Consultancy: Consultant, Child Rights and Counter Terrorism- Child Protection, PD, NYHQ - NYHQ (home-based until COVID restrictions are lifted)- REQ

Contract

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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,

Consultancy Title: Consultant, Child Rights and Counter Terrorism

Section/Division/Duty Station: New York (home-based until COVID restrictions are lifted)

Duration: 11.5 months

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

UNICEF supports achievement of SDG 8.7, to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibitions and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including the recruitment of child soldiers. UNICEF is also working to enforce Article 39 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Optional Protocol to the CRC on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and the Paris Principles and Guidelines for children associated with armed forces and armed groups. UNICEF supports recovery and reintegration of children affected by armed conflict in an environment that fosters health, self-respect and dignity of the child. UNICEF supports governments in their obligations to fulfill the 12 UN Security Council resolutions related to protecting children affected by armed conflict, and repatriation and reintegration of foreign children stranded in conflict zones, and the recognition that children associated with armed forces or armed groups are survivors of human rights violations and should be treated primarily as victims.

For decades, UNICEF has supported children affected by armed conflict, including those who have been recruited and used by armed forces or armed groups. More recently, that has included child affected by conflicts that involve UN designated terrorist groups, whether children were recruited and used by the group, were born into a family with ties to the group, or are from a family, tribal, ethnic, religious or other group that is perceived to have links to the armed group or that lived under the group’s control.

In this context, rather than recognizing children affected by conflict as individuals who have suffered grave violations of their rights and who need special protection and services, governments are using punitive measures such as counter terrorism and national security frameworks against children. Children are often interrogated for military intelligences, detained on the basis of family ties, rather than being provided with the services to address their experiences while they were under the control of the armed group.

Children handled under these security and counter-terrorism frameworks include thousands of foreign children from more than 50 countries stranded in Northeast Syria and Iraq, 90% of whom are under the age of 12 years. UNICEF is providing humanitarian assistance to these children and additional many thousands of Iraqi and Syrian children affected by armed conflict.

UNICEF Programme Division/Child Protection Section in HQ is coordinating work internally and across divisions and regions. At the same time, other UN agencies, including UNOCT been actively engaged on issues related to children with links to UN designated terrorist groups. UNICEF has worked at the interagency level, with UNOCT, OHCHR, and other UN entities and to develop a “one UN” approach on the issue of Third Country Nationals and Iraqis in Syria. While joint, the approach will maintain a separation of activities and funding streams between humanitarian and development activities and CT/Security activities, particularly as they relate to children. The process has involved more than a dozen UN entities at global, regional and country levels and will include minimum conditions for UN action and agreement on a framework for identifying and mitigating legal, reputational, financial and programmatic risks related to specific actions that the UN may be asked to undertake that would be inconsistent with UN values.

While the Global Framework is being finalized, UNICEF is working with other agencies to obtain seed funding for the framework to be piloted in several countries. UNICEF will be coordinating humanitarian and development aspects of the work as they relate to children and caregivers, while UNOCT will coordinate security and counterterrorism aspects.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Under the supervision of the Sr. Child Protection Specialist (CAAC) and in close collaboration with the Humanitarian Policy Section of the Emergency Operations Division, and with other relevant business units across the organization:

• The consultant will support the Senior Child Protection Specialist (CAAC) to lead for UNICEF on global level inter-agency coordination and delivery of the UN global framework on children and their caregivers who are returning from conflict zones in Iraq and Syria.
• The consultant will support UNICEF representation at interagency conferences and meetings on the Global Framework, and other related interagency fora related to security, counterterrorism, and child rights, for example on DDR, PRR, child reintegration and others, and provide comments on related documents, reports, standards, proposals etc.
• The consultant will support the Child Protection in Humanitarian Action team in NY to develop briefing notes, talking points, and track engagement at the Executive Director level and across all regional offices and country offices on children and counter-terrorism and reintegration of children in the context of counter-terrorism.
• The consultant will provide support coordination of a community of practice and headquarters working group(s) that communicate updates and coordination of technical support for ROs and COs.
• The consultant will support UNICEF COs and ROs with requested technical guidance, backstopping programmatic interventions, and with bilateral engagement on children and counter terrorism.
• The consultant will support coordination between PPD, PFP, EMOPS, communications, and other business units and within PD as necessary to support UNICEF-wide engagement on children rights and security-related issues, including public and private advocacy, talking points, and participation in other working groups.
• The consultant will support coordination with UN agencies and other partners working on human rights issues on common issues of concern related to children and security, to tracking country level programming and policy development.

Qualifications

(1) Education

• Masters degree in law, human rights, child protection, counter-terrorism/security, social work, anthropology, psychology, related social sciences.

2) Work experience

1. Minimum 8 years of experience in child protection, law, humanitarian programme management, human rights, and or security/counterterrorism;

2. Experience in budgeting and financial and programmatic reporting;

3. Experience with leading coalitions with diverse interests and with relationship management;

4. Experience in a variety of ‘thematic’ child protection programmes, including children affected by armed conflict

5. Familiarity with human rights and terrorism legal frameworks

6. Experience with regional and country level operations

7. Legal background in human rights and/or security / counterterrorism an advantage

3) Competencies

• Strong communication, organizational, inter-personal and leadership skills

• Ability to be flexible and work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment, with complex projects and deadlines from different stakeholders

• Demonstrable ability to work independently, take initiative, and identify new opportunities and approaches

• Good judgment, initiative, high sense of responsibility, tact and discretion.

• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and ability to establish harmonious working relations in a multicultural environment.

• Demonstrated ability to work in matrixed organization across various units;

• Demonstrated ability to communicate with senior leadership on highly sensitive materials;

• Strong English language writing skills essential.

• French, Arabic, Russian language skills an advantage

Requirements****:

• Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and provide Personal History Form (P11) Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include:
• your daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference (can be downloaded here: https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_consultancy_assignments.html
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, appearance, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, to apply to become a part of the organization