.
• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level interventions and/or decisions. Keep records of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned
• Support data collection and participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete results on PSEA and child safeguarding.

Prevention

• Risk Assessment: under the supervision of the Head of child protection, assists in conducting assessments of relevant risks for office, arising from nature of programme or operations, local environment, and personnel or associates, for clear, realistic and policy conforming assessment of risks.
• Vetting personnel: in collaboration with HR personnel, verifies that standard (global/regional/office) vetting measures are known, and as requested, provides advice on role-specific risks and vetting measures or assessments.
• vetting and assessing associates: in collaboration with supply or partnership specialists, advice on risk associated with suppliers and implementing partners, and supports the implementation of SEA assessments of CSO implementing partners in line with the requirements of the new DAPM Procedure, for risk-sensitive and standards-compliant vetting.
• formalization of relationships with personnel and associates: in collaboration with supply or partnership specialists, or programme managers advises as asked on possible non-standard measures, to mitigate unique risks.
• training personnel and associates: in collaboration with HR personnel monitors completion of/office (staff, individual consultants, interns, volunteers, UNVc, etc.), for widespread knowledge of core or specialized concepts or procedures.
• training of partners: Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on PSEA/ child safeguarding.

Detection and Response

Assistance and Referral: in collaboration with supply or partnership specialists, or prorgamme managers, in particular GBV colleagues, maintain or solicit contributions to/create list of referral pathways and support the country office in effecting prompt victim assistance, and assist in monitoring/monitor victim assistance, for timely, safe and accountable provision of assistance, and timely reporting including, as required, for audit or other verification.

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

• A university degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
• A minimum of two years of professional experience associated with the support, design, implementation, or management of safeguarding/child protection/GBV programming and PSEA actions.
• Experience working in humanitarian cluster systems; AAP, Child Protection, GBV, centrality of Protection and related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Fluency in French and working English is required. Knowledge a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.

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

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

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID).

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF.

UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.