Child Protection Specialist (Child Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and ending violence against children and women), Fixed Term, P-4, Nairobi, Kenya, Eastern & Southern Africa Regional Of

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 135,454 USD and 174,640 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 future.

The Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESAR) carries a number of threats and risks to children’s care and protection, including emergencies and in recent years an uptake in especially climate impacted emergencies such as drought, flooding and tropical cyclones. The office covers the full range of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan Goal Areas, including efforts to support the 21 Country Offices in the ESAR region address children’s rights from the perspectives of nutrition, health, access clean water, education and child protection.

Working closely with the ESARO Regional Adviser Child Protection, the Child Protection Specialist will specifically work on UNICEF’s child protection priorities related to harmful practices (child marriage and FGM) and violence against girls, boys and women. The Specialist will work closely with colleagues in the Regional Office and particularly the Child Protection Chiefs and teams in the 21 Country Offices to make progress on the agendas covered by this portfolio.

How can you make a difference?

The Child Protection Specialist (Child Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and ending violence against children and women) reports to the Regional Adviser Child Protection (RACP) for general guidance and direction. The Specialist supports the RACP in managing the Section’s ending harmful practices (child marriage and female genital mutilation), ending violence against boys, girls and women and contributing to knowledge development/innovation and for developing and preparing child protection (and/or integrated/complex/key) programs/projects in light of the above. The Child Protection Specialist provides authoritative technical guidance/operational support throughout all stages of programming to facilitate the management and delivery of concrete and sustainable contributions to regional and international efforts to create a protective environment for children against all harm and to protect their rights to survival, development and well-being as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/framework and UN intergovernmental bodies.

The Specialist contributes to achievement of concrete and sustainable programs/projects results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

The Child Protection Specialist will support the delivery of Child Protection Pillar 1 on ending child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the Regional Collective Focus Area, “Ending Violence Against Boys, Girls and Women”, as well as contribute to Child Protection Pillar 2 on strengthening the child protection system and Pillar 3 on child protection in humanitarian action. The Child Protection Specialist will work closely with the child protection country office colleagues working on ending child marriage and violence against boys, girls and women, as well as regional and country level colleagues from other Sections – SBC, Gender, Education, Health, HIV and AIDS and others- across the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Dedicated technical support is to be provided to the Country Offices that are part of the Global Programme to End Child Marriage (GPECM) and the UN Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (UN JP FGM). The staff member will also engage with other regional level UN agencies, the African Union and other regional bodies – East Africa Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), IGAD, INGOs/CSOs and faith-based organizations, media, as well as institutions/companies.

Key duties and responsibilities

Managerial leadership

• Provide advice to the RACP in establishing the annual work plan including developing strategies and determining priorities/targets and performance measurements for ending harmful practices and violence against boys, girls and women. Coordinate work progress monitoring and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards and report to RACP critical issues for timely action.
• Provide technical assistance/advice to the 21 country offices on all aspects of programming and implementation to enable country offices to achieve program/performance objectives.
• Any other related duties as requested by the RACP.

Programme development and planning

• Plan and/or provide technical assistance and operational support to the preparation/design and conduct/update of situation analysis to ensure that current comprehensive and evidence-based data on child protection issues are available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection and to set program priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans.
• Keep abreast of national/ regional /international development priorities on child protection and rights to enhance program management and delivery related to ending harmful practices (child marriage and female genital mutilation) and ending violence against boys, girls and women.
• Participate in strategic program discussion on the planning of child protection programs/projects. Formulate, design and prepare programs/projects proposal for the ending harmful practices, ensuring alignment with the overall UNICEF’s Strategic Plans Regional and Country Program and coherence/integration with UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDF), regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
• Establish specific goals, objectives and strategies and implementation plans for the ending harmful practices portfolio using on results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare required documentations for program review and approval.
• Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.
• Provide authoritative technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes to ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of programs/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.

Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results

• Plan and/or collaborate with monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for the ending harmful practices portfolio.
• Provide technical expertise to monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action/interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
• Monitor programs/projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
• Plan, monitor and control the use of program resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) certifying/verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
• Submit/prepare program/project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on program progress and critical issues.

Advisory services and technical support

• Provide technical advice to key regional bodies, INGO, UN system and other country office partners on policies, strategies, best practices and approaches on ending harmful practices and violence against boys, girls and women.
• Coordinate/ensure the availability of technical experts (with HQ and RO) to ensure timely support throughout all stages of programming/project processes and integration of the sectoral programme with other sectors.
• Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating poverty and all forms of discrimination against adolescent girls / women / children by advising on and advocating strategies and approaches to promote/catalyze social changes for a protective environment for child survival, development and well-being in society.
• Prepare policy papers, briefs and other strategic program materials for management use, information and consideration.
• Participate in regional discussions on child protection emergency preparedness, programming and contingency planning to ensure proactive and appropriate response are in place to meet onset of emergencies regionally.

Additionally, other activities and responsibilities related to Advocacy, networking and partnership building and Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building will be required

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law or other social science field is required.
• A minimum of eight of relevant professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection is required and any other related areas at the international level some of which preferably were served in a developing country is required.
• Experience with programming to end child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and violence against boys, girls and women is required.
• Relevant experience in child protection and related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset. Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or Portuguese 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. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Nationals of Kenya may be considered for this position provided they have two years of international experience outside the country.

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.