Child Protection Specialist - MHPSS (P-4) PG, Child Protection, NYHQ (Temporary Appointment 364 days)

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 171,387 USD and 220,969 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 hope…

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.

How can you make a difference?

The Child Protection Specialist (Mental Health and Psychosocial Support – MHPSS) will be part of the Child Protection in Humanitarian Action Unit. The incumbent will work under the overall guidance of the Senior Adviser Child Protection (Child Protection in Humanitarian Action) and the Child Protection Specialist MHPSS to provide technical guidance to support the MHPSS intersectoral agenda in collaboration with all clusters/divisions/sections at HQ, Regional Offices as well as external partnerships and UN agencies working in MHPSS.

The Child Protection Specialist (MHPSS) will work closely with focal points within the Child Protection Section, other relevant sections at headquarters (such as Health, Education and Adolescent Development, PPD, PGLT and EMOPS), country offices (COs) and regional offices (ROs) as well as with key partners (e.g. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), WHO, UNHCR, UNFPA, IOM, subject matter experts, and support engagement with multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors) to assist in ensuring that quality MHPSS services are effectively scaled up and integrated globally for children, adolescents, and caregivers. This is a remote-based position with frequent international travel to regional and country offices.

Purpose of the job: As UNICEF’s MHPSS team within Child Protection in Humanitarian Action continues to expand through new partnerships and projects, this role will: support the development and roll out of innovations in child and family MHPSS (e.g. the MHPSS Minimum Service Package, the EQUIP Competency Framework, psychological interventions for young children), provide technical support on MHPSS to UNICEF regional and country offices responding to humanitarian emergencies, and facilitate the implementation of the UNICEF Strategic Plan (all goal areas, with direct accountability to Goal Area 3), including supporting global monitoring and reporting.

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

Summary of results-based key functions/accountabilities:

1. Programme development, planning and management
2. Technical support
3. Advocacy, networking and partnership building
4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Programme development, planning and management.

• Support MHPSS proposal development to facilitate the continued development of innovative, needed, impactful, evidence-informed projects
• Advise on collaborations with current donors (e.g. DG ECHO, GIZ, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to continue strengthening relationships
• Support the dissemination and adoption of new UNICEF MHPSS products throughout the organization, to strengthen institutional understanding of MHPSS work and the quality of UNICEF’S MHPSS programming globally
• Contribute to the alignment of new MHPSS innovations with UNICEF Strategic Plan, international standards and mechanisms, donor development policies, and UN-wide interventions and initiatives.
• Contribute to monitoring, evaluation and reporting of UNICEF’s humanitarian MHPSS work, including contributing to internal reports and strategy documents, and external donor reporting and advocacy content.

2. Technical support

• Provide technical support to UNICEF regional and country offices responding to humanitarian emergencies, including urgent support for new emergencies, and prioritizing L3/L2.
• Support child protection teams to design effective MHPSS response activities, identify and adapt programme materials, coordinate effectively across sectors and agencies, and develop safe and well-supervised organizational structures and mechanisms for MHPSS.
• Support regional and country offices in the designing of MHPSS roles and the recruitment of technically competent staff

3. Advocacy, networking, and partnership building

• Contribute to global MHPSS coordination mechanisms and networks such as the IASC MHPSS Reference Group, to ensure UNICEF’s work is complementary and reinforcing of broader efforts.
• Represent UNICEF at global interagency fora to advocate for UNICEF’s work and for the continued strengthening of MHPSS programming for children, adolescents and families globally
• Co-lead the Children and Families Thematic Group of the Global IASC MHPSS Reference Group, to facilitate the sharing of resources, priorities and effective coordination on MHPSS for children and families.
• Participate in UNICEF-wide collaborations for MHPSS (e.g. inter-divisional MHPSS meetings and the MHPSS Community of Practice) to help unify, coordinate and strengthen UNICEF’s messaging and advocacy on MHPSS.

• Contribute to regional and global inter-agency initiatives for MHPSS, engaging with donors, NGOs, research institutes, the private sector and other UN agencies in order to continue to leverage these partnerships to achieve greater results for children.

  4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Build capacity at regional and country-level to communicate effectively about MHPSS and to align programing with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and relevant global best practice guidance (e.g. the IASC MHPSS Minimum Service Package and other IASC MHPSS products).

• Build capacity for effective intersectoral MHPSS work through relationship-building and promoting collaboration between Goal Areas and cross-cutting units.

• Support UNICEF’s continued leadership in MHPSS for children and families through ongoing engagement with expert networks and research initiatives, drawing on the latest evidence to ensure that UNICEF’s work remains innovative and relevant to evolving needs.
• Supporting the effective integration of MHPSS through strategic programme development, planning and management will improve the quality and impact of UNICEF’s child protection programing, thereby helping more children affected by emergencies to cope, recover and thrive.
• Providing technical support to regional and country-based programme teams will improve their capacity to implement impactful MHPSS programming, helping to safeguard children’s cognitive, emotional, social and physical development, and thereby contributing to longer term recovery at the individual, family, and community levels.
• Effective networking, advocacy and partnership building will maintain and enhance UNICEF’s credibility in the area of MHPSS for children and families, facilitating continued external support and therefore UNICEF’s ability to provide programme services for children, adolescents, and caregivers that promote greater social equality.
• The decisions of the incumbent directly affect UNICEF’s leadership role in the area of MHPSS and the effectiveness of country programmes and regional interventions.
• The recommendations of the incumbent will affect the direction of programming approaches; strategic planning and the development of future policies; programmes and projects related to MHPSS, and impact the quality of UNICEF advocacy and programme interventions around MHPSS.

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

• An Advanced University degree in psychology, social work or other relevant social welfare field is required.
• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience in global mental health, social work, MHPSS at national and international levels, most of which were served in humanitarian contexts is required.
• Relevant experience in MHPSS and child protection, is required
• Please include a list of any Guidance/tools/trainings/academic publications on MHPSS and Child Protection that you have produced. Please make sure you upload it under the tab where you upload your supporting documents
• Experience with donor relations, proposal and report writing is required
• Project development and implementation in humanitarian settings is required; experience in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in measurement of MHPSS programming is an asset
• Training delivery, content development, and knowledge management experience are desirable assets.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language 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)

Please click Here to view UNICEF's core values and Here to view our competency framework.

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Core Values

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability

Core Competencies

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (3)
• Works Collaboratively with others (3)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (3)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (3)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (3)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (3)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (3)

Functional Competencies:

• Analyzing (3)
• Deciding and initiating action (2)
• Applying Technical Expertise (3)

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 including 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, 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 promoting 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.

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 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 a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page. If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

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