Child Protection specialist (Advocacy & Partnerships) P-4, Child Protection unit, Programme Group, Nairobi outposted, Fully remote

Overview

Lead and coordinate advocacy and partnerships for child protection in humanitarian action.

You have:

• An advanced university degree (Master) in International Relations, Political Science, International Development, or related fields is required.
• At least eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional work experience in child protection related areas is required, with at least three years in humanitarian settings.
• Experience in leading the development and implementation of advocacy strategies and campaigns with measurable objectives.
• Strong communicator with emphasis on presenting complex policy ideas succinctly through creative tactics.
• Knowledge of international development, humanitarian issues, and children’s rights is required.
• Fluency in English is required; knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 128,177 USD and 165,257 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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 bright future

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. 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.

UNICEF co-leads the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (the Alliance) with a rotating NGO. The Alliance is a global network of operational agencies, academic institutions, policy makers, donors and practitioners that facilitate inter-agency technical collaboration on child protection in humanitarian contexts. The Alliance sets standards and produces technical guidance for use by the various stakeholders, particularly field practitioners. Its mission is to support humanitarian actors to achieve high-quality and effective child protection intervention in humanitarian contexts, in both refugee and non-refugee settings. It is critical for the Alliance to solidify strategic partnerships and elevate its advocacy work for the centrality of children in all humanitarian action.

How can you make a difference?

The P4 Child Protection Specialist reports to Senior Coordinator, Child Protection for guidance and general supervision. The Specialist will lead, design, and coordinate effective, integrated advocacy and partnerships as well as funding strategies for the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (The Alliance). S/he will work collaboratively with colleagues across the Alliance, as well as building alliances or coalitions with external partners to drive changes in policy and practice, and secure political and financial commitments for the broader child protection in humanitarian action as well as directly for the Alliance to fulfill its mandate and deliver on its 2021-2025 Strategy and work plan.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities

1. • Drive advocacy on the centrality of children and their protection:

• Support and oversee the work of the Advocacy Working Group in implementation of Alliance's Advocacy Strategy, which is the key document developed to drive forward advocacy related to the Alliance’s 2021-2025 Strategy.
• Provide technical advocacy support to the Alliance’s Advocacy Working Group, including specific elements of its work plan related to broader high-level efforts to secure political and financial commitments for the centrality of children and their protection, as well as child protection programming in humanitarian action.
• Support the development of cogent and compelling advocacy narratives on the Centrality of Children and their Protection, and the delivery of creative advocacy tactics.

2. • Engagement with strategic partners

• Conduct a mapping of current and potential strategic partners and develop a partnerships plan for the Alliance
• Support the formation of new and maintenance of existing partnerships with internal and external partners. Partners may include Alliance member organizations, humanitarian clusters and other sector entities, global networks, donors and other key partners identified to strengthen understanding, prioritization and commitments for child protection in humanitarian action.
• Ensure that effective advocacy strategies and plans are co-created with partners, to leverage their power to contribute to the Alliance’s advocacy goals.
• Review and analyze partnerships periodically to assess their value add and determine areas of future investment.

3. • Lead on the Alliance’s fundraising efforts

• Lead on the development of a fundraising strategy with the goal of increasing and diversifying the Alliance’s funding base.
• Maintain and strengthen partnerships with the Alliance’s current donors.
• Conduct and keep up to date a mapping exercise of key donors and use this to select and prioritize new donors for engagement.
• Lead on the development of high-quality funding proposals to current and new donors in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and partners, which include Alliance core funding needs and priorities linked to the Alliance work plan and strategic plans.

4. • Support delivery of Alliance’s Strategy

• Lead on the implementation of the Alliance’s Strategic Priority 3 on Multi-Sector and Integrated Programming including coordinating Alliance efforts and sectoral partners to avoid duplication and enhance synergies.
• Coordinate across the workstreams linked to different strategic priorities
• Provide strategic support to other areas of the Alliance’s strategy, including driving fundraising and advocacy efforts, as needed.
• upport the mid-term review of the Alliance strategy.

5. • Others

• Carry out additional activities as required by the Alliance Coordinator, for example support to the Alliance Annual Meetings, supporting Working Groups and Tasks Forces, and any other support needed.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master) is required in one of the following fields: International Relations, Political Science, International Development, Public Policy, Public Administration, Economics, Communication, or related fields. (required)

  *A first level university degree (Bachelor’s) in a relevant field, in conjunction with ten (10) years of relevant work experience in advocacy, campaigning or a related field may be taken in lieu of a master’s degree

• At least eight (8) years of progressively responsible and relevant professional work experience in child protection related areas (required), with at least three years in humanitarian settings. (asset)

• Experience in leading the development and implementation of advocacy strategies and campaigns, with clear theories of change, specific, measurable and timebound objectives, and performance indicators. (required)
• A track record of achieving or contributing to tangible policy change. (asset)
• Experience in building and maintaining a network of advocacy stakeholders and working with advocacy coalitions. (desirable)
• Strong communicator with emphasis on being able to present complex policy ideas in succinct, engaging ways through campaign narratives and creative tactics. (required)
• Experience in managing a team, along with a proven commitment to diverse and inclusive recruiting process. (desirable)
• Demonstrated experience in design and management of projects, including budget management and monitoring and evaluation of results. (required)
• Knowledge of international development, humanitarian issues and children’s rights. (required)
• Experience in training and facilitation. (desirable)
• Experience working in a developing and emergency environment. (desirable)
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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…

(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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF 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. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also 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.

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

Note: “this position will be based in Nairobi. However, the successful candidate will be required to work on a fully remote modality from his preferred location. Please note that no installation to the duty station will be applicable and relevant entitlements will be adjusted based on lower of the two costs between the remote work location and the duty station."

Potential interview questions