Child Protection Specialist (Violence Against Children and Harmful Practices) , P-4 , Amman , Jordan,FT

Under the supervision of the Regional Advisor Child Protection, the CP specialist (VAC-HP) will lead MENARO work in the field of ending violence against girls, boys and women and harmful practices (FGM and Child Marriage). The incumbent will develop alliances/collaborations to achieve results at scale; co-design evidence informed solutions with key stakeholders to prevent and respond to violence against children and harmful practices; generate evidence (data analysis, research, evaluations, reviews) that inform programme advocacy and leverage of resources.

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, hope

How can you make a difference?

The incumbent will be accountable for ensuring multi-sectoral strategies to end VAGBW and harmful practices are in line with sector standards and best available evidence.  This will be done through high-quality, solutions oriented technical assistance to country offices and partners informed by data and evidence.  

The CP specialist will be accountable for codesigning practical solutions and supporting advocacy under the leadership of concerned country offices/sectors.

1. Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholders on policies, programmes, and interventions to prevent and respond to violence against girls, boys, and women.

Establish systematic policy dialogue and learning exchanges with governments and civil society on evidence informed approaches and interventions to prevent/respond to VAGBW.

Enhance country offices capacity in designing and implementing violence prevention and response programmes, building on child protection system strengthening and SBC approaches.

Assist with the development of programmatic interventions at country level and provide technical guidance to country offices.

Identify practical steps and strategies to better address the specific needs of women and child survivors of domestic violence/ intimate partner violence at service level (helplines, case management, shelters)

Integrate gender equality, inclusion of children with disability and migrant/refugee children in programme and policy design. Provide technical leadership on the child online safety agenda.

2. Provide technical advice to country offices, governments, and key stakeholders policies, programmes, and interventions contributing to the elimination of FGM and ending child marriage. Establish systematic policy dialogue and learning exchanges with governments and civil society on evidence informed approaches and interventions to end/abandon child marriage and FGM.

Consult and collaborate with colleagues and partners to provide technical and operational support on programme planning, management, and implementation, and to ensure integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors throughout all stages of programming processes.

Lead multi-sectoral planning and implementation to maximize results for girls at scale.

3. Develop partnerships and collaborations. Lead the coordination with UNFPA on the Global Programme to End Child Marriage and the Joint Programme on the elimination of FGM. Lead the collaboration with the SRSG VAC and WHO on ending violence against children.

Develop systematic collaboration with GBV stakeholder for better services integration (women, children) Lead the resource mobilization efforts and leverage of national/local resources under areas of responsibility.

Lead the regional advocacy agenda on VAGBW and harmful practices.  Represent UNICEF’s leadership in VAGBW, child online safety and harmful practices at regional level.

4. Develop an evidence, M&E, and knowledge generation agenda.

In collaboration with relevant sectors, develop research, evaluation, and data analysis to inform policy, programmes, and interventions.

Disseminate evidence and knowledge.

Contribute to and coordinate where needed, major monitoring and evaluation exercises to assess progress regionally and to engage stakeholders to take required actions to achieve results; identify and document lessons learned and facilitate strategic use of knowledge gained.

Impact of Results:

The commitment of governments to ending VAGBW, addressing child marriage and FGM translate into adequately resourced strategies informed by evidence.

SBC approaches are implemented at scale and supported by robust monitoring and generation of evidence on what works at scale.

Gender equality and inclusion (children with disability, migrant and refugees) are fully integrated into policies and practices in the MENA region.

Concrete models of multi-sectoral collaboration are implemented.

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

Education:

Advanced university degree in one of the following academic areas:  public health, social work, behavioural sciences, public policy, psychology, or related fields.

Experience:

At least 8 years of relevant national and international experience in child protection with focus on system strengthening, ending violence against children and harmful practices.

Practical experience integrating SBC, gender equality and multi-sectoral collaborations into child protection work is an asset.

Language Requirements:

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

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 include 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, 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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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 are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will 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.

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.

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