Juvenile Justice Officer NOA, in Tbilisi, Georgia. (Only Georgian nationals can apply)

Contract

This is a NO-1 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-1 contracts.

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, education

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job:

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.

Purpose for the job:

The Juvenile Justice Officer provides technical, operational, and administrative assistance and support in coordination and monitoring throughout the programming process for strengthened legal frameworks and policies that protect the rights of all children and improved access to justice.

Key function, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks

Support national stakeholders in developing, implementing, and monitoring of national policies for the establishment a child-friendly justice system in line with international standards

• Provide technical support to improve access to quality child friendly justice in Georgia.

• Contribute to the evidence-based policy development for prevention and response to crimes/illegal acts committed by children including children below the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

• Contribute to strengthening data collection and analysis on children in justice proceedings.

• Support government stakeholders to establish and strengthen internal quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms in the justice systems.

• Provide technical support to improve coordination between childcare, justice, social protection, education and health sectors.

• Provide research and analysis on best practices in child-friendly justice.

Provide technical support to the revision of Georgian national legislation vis-à-vis the Code on the Rights of the Child and international child rights standards

• Support legislative reviews, analyses and identification of legislation (including secondary legislation) that needs to be updated according to the Code on the Rights of the Child and the Juvenile Justice Code and support advocacy for the related changes.

• Provide technical and operational support to stakeholders on the understanding, application of child friendly justice approaches under the requirements of the Juvenile Justice Code and the Code on the Rights of the Child

• Support the drafting of recommended amendments to the existing legislation and the development of new legal acts (including secondary legislation) as needed

• Participate in discussions on proposed amendments with relevant partners, main stakeholders, subject matter experts and document the key points and outcomes of the discussions.

Support contributions to the development and strengthening of effective prevention and alternative mechanisms for children in contact with the law

• Provide technical support to strengthen the diversion and mediation programme, alternative sentencing schemes, crime prevention mechanisms and services for child victims of crime at the national level.

• Support contributions to the development of relevant guidelines, methodologies and working instruments to work with child victims and witnesses of crime and violence.

• Provide technical support to enhance coordination between childcare, justice, social protection, education and health sectors.

• Support efforts to enhance the existing model of the Juvenile Referral Centre for children below the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) and children with difficult behaviour under the National Agency for Crime Prevention and Probation.

• Provide support to create a quality assurance and monitoring system under the Juvenile Referral Centre.

• Provide technical assistance to expand the scope and quality of services within the diversion and mediation programme including strengthening the coordination mechanism and the capacity of its professionals.

Project administration and monitoring

• Contribute to the preparation of sectorial programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

• Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision.

• Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.

• Participate in monitoring exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programmes/projects and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management

Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on critical issues/findings to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.

• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

Impact of Results

The efficiency and efficacy of support provided by the Child Protection Officer to programme preparation, planning and implementation, contributes to the achievement of sustainable results to create a protective environment for children against harm and all forms of violence, and ensures their survival, development and well being in society. Success in child protection programmes and projects in turn contributes to maintaining and enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide programme services for mothers and children that promotes greater social equality in the country.

Core Competencies

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

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

Recruitment Qualifications

Education: A University Degree in law, international law, human rights, international development, or other social science field is required.

Experience: A minimum of 1 year of professional experience in juvenile justice, child-friendly justice, child rights and/other related areas is required. Experience in developing Juvenile Justice and Child’s Rights related legislation policy documents, different type of methodology and instruments for the justice professionals is required. Relevant experience in child protection, justice and related areas, programme/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.

Language Requirements: Fluency in Georgian and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

To view our competency framework, please visit 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 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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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.