Details
Mission and objectives
L'UNICEF est une agence humanitaire internationale pour les enfants créée par la chart des Nations Unies en 1946. L'organiisation est présente dans plus de 192 pays et travail dans le domaine de la santé, de l'éducation, de l'eau et de l'assainissement, de la protection de l'enfance, du VIH et du Sida, de la nutrition, de la politique et de la protection sociale. L'UNICEF opère a la fois dans les contextes humanitaire et de development en répondant aux besoins des enfants et des femmes en particulier des filles et des plus vulnérables.
La présence de l'UNICEF au Cameroun remonte à 1975. L'organisation intervient dans dans les domaines de l'éducation, de l'eau et de l'assainissement, de la protection de l'enfance, du VIH et du Sida. Tandi que ses efforts en amont se concentrent sur le plaidoyer et le lobbying pour des conditions budgétaires favorables aux enfants et aux femmes et a la formulation de politiques pour la promotion de leur croissance et de leur developement . Sur le plan opérationnel UNICEF Cameroun se concentre sur le renforcement des capacité des partie prenantes la prestation de service et la création de partenariats pour l'amélioration des aux enfants et aux femmes.
Le Programme Protection de l'Enfant vise globalement a garantir que les enfants en particulier les filles adolescentes dan sles zones vulnérables sont mieux protégés contre la violence, l'exploitation et les pratiques néfastes y compris dans le contexte d'urgence humanitaire. Le programme contribue ainsi au renforcement des systèmes gouvernementaux et communautaires de protection de l'enfance, afin d'identifier et de combattre plus efficacement les violations des droits de l'enfant. Une attention particulière est portée a l'enregistrement. des naissances la préventions et la réponses aux violences physiques et sexuelles ainsi qu'a l'élimination du mariage des enfants en s'apppuyant sur les évidneces.
La présence de l'UNICEF au Cameroun remonte à 1975. L'organisation intervient dans dans les domaines de l'éducation, de l'eau et de l'assainissement, de la protection de l'enfance, du VIH et du Sida. Tandi que ses efforts en amont se concentrent sur le plaidoyer et le lobbying pour des conditions budgétaires favorables aux enfants et aux femmes et a la formulation de politiques pour la promotion de leur croissance et de leur developement . Sur le plan opérationnel UNICEF Cameroun se concentre sur le renforcement des capacité des partie prenantes la prestation de service et la création de partenariats pour l'amélioration des aux enfants et aux femmes.
Le Programme Protection de l'Enfant vise globalement a garantir que les enfants en particulier les filles adolescentes dan sles zones vulnérables sont mieux protégés contre la violence, l'exploitation et les pratiques néfastes y compris dans le contexte d'urgence humanitaire. Le programme contribue ainsi au renforcement des systèmes gouvernementaux et communautaires de protection de l'enfance, afin d'identifier et de combattre plus efficacement les violations des droits de l'enfant. Une attention particulière est portée a l'enregistrement. des naissances la préventions et la réponses aux violences physiques et sexuelles ainsi qu'a l'élimination du mariage des enfants en s'apppuyant sur les évidneces.
Context
Cameroon faces a learning crisis due to quality, equity, and funding issues. Although primary education is officially free, families still pay for uniforms, materials, fees, and transport, limiting access for poorer households. Over 90% of children enrol in primary school, but only about 75% complete it, and 17% of lower‑secondary‑age children are out of school. Learning poverty stands at 72%, with most 10‑year‑olds unable to read simple text. Problems include teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, limited textbooks, and uneven teacher distribution, especially in rural and crisis-affected areas. Girls are more likely to drop out due to early marriage, pregnancy, and household duties.
Crises in the NWSW have had devastating effects on the education sector, hindering access for hundreds of thousands of children, undermining their right to learning and development. In some ways, this crisis has been boiled down to an educational crisis. Learning spaces were politicized and disputed. Schools, children, and teachers were attacked, resulting in one-third of schools being rendered non-operational leading to approximately 223,749 children out of schools. The crisis has disproportionately affected conflict-prone rural areas (red zones), where fear, insecurity and targeted attacks made it unsafe for children to attend school. The scarcity of trained teachers, along with widespread displacement, has harmed the quality of education. Girls and children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to abuse and exclusion in this volatile context. The collapse of the education system in these regions not only jeopardizes a generation's future, but it also erodes the social fabric, perpetuating violence, and inequality. For the eight consecutive years in the row, after the onset of the crisis, children in the NW and SW regions have been experiencing lockdown at the start of the school year to disrupt schooling processes.
To address this, a programme with significant scale and scope was implemented, entitled "Strengthening Access to Education in Emergencies, including through Complementary Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) and Child Protection Interventions supported by the European Union through ECHO, targets 55,813 people (including 50,901 children and 4,912 adults) affected by the crisis in the North-West and South-West (NWSW) regions of Cameroon”.
