Child Protection Officer (Justice for Children) - NOB - FT - Ouagadougou, for Burkina Faso Nationals 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, Protection!

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 all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why 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.

In Burkina Faso, regarding the sustainable development goals (MDG) to which the child protection sector contributes, the situation of child protection rights remains challenging.

Notably under target 3.4 "Promote mental health and well-being" of MDG 3, according to the Humanitarian Response Information Platform, 2 per cent of internally displaced children are unaccompanied or separated and psychological distress affects more than 85 per cent of them. Regarding MDG 5, the prevalence of female genital mutilation among children aged 0-14 years is 11.3 per cent . 51.3 per cent women in the 20-24 age group entered their first union before the age of 18. The prevalence among under-15s is 8.9 per cent. Regarding MDG 8 "Decent work and economic growth" in its target 8.7 "End child labor, including recruitment and use of child soldiers", data from the National Council for Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation (NCERR) mentions that boys aged 13-17 are the second most exposed group to armed groups, with 16 per cent at risk of recruitment. Regarding MDG 16, domestic violence (physical, sexual, economic, moral/psychological violence) is experienced by 14 per cent of people aged 15 years and above. The 2019 National Study on Violence against Children report shows that one in four children are victims of at least one form of violence (physical, psychological or sexual), with sexual violence affecting 3.1 per cent of children aged 12 to 17 years. The context of insecurity underpins the principle of access to justice for minors allegedly associated with armed groups.

Therefore, through this GJP, UNICEF Burkina Faso CO wants to recruit a Child Protection Officer (Justice for Children) in order to provide professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for child protection programmes/projects within the Country Programme from development planning to delivery of results.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist, P3, the Child Protection Officer (Justice for Children) is responsible of the following tasks:

S****ummary of key functions/accountabilities:

Support to programme development and planning

• Conduct and update the situation analysis for the development, design and management of child protection related programmes/projects. Research and report on development trends (e.g. economic, social, health) and data for use in programme development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through research, 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 processes 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 to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

Programme management, monitoring and delivery of 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.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programmes/projects including on child friendly justice system strengthening, and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (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.
• Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• 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.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices in child protection, justice for children and child protection system strengthening, to support programme implementation.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts and NGO partners to strengthen the child protection system, particularly in the area of justice for children and birth registration, while enhancing interoperability across sectors.

Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts including the ministries in charge of justice and of social action 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 child protection.
• Participate in inter-agency meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of child protection programmes/projects, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with UNDAF development and planning processes.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for child protection programmes.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Research and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

To be qualified as a champion for every Child, you must have….

• An university degree in one of the following fields is required: law, child justice, child protection, international development, child rights, human rights, psychology, sociology, public administration, or another relevant social science field.
• A minimum of two (2) years of professional work experience in Justice for Children, Access to Justice, Non-Custodial Measures and/or Alternative Care for children in contact with the law is required.
• Experience working in dynamic, humanitarian settings is preferred. Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areasin a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Be fluent in English and French is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Core Values

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust

• Accountability

  Core 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)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Functional Competencies

• Analyzing (2)
• Applying technical expertise (2)
• Learning and researching (2)
• Planning and organizing (2)

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

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