Child Protection Specialist

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been present in Brazil since 1950, supporting the most important changes in childhood and adolescence in the country. UNICEF participated in major immunization and breastfeeding campaigns; the mobilization that resulted in the approval of Article 227 of the Federal Constitution and the drafting of the Child and Adolescent Statute; the movement for universal access to education; programmes to combat child labour; among other great advances in guaranteeing the rights of Brazilian girls and boys. In recent decades, Brazil has promoted a strong process of inclusion of children and adolescents in public policies. However, a significant portion of the population remains excluded. Therefore, in its cooperation programme with the Brazilian Government for the period 2024-2028, UNICEF focuses its efforts on the most vulnerable and excluded girls and boys, with a special focus on children and adolescents who are victims of extreme forms of violence. These children and adolescents in situations of greater vulnerability are spread throughout Brazil, but they are more concentrated in the Amazon, in the Northeast and in large urban centers. Through the UNICEF Seal, UNICEF promotes commitments to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents in the Northeast and in the Amazon regions in Brazil. In large cities, UNICEF works with a focus on reducing intra-municipal inequalities, through the #AgendaCidadeUNICEF.

Since 1950, UNICEF has supported the most important transformation for children and adolescents in Brazil. UNICEF Brazil current Country Programme concentrates efforts towards boys and girls most excluded, vulnerable, and exposed to extreme forms of violence, mainly in the Amazon and Semiarid regions and the peripheral areas of large cities, through the Municipal SELO and Agenda Cidade. Through the child protection programme interventions, psychosocial support activities reached thousands of children and specialized interventions and mobile teams allowed for the identification and referral of hundreds of cases of violence, abuse and neglect to the Child protection statutory services.

UNICEF Brazil continues to focus its attention on the importance of the right to quality education and access to school to prevent and to protect children from extreme forms of violence. This assignment will contribute to Child Protection Section and strengthen its capacity to respond adequately to the needs of UNICEF Country Office in the Amazon region.

The UN Volunteer Specialist will contribute to the development initiatives that UNICEF is conducting within Child Protection integrated framework at the Amazon Territory (with focus in Amapá, Pará, Mato Grosso e Tocantins), aligned with Selo UNICEF strategy and #AgendaCidadeUNICEF in Belém. This assignment will contribute to SDG 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institution.

To that purpose, the UN Volunteer will provide technical and operational support to the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of activities related to specific strategies or programmes, which include among others: Education that Protects against violence and Child Protection technical support to Selo UNICEF at Amazon Territory, technical assistance to state and municipal governments on the implementation of Lei da Escuta Protegida (13.431/17), and prevention and response to sexual violence. The UN Volunteer will provide technical support for the overall implementation of #AgendaCidadeUNICEF Belem and adolescents in the state states covered by the office and contribute to the support the government authorities and partners.

Under the overall programmatic guidance of the Child Protection Officer and direct supervision of Chief of Field Office in Belém, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

Support the programmatic implementation of the Child Protection development programme in Pará, Amapá, Tocantins and Mato Grosso:

· Assist the Child Protection Officer and the Chief of Flied Office in Belém to liaise and engage with key stakeholders and partners in Pará, Mato Grosso, Amapá and Tocantins states, on child protection issues and concerns.

· Extend technical support to Child Protection projects with focus on indigenous, quilombola and riverside population.

· Support evidence generation and needs assessments related to Child Protection.

· Technical support in prepare required documentation for the proposed projects, implementing the child protection strategy and operational assistance, and support partners in the execution of projects, aligned to Child Protection Officer guidance and directed supervision of Chief of Field Office in Belém.

· Ensure the articulation process among governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations (national and international) and UN agencies, working in the territory by supporting the creation of intersectoral working groups and information sharing.

· Participate in UNICEF child protection technical teams, providing technical and operational support to program planning, program development and program implementation,

· Assist in capacity building activities related to child protection programme as outlined in Annual Working Plan;

· Identify child protection needs and collaborate to design and implement thematic projects.

· Advocate for child protection priorities in appropriated forums;

· Collaborate to the programmatic planning, monitoring and evaluation for EZ Belém

· Other support, as needed, with planning workshops and other activities.

· Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor

Provide technical support for the overall implementation of child protection interventions within the framework of UNICEF SEAL and Agenda Cidade UNICEF:

· Support UNICEF coordination in mobilizing and articulating the SGD to support municipalities participating in the UNICEF Seal and Agenda Cidade UNICEF in child protection component.

· Technical support to the local child protection system, strengthening public services and designing innovative interventions to reduce the impact of violence against children.
· Work to strengthen municipal and state councils to create intersectoral mechanisms to prevent and address violence against children and adolescents in the priority municipalities and urban centers.

· Development of partnerships with government counterparts and local stakeholders to facilitate program implementation and to achieve results on the reduction of violence against children.

· Provide technical support to implement law 13.431 in the prioritized municipalities of the territory covered by EZ Belém.

· Plan, develop and evaluate training activities, workshops and institutional events related to child protection goals and results with implementing partners.

The UN Volunteer could be requested to travel, to take part in collaborative work with other internal and external teams. Also, they will attend presential events, webinars and virtual meetings with colleagues and/or partners. Activities such as organizing meeting, conferences, workshops and training will be demanded. Production of reports, fundraising proposals, notes and audiovisual pieces for communications purposes, analysis, data gathering, and systematization will be requested in Portuguese and/or in English. Social media interaction also will be requested.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

· Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);

· Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;

· Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.

· Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;

· Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;

· Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/expected outputs:
· Technical support for strengthened coordination among UNICEF, government counterparts, and key stakeholders across Pará, Amapá, Tocantins and Mato Grosso, ensuring effective implementation, monitoring, and documentation of child protection interventions, with enhanced evidence generation and capacity building.

· Quality material and knowledge products for internal and external audiences produced in a timely fashion, including for trainings.

· Adequate support provided to Child Protection team.

· Improved delivery of child protection actions under the UNICEF Seal and Agenda Cidade UNICEF, with strengthened municipal systems, intersectoral mechanisms, and increased alignment with legal frameworks such as Law 13.431 to prevent and address violence against children.

· Enhanced child protection systems through technical assistance, training, partnerships, and innovative interventions, with a focus on indigenous populations, riverside and quilombola population, resulting in strengthened services, improved needs assessments, and expanded actions to reduce violence and vulnerabilities.

· Child protection priorities reflected in appropriated forums.

· 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.