Child Protection Officer (NO-1), Belize City, Belize, Open to Nationals of Belize

Contract

This is a NO-1 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-1 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, an opportunity

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.

Additionally, UNICEF Belize has been implementing the Spotlight Initiative and has been approved to receive phase 2 funds under the global partnership between the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in support of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. It was launched in September 2017 by the UN Secretary-General and the EU High Representative and Vice President (HRVP). The Initiative provides a model for partnerships with donors, civil society, and the UN to deliver on the SDGs in a comprehensive manner leveraging comparative expertise. SDG 5 and the achievement of gender equality are placed at the centre of efforts (alongside Goal 16) with the aim to provide an enabling environment for the implementation of all goals. Within the UN, the Initiative will operationalize the UN development system reforms and model a new way of delivering on the SDGs in an integrated way, leveraging collaborative advantages.

How can you make a difference?

Under this initiative, UNICEF Belize continues to implement activities Under Spotlight Initiative, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) action Plan for UNICEF and gender-based violence activities across sectors. The officer will be responsible for: implementing and monitoring activities under the Spotlight Initiative Phase 2, PSEA actions for UNICEF and the integration and alignment of GBV issues across all programmatic sectors for UNICEF.

The Child Protection Officer-GBV Will support the current Country Programme, and specifically ensure strong results under Result Area 1 of the UNICEF Belize CPD, the officer will report to the Child Protection Officer and also ensure strong collaboration across sectors as it relates to GBV.

Summary of Key Accountabilities, Duties & Tasks

1. Support to programme development and planning

• Undertake, review and compile research and data analysis to support quality programming and monitoring on the targeted gender priorities. Provide research support for evidence generation on gender-responsive adolescence programming, both targeted and mainstreamed priorities, such as adolescent girls education and life skills development; empowerment of adolescent girls; civic engagement of adolescent girls and boys; self and community protection of adolescent girls.
• Prepare required programme documentations, materials and data to facilitate the programme review and approval process especially ensuring strong gender lens, ensuring strong PSEA integration across sectors

• Support the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative Programme, including serving as the Spotlight focal point for technical teams. Provide technical support, monitoring the implementation of programme initiatives to all implementing partners, communities and beneficiaries.

  2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners 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, especially as it relates to PSEA lessons learned and implementing GBV interventions.

• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programmes/projects, and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management directly linked to Spotlight and Gender Based Violence

• Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

  3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• Provide support for the development, review, assessment, and refinement of project plans, proposals, and reports so as to ensure effective gender integration and maximisation of synergies across targeted and mainstreamed priorities.

• Serve as a team member and cross-sectoral focal point for synthesizing, consolidating, and prioritizing communications materials and opportunities for disseminating information on progress and achievements around the Gender Action Plan (GAP), and for advocating on gender priorities in close collaboration of UNICEF Communication Officer
• Contribute to the implementation of the Country Office Action Plan for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). S/he will support the Country Office in the development and implementation of a Training Plan, for the training on PSEA of UNICEF implementing partners that require such support. S/he will support the coordination of consultations with staff and community members to identify root causes of SEA and barriers to reporting SEA.
• Conduct regular programme field visits and surveys and exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support on Spotlight Implementation and GBV related activities being funded by UNICEF. 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 on understanding of UNICEF policies and best practices in GBV interventions and PSEA prevention and response.

  4. Networking and partnership building

• 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 child protection.

• Support coordination and provide technical assistance for the timely implementation of the UNCT PSEA Action Plan by agencies, including by supporting the development and harmonization of training materials, and supporting the production and dissemination of inter-agency technical guidance, tools and resources.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fundraising and partnership development purposes.
• Regularly update and liaise with regional and global bodies to ensure awareness of global developments and good practices in PSEA, and up-to-date understanding of actions taken to prevent and respond to SEA in Belize.

• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for child protection programmes.

  5. 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.
• Support the development of evidence-based documents, briefs, presentations, and web-based delivery options for more effective knowledge sharing on priorities.

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 1 year of professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection related areas is required.
• Experience working on gender-based violence and demonstrated understanding of gender based violence response in Belize
• Demonstrated knowledge of PSEA, experience with developing PSEA action plans and supporting training of CSOs and Government partners is required
• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection 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 English is required and knowledge in Spanish or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

• 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)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

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.

Remarks:

This is a National Officer position and is therefore only available to nationals of Belize.

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