Child Protection Officer, NOB, (FT) Aleppo, Syria, MENA

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.

UNICEF promotes the rights and welfare of all children and adolescents in everything we do. Together with our allies, we work to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit all children, especially focusing our efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded, worldwide.

For every child, protection

UNICEF Syria was established in 1970 and has been working with partners to help empower children to fully claim and enjoy their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF works with partners across Syria to deliver supplies, services and expertise in areas of Child Protection, Education, Health, Nutrition, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation for every child. UNICEF also provides humanitarian assistance when needed.

Syria continues to face one of the most complex emergencies in the world. Unprecedented humanitarian needs are compounded by displacement inside the country and across its borders, extensive destruction of civilian and social services infrastructure, devastating impacts on the economy, and most importantly, the breakdown of the social fabric that stitched the country together for decades.

Today, 90% of people in Syria live in poverty, most are unable to make ends meet or bring food to the table. Families have had their resources depleted, with limited employment opportunities, skyrocketing prices, and shortage of basic supplies. For most people, the current socio-economic challenges represent some of the harshest and most challenging circumstances they have faced since the beginning of the crisis 11 years ago.

In 2023, 15.1 million people need humanitarian assistance. This is the highest number of people in need ever recorded in Syria since 2011. The number of children in need - more than 6.5 million – has increased by seven per cent in the past year alone. This is largely due the ongoing conflict, continued displacements, the unprecedented economic crisis, deepening poverty, and unemployment. The COVID-19 pandemic, the hike in price of commodities triggered by the overall global economic situation and the impact of sanctions are further compounding the dire situation.For information of the work of our organization, please visit our website: UNICEF Syria

How can you make a difference?

The Child Protection Officer reports to the Chief of Field Office for guidance and general supervision. The Officer supports field office in the development and preparation of the Child Protection program(s) and is responsible for the management, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of the child protection programs/projects within the Aleppo Governorate, with a focus on child protection in emergencies. Aleppo has some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children in hard-to-reach areas. S/He facilitates the advocacy, negotiations and provide technical guidance to partners and all stakeholders to create a protective environment for children against all harm, and to protect their rights to survival, development and wellbeing as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/frameworks and UN intergovernmental bodies.

Purpose of the Job

The Child Protection Officer reports to the Chief Field Office, and provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for child protection programmes within the Country Programme, from development planning to delivery of results. They prepare, execute, manage, and implement a variety of technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate programme development, implementation, programme progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting.

Key Functions, accountabilities and related duties/ tasks:

1. Support to programme development and planning

* Support the situation analysis for the development, design and management of child protection related programmes/projects.

* 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 and monitoring and evaluating of results.

* Prepare required programme documentations, materials and data to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

2. 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, 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.

3. 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, to support programme implementation.

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.

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.

* Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

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

Education:

• A first university degree in one of the areas that are relevant to the work of the organization, preferred areas including but not limited to international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, social sciences or any other area that is considered relevant to the responsibilities described in the vacancy announcement.

Experience:

• A minimum of two (2) years of professional experience in programme planning and management in child protection related areas 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.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

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

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2), Builds and maintains partnerships (2), Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (2), Drive to achieve results for impact (2), Innovates and embraces change (2), Manages ambiguity and complexity (2), Thinks and acts strategically (2), Works collaboratively with others (2).

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

| UNICEF Careers, irrespective of their race\ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a Compensation, benefits and wellbeing | UNICEF Careers including parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation for job candidates and personnel with disabilities | UNICEF Careers, UNCIEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

“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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable females are encouraged to apply.

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.

Remarks:

• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified 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 medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.