Regional Adviser - Child Protection (P-5), #13333, Geneva - Switzerland, CEE/CIS RO

The Adviser serves as an authoritative and expert adviser to the Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director, the Regional Management Team, Country Offices and Government institutions/officials on strategies, policies, approaches, best practices and knowledge on child protection and related issues to support program development planning, implementation, management, resource mobilization, capacity building and knowledge management to achieve concrete and sustainable UNICEF contribution to national and international efforts to create a protective environment for children against all harm and to protect their rights to survival, development and well-being as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/framework and UN intergovernmental bodies.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.


Purpose of the Position

The Regional Adviser, Child Protection reports to the Regional Director or Deputy Regional Director for general guidance and direction. The Adviser serves as an authoritative and expert adviser to the Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director, the Regional Management Team, Country Offices and Government institutions/officials on strategies, policies, approaches, best practices and knowledge on child protection and related issues to support program development planning, implementation, management, resource mobilization, capacity building and knowledge management to achieve concrete and sustainable UNICEF contribution to national and international efforts to create a protective environment for children against all harm and to protect their rights to survival, development and well-being as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/framework and UN intergovernmental bodies.

Key Expected Results

1. Regional advisory services and technical support on strategic planning/discussion

• Advise key national government officials, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners on policies, strategies, approaches and best practices on child protection and related issues, including emergency preparedness, to support program development planning, management, implementation and delivery of results.
  
• Participate in regional/country program planning, preparation and review to provide advice on formulation, design, management, enhancement and communication of child protection programs including setting priorities and results-based management goals.
• Participate in regional key events and strategic discussions to influence policy discussions and agenda setting on child protection and rights to survival, development and well-being in society.
• Develop and/or recommend regional program policy/papers, strategies and approaches. Lead and/or organize regional strategic discussions and planning on child protection and related programming issues. Contribute to NYHQ/Global programme policy/papers, strategies and approaches. Collaborate with NYHQ and other Regional Advisers/Country Offices on cross cutting issues to harmonize, link and/or leverage competencies.

2. Support to country offices on program development and planning

• Collaborate with Regional Management/Country Office teams throughout all stages of child protection programming to provide technical support to program preparation, implementation and monitoring for results.
• Provide policy guidance and technical support to national external partners/internal colleagues to develop national policies/strategies for UNICEF assisted programs including scaling up child protection programs.
• Contribute to the planning and conduct/update of situation analysis to ensure that current and evidence based data on child protection issues are available to guide UNICEF's strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection and to set program priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans.
• Keep abreast of national/regional/international development priorities on child protection and rights to leverage UNICEF position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate/promote child protection interventions and policies and social change to achieve goals on child's right, protection, survival and well-being as productive members of society.
• Provide technical advice to facilitate the preparation of the Country Office child protection program recommendation and related documentation and to ensure alignment of programs goals with the overall UNICEF's Strategic Plans and regional strategies.
• Consult and collaborate with national/global colleagues/partners/allies to develop partnerships framework to address specific needs and to leverage resources for enhancing/scaling up child protection programs/projects. Evaluate/facilitate synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programs and projects with UNICEF Strategic Plans and priorities, donors' development strategies/policies, national priorities/competencies and UN System development interventions/initiatives. 

3. Regional program monitoring and assessment

• Collaborate with HQ Advisers, Regional/Country Monitoring and Evaluation Adviser/Officers to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators and measurement to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on child protection programs.
  
• Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual sector reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine and to provide advice on required action/interventions to achieve results.
• Assess COs monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
• Submit/share assessments on child protection programs in country offices highlighting critical issues and suggestions for enhancing performance and delivery of sustainable results.
  
  

4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Promote critical thinking and introduce technological and program innovations, approaches and good practices in the region for sustainable child protection programs/projects initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting edge practices in the region's child protection program management and information systems. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.
• Identify, assess, vet and disseminate a roster of qualified experts and highly recognized institutions for easy access and use by stakeholders.
• Lead and/or develop policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programs and projects.
• Lead/plan/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on child protection programs and projects.
  
  

5. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with regional/national government counterparts, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions, NGOs, funding organization, research institutes and private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on child protection programs and projects.
• Collaborate with/advise country offices in the region to develop strategies and implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support resource mobilization for UNICEF and Country Office child protection programs and projects.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF (as delegated/designated) in key events/meetings and in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on child protection and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are clearly articulated and fully considered/integrated in the UNDAF process in development planning and agenda setting. Collaborate with regional inter-agency partners/colleagues UNDAF planning and preparation of related programs and projects.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

- An advanced university degree (Master's) in International Development, Human Rights, Psychology, Sociology, International Law, or another social science field(s) is required.

- A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional work experience in the development, planning and management of child protection programmes, as well as in policy advocacy, at the international level is required.

- Field experience in policy advocacy and programming in middle-income countries is required; in addition such experience in developing countries is an asset.

- Knowledge and experience in inter-agency coordination and strategic partnerships with inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, donors and research institutes working in child rights, child protection and rule of law is required.

- Familiarity with EU institutions and experience in leveraging EU policies is an asset.

- Experience in child protection in emergencies, including emergency preparedness, is required.

- Experience in participating in monitoring and evaluation exercises and in assessing and strengthening performance accountability in view of delivering concrete and sustainable results for children is required.

- Track record in promoting critical thinking and introducing programme innovations, approaches and good practices in child protection, is an asset.

- Sound technical knowledge of the main child protection issues facing children in the CEE/CIS region, including violence, child care reform and access to justice, is required.

- Familiarity with the political context of the CEE/CIS region is an asset.  

- Prior experience working in the UN System or other international development organization is desirable.

- Fluency in English (written & verbal) is required. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) – preferably French - is considered an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

- Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking (Communication - Level 3).
- Consistently achieves high-level results, managing and delivering projects on-time and on-budget (Drive for Results - Level 3).
- Creates and encourages a climate