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

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

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 further takes action to support 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. UNICEF also remains guided by its Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action, its Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and its Child Protection Strategy 2021-2030 all of which prioritize protection of children in armed conflict.

Between 2005 and 2022 the UN verified more than 105,000 children as having been recruited and used by armed forces or armed groups.1 Many children are also detained for their actual, alleged, or perceived association with armed groups or on national security charges. “Verified cases ... have been documented in 25 countries since 2005” and have gradually increased over time.2 Determining that an individual is a child can prevent the person’s recruitment and use, facilitate their separation from armed actors, bring them under the jurisdiction and application of the special protections of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, and juvenile justice laws and procedures, and ensure that they are treated primarily as victims. Age assessment processes therefore constitute one of the most powerful tools to directly protect children in these situations.

Repeated requests for guidance on age assessment highlight that existing guidance– a working paper published more than 10 years ago – Technical note on Age Assessment is not sufficient to meet practitioner need. Moreover, the existing note, which focuses primarily on children in justice systems should be both updated on latest good practices and reviewed for specific considerations related to children associated with armed forces or groups.

In this context, UNICEF seeks the services of a consultant to revise and disseminate updated guidance on child friendly age-assessment procedures to help both facilitate support of and advocacy for this highly vulnerable group of children, and to better protect and fulfil their rights.

Scope of Work:

Conduct field research to on age assessment practices for children affected by armed conflict and children in detention.
Revise UNICEF’s Technical note on Age Assessment.
Conduct one dissemination webinar on the revised technical note

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Document Reviews and Remote Field Research; Desk and Field Research Report delivered. - By 6 weeks after start
First Draft of Revised Technical Note; First Draft. – By 10 weeks after start.
Second Draft of Revised Technical Note; Second Draft. – By 16 weeks after start
Final Draft of Revised Technical Note; Final Draft. – By 18 weeks after start.
Dissemination Webinar; Host Dissemination Webinar. – By 22 weeks after start

Qualifications

Education:

An advanced master’s degree in psychology, law, social sciences, international development, humanitarian action, child protection

Work experience:

A minimum of 5 years’ experience in child protection, law, humanitarian programme management, human rights.
Experience working on issues related to CAAFAG and or child justice in operations in the field is an advantage.

Competencies/Knowledge:

Strong writing and communication skills; development and delivery of technical guidance an advantage.
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 awork independently, take initiative, and identify new opportunities and approaches.
Strong English language skills
Fluency in French or Arabic an advantage

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

Upload copy of academic credentials
Financial proposal that will include/ reflect:
- the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
- 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 offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 1 month ago - Updated 23 days ago - Source: unicef.org