Child Protection Specialist (P3), Kingston, Jamaica, #128104 (Not Open to Jamaican National)

UNICEF Jamaica is seeking a qualified, experienced Child Protection Specialist who is passionate about the rights of children and who will be responsible for the development and preparation of the Child Protection (or a sector of) programs/projects as well as managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the progress of child protection programs/projects within the country office.

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, protection

UNICEF JAMAICA goal is to help to fulfil the rights of every child. 

We pursue this goal by partnering with stakeholders such as the government, non-governmental organizations, change-makers in civil society and the private sector to influence and improve laws, policies, and programmes which will impact how children access quality services. We are in a unique position to collaborate with everyone including advocates and service providers who work closely with children and their families, as well as the elected leaders who are responsible to ensure that laws and policies are in line with children's rights. Most importantly, we integrate the voices of our children and adolescents by engaging them on the issues that affect their lives.

Focusing our attention on children in vulnerable situations, we have five priority areas in the Jamaica country programme document (2022 to 2026): 

1.    Child protection
2.    Climate action and resilience 
3.    Education
4.    Social policy 
5.    Survive and thrive

Everything we do is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Jamaica ratified in 1991.

How can you make a difference?

 Child Protection Specialist Level P3.pdf

The Child Protection Specialist reporting to the Deputy Representative supports the development and preparation of the Child Protection   Programmes by undertaking the following functions/duties:

1. Support to program/projects development and planning

2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results

3. Technical and operational support to program implementation

4. Networking and partnership building

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in in social development planning and management in child protection related areas is required.

• Experience working in a developing and country is considered as an asset.

• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset. Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is considered as an added advantage.
• Fluency in English is required. 

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 and (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

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. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable males are encouraged to apply.

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). 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.