Guardianship Coordinator

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, 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.

UNICEF’s Programme in Italy was set up in 2016 to respond to a large influx of unaccompanied minors arriving primarily through the Central Mediterranean route.

In the context of migration and asylum, Italy continues to be a frontline country for arrivals both by sea from the Mediterranean and by land from the Balkan route. The country is at times considered a destination country while many other times as a transit one for all those migrants and refugees who are trying to reach Northern European countries. Refugees and migrants, and in particular children and women travelling alone, continue undertaking dangerous journeys to reach Europe. Additionally, the recent eruption of hostilities in Ukraine generated a new influx of people towards EU countries, including Italy. Children fleeing Ukraine travel sometimes accompanied by one or both their parents, sometimes with other relatives or other accompanying adults, other times as part of the evacuation of Ukrainian institutions or autonomously, unaccompanied.

In the daily practice of their functions, volunteer guardians are likely to be confronted with a lot of complex and diversified cases, requiring high qualified knowledge of the legal and protection system as well as of the main relevant stakeholder and public authorities involved in the different processes. Guardians also are called to develop solid skills in evaluating and determining the best interest of the child in any situation. While all this is needed from the guardians’ side, the initial training they receive can only partly cover all the specific cases they might be confronted with, and the rapidly evolving system also requires continuous update.

Under the guidance of the Child Protection Specialist, the Guardianship coordinator will contribute to the deployment and coordination of activities of UNICEF’s local staff providing support to guardians in different regions of Italy as well as to the strategic conceptualization of the efficient scale up nationwide of a model of support to volunteer guardians, in close cooperation with the National Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Child Protection Specialist or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Guardianship Coordinator will support UNICEF’s activities in support to volunteer legal guardians at national level, will provide the coordination of the staff deployed on the field in support to different regional guardianship systems and will also contribute to the strategic conceptualization of a model of support to volunteer guardians. The UNV Guardianship Coordinator will work in close collaboration with the local and national stakeholders involved in the activities related to the volunteer guardians to: • Coordinate with local level authorities – including Juvenile Courts, Municipalities and Local Ombudspersons – for the set-up and continuation of UNICEF-supported local offices for the support to volunteer guardians; • Once established, provide technical guidance and support to the staff working in the abovementioned local offices for the support to volunteer guardians and ensure coordination and exchange of good practices between them; • Provide support to training activities for guardians (both for pre-service and on-the-job training) and coordinate between all stakeholders to maximize the capacity building resources, including between regions, through systematization and replication of training; • Liaise and coordinate with the office of the National Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents for the development and roll-out of a digital platform for the capacity building of volunteer guardians; • Contribute to the systematization and validation of the model of local support to volunteer guardians and to the development of a scale up strategy, ensuring coordination with the office of the National Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents; • Develop, test and disseminate a toolkit on best interest determination for volunteer guardians and of additional practical resources based on the identified need; • Conduct periodic monitoring visits and ensure coordination with and between the different local and national stakeholders; • Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Results/expected outputs: As an active UNICEF team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: • Volunteer guardians support offices established in identified priority locations. • Monthly report on the support provided to volunteer guardians’ local offices, including bottlenecks, challenges and opportunities faced. • Mapping of capacity building needs of volunteer guardians and on existing training resources. • Report on capacity building activities related to volunteer guardians, with a focus on training needs expressed by guardians, organization and conduction of pre-service trainings and continuous on-the-job training. • Development and roll-out of a digital platform for the capacity building of volunteer guardians. • Toolkit on best interest determination for volunteer guardians developed and tested. • Continuous coordination between relevant stakeholders involved in the support of volunteer guardians and more broadly in the protection of unaccompanied and separated children. • Establishment of an interinstitutional technical committee for the development of a guardianship support model. • Documentation of model updated, systematized and finalized. • Workshops for the validation of the model with relevant stakeholders organized and conducted. • Scale-up strategy developed. • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment. • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

UNICEF Core Values: • Care • Respect • Integrity • Trust • Accountability

UNICEF Core Competencies: • Nurtures, Leads and Manages People; • Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness; • Works Collaboratively with others; • Builds and Maintains Partnerships; • Innovates and Embraces Change; • Thinks and Acts Strategically; • Drives to achieve impactful results; • Manages ambiguity and complexity.

refugees and migrants or vulnerable children along with extensive experience in the field of protection is required. • Proven experience to work with national and local authorities. • Proven knowledge of the national context with regards to reception, protection and inclusion of migrant and refugee children, including guardianship system. • Ability to work through networking and partnership. • Proven experience in managing people and in delivering training. • Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships. • Fluency in Italian and English is required. • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills. • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel. • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment. • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines. • Desirable: Experience with UNICEF or other UN Agencies. • Desirable: Familiar with UNICEF’s Child Protection frameworks. • Desirable: Previous experience in Child Protection programming.

Rome is the capital of the Italian Republic with the population of 4.3 mln. As the capital of Italy, Rome hosts all the principal institutions of the nation, including the Presidency of the Republic, the government, the Parliament, the main judicial Courts, and the diplomatic representatives of all the countries for the states of Italy and Vatican City. Many international institutions are located in Rome, notably cultural and scientific ones, such as the American Institute, the British School, the French Academy, the Scandinavian Institutes, and the German Archaeological Institute. There are also specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the FAO. Rome also hosts major international and worldwide political and cultural organisations, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Food Programme (WFP), the NATO Defense College and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).

The security situation in Italy remains calm and stable. Regionally, terrorism is a concern, but there is NO direct threat towards UN in Italy. Vigilance and awareness are recommended. Crime is not specifically targeted at UN staff, but opportunistic thefts are the most reported incidents impacting UN staff and dependents. Travelers should exercise normal precautions to avoid being pickpocketed. Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in relation to COVID-19 in early 2020, which has been extended until 31 July 2021. Further extensions may apply.

Different types of long-term accommodation are available in Rome: standalone houses, houses in gated compounds, apartments. These could be furnished and/or fully serviced, or unfurnished.

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.

UN Volunteer entitlements and allowances: The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for the UN Volunteer’s service. Contingent on specific eligibility criteria, location of the volunteer assignment and contractual type and category, the payment of allowances will begin from the date of Commencement of Service For more information on entitlements please read the Condition of Service (https://explore.unv.org/cos). For information specific to your assignment please see below:

Monthly Living Allowance (Per month): EUR 3093 Entry lump sum (onetime payment) USD: 400 Travel Ticket when moving to duty station USD: 200 Exit allowance (for each month served, paid on completion of contract): EUR 257.75 Medical and life insurance: Cigna Private Insurance Leave entitlements Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month Certified sick leave: 30 days Uncertified sick leave: 7 days Learning leave: 10 working days per consecutive 12 months Maternity Leave: 16 weeks Paternity Leave: 10 days