The project's strategy is based on an integrated and multisectoral approach, combining education, WASH and child protection, using education as integration entry point. In addition to learning gaps, the 2025 WASH Needs Assessment highlights severe gaps in water, sanitation, and hygiene services across schools and communities. Children continue to face severe protection risks that directly undermine their ability to access safe, inclusive, and continuous education. Years of armed conflict have exposed them to grave violations—including killing, maiming, abduction, and recruitment by armed groups. These dangers, together with widespread displacement, family separation, and insecurity, significantly hinder school attendance and retention.
Crises in the NWSW have had devastating effects on the education sector, hindering access for hundreds of thousands of children, undermining their right to learning and development. In some ways, this crisis has been boiled down to an educational crisis. Learning spaces were politicized and disputed. Schools, children, and teachers were attacked, resulting in one-third of schools being rendered non-operational leading to approximately 223,749 children out of schools. The crisis has disproportionately affected conflict-prone rural areas (red zones), where fear, insecurity and targeted attacks made it unsafe for children to attend school. The scarcity of trained teachers, along with widespread displacement, has harmed the quality of education. Girls and children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to abuse and exclusion in this volatile context. The collapse of the education system in these regions not only jeopardizes a generation's future, but it also erodes the social fabric, perpetuating violence, and inequality. For the eight consecutive years in the row, after the onset of the crisis, children in the NW and SW regions have been experiencing lockdown at the start of the school year to disrupt schooling processes.
To address this, a programme with significant scale and scope was implemented, entitled "Strengthening Access to Education in Emergencies, including through Complementary Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) and Child Protection Interventions supported by the European Union through ECHO, targets 55,813 people (including 50,901 children and 4,912 adults) affected by the crisis in the North-West and South-West (NWSW) regions of Cameroon”.
The project's strategy is based on an integrated and multisectoral approach, combining education, WASH and child protection, using education as integration entry point. In addition to learning gaps, the 2025 WASH Needs Assessment highlights severe gaps in water, sanitation, and hygiene services across schools and communities. Children continue to face severe protection risks that directly undermine their ability to access safe, inclusive, and continuous education. Years of armed conflict have exposed them to grave violations—including killing, maiming, abduction, and recruitment by armed groups. These dangers, together with widespread displacement, family separation, and insecurity, significantly hinder school attendance and retention.
Task description
Within the delegated authority and under the direct supervision of the Chief Field Office, in close coordination with the Education, Child Protection, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) officers or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Programme Coordinator will:
Key tasks and responsibilities
1. Programme monitoring and reporting.
• Monitor UNICEF partners in the Northwest region with a structured monitoring plan, ensuring that planned results are achieved.
• Meet on a regular basis (e.g., monthly) with all implementing partners to review project implementation.
• Review partner reports together with the Buea team and develop regular reports for specific interventions in the Northwest region across the three key sectors – Education, Child Protection, and WASH – highlighting challenges and potential solutions to be discussed with the Buea team.
• Work with UNICEF partners in the Northwest region on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative, and other assets)and support the assurance plan, especially on programmatic visits and support needed on spot checks, micro-assessments, audits, and Direct Cash Transfers (DCTs ) liquidation.
• Coordinate and work closely with UNICEF Programme Officers in the Buea Office and partners to collect, analyse, and share information on implementation issues in the Northwest region.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews, and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow-up action by Programme Officers and other stakeholders.
• Contribute analytical inputs for periodic reports, particularly donor, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO ) interim and final reports.
2. Support to programme development and planning
• Ensure accurate programme planning, especially of the ECHO project, and strict adherence of partner documents to the outlined results in the proposal.
• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentation, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based management (RBM) , and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Support preparation of technical reports and provide inputs for programme preparation and documentation, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and relevancy of information.
• Prepare required documentation and materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process for the region.
3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
• Support Programme Officers/Specialists in undertaking field visits and share detailed information with them to assess progress and refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks, and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, and UN system partners in the Northwest region on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes, and best practices on issues to support programme implementation, operations, and delivery of results.
4. Coordination and Networking
• Represent UNICEF at all inter-agency and coordination forums in Bamenda, Northwest region, addressing diverse matters with an emphasis on issues pertaining to the ECHO project, emergency response, and participation in newly established coordination forums under humanitarian reset initiatives.
• Establish and maintain robust working relationships with governmental bodies, implementing partners, sector and cluster coordinators, UN sister agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of UNICEF programmes and sustained presence, with specific reference to the ECHO-funded project focusing on inclusive education for out-of-school children (OOSC), child protection concerns, and WASH service provision.
• Work closely with Programme Officers in Buea and ensure effective communication, reporting, engagement, and coordination, notably on ECHO project-related issues and concerns.
• In collaboration with and support from Programme Officers/Specialists, Communication Officers, and interns in UNICEF Buea Office, draft communication and information materials specifically for Northwest programme advocacy to promote awareness and establish partnerships and alliances for UNICEF programmes.
5. Innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building
• Provide support in identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity building of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results for the Northwest Region.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the capacity of implementing partners and stakeholders in the Northwest region on UNICEF systems and other related issues.
• Any other related tasks may be required or assigned by the supervisor.
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 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 UN Volunteers (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:
• As an active [insert name Host Agency] team member, provide efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in accomplishing her/his functions, including: [Results/Outputs can be modified as appropriate; should not entirely mirror the task description but serve as a basis for workplan and deliverables]
• The programme management and oversight function ensures progress toward the targets and results agreed upon for ECHO projects implemented by partners.
• Strengthened networking and coordination among all relevant stakeholders, including implementing partners, government counterparts, and inter-agency groups, resulting in more effective delivery of the ECHO project in the Northwest and Southwest (NWSW ) regions.
• Implementation of the assurance plan led to improved compliance with key project components, including programmatic visits, spot check audits, and effective management of DCTs, thereby strengthening the delivery of the ECHO-funded project in the NWSW region.
• Consistent reporting and comprehensive documentation ensured compliance with both internal requirements and donor expectations, contributing to transparent and accountable project implementation.
• Capacity building for partners and stakeholders improved understanding of key processes, UNICEF systems, program quality, and community participation, leading to better implementation and results for the ECHO project in the NWSW regions.
• 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.
Key tasks and responsibilities
1. Programme monitoring and reporting.
• Monitor UNICEF partners in the Northwest region with a structured monitoring plan, ensuring that planned results are achieved.
• Meet on a regular basis (e.g., monthly) with all implementing partners to review project implementation.
• Review partner reports together with the Buea team and develop regular reports for specific interventions in the Northwest region across the three key sectors – Education, Child Protection, and WASH – highlighting challenges and potential solutions to be discussed with the Buea team.
• Work with UNICEF partners in the Northwest region on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative, and other assets)and support the assurance plan, especially on programmatic visits and support needed on spot checks, micro-assessments, audits, and Direct Cash Transfers (DCTs ) liquidation.
• Coordinate and work closely with UNICEF Programme Officers in the Buea Office and partners to collect, analyse, and share information on implementation issues in the Northwest region.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews, and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow-up action by Programme Officers and other stakeholders.
• Contribute analytical inputs for periodic reports, particularly donor, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO ) interim and final reports.
2. Support to programme development and planning
• Ensure accurate programme planning, especially of the ECHO project, and strict adherence of partner documents to the outlined results in the proposal.
• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentation, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based management (RBM) , and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Support preparation of technical reports and provide inputs for programme preparation and documentation, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and relevancy of information.
• Prepare required documentation and materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process for the region.
3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
• Support Programme Officers/Specialists in undertaking field visits and share detailed information with them to assess progress and refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks, and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, and UN system partners in the Northwest region on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes, and best practices on issues to support programme implementation, operations, and delivery of results.
4. Coordination and Networking
• Represent UNICEF at all inter-agency and coordination forums in Bamenda, Northwest region, addressing diverse matters with an emphasis on issues pertaining to the ECHO project, emergency response, and participation in newly established coordination forums under humanitarian reset initiatives.
• Establish and maintain robust working relationships with governmental bodies, implementing partners, sector and cluster coordinators, UN sister agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of UNICEF programmes and sustained presence, with specific reference to the ECHO-funded project focusing on inclusive education for out-of-school children (OOSC), child protection concerns, and WASH service provision.
• Work closely with Programme Officers in Buea and ensure effective communication, reporting, engagement, and coordination, notably on ECHO project-related issues and concerns.
• In collaboration with and support from Programme Officers/Specialists, Communication Officers, and interns in UNICEF Buea Office, draft communication and information materials specifically for Northwest programme advocacy to promote awareness and establish partnerships and alliances for UNICEF programmes.
5. Innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building
• Provide support in identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity building of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results for the Northwest Region.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the capacity of implementing partners and stakeholders in the Northwest region on UNICEF systems and other related issues.
• Any other related tasks may be required or assigned by the supervisor.
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 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 UN Volunteers (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:
• As an active [insert name Host Agency] team member, provide efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in accomplishing her/his functions, including: [Results/Outputs can be modified as appropriate; should not entirely mirror the task description but serve as a basis for workplan and deliverables]
• The programme management and oversight function ensures progress toward the targets and results agreed upon for ECHO projects implemented by partners.
• Strengthened networking and coordination among all relevant stakeholders, including implementing partners, government counterparts, and inter-agency groups, resulting in more effective delivery of the ECHO project in the Northwest and Southwest (NWSW ) regions.
• Implementation of the assurance plan led to improved compliance with key project components, including programmatic visits, spot check audits, and effective management of DCTs, thereby strengthening the delivery of the ECHO-funded project in the NWSW region.
• Consistent reporting and comprehensive documentation ensured compliance with both internal requirements and donor expectations, contributing to transparent and accountable project implementation.
• Capacity building for partners and stakeholders improved understanding of key processes, UNICEF systems, program quality, and community participation, leading to better implementation and results for the ECHO project in the NWSW regions.
• 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.
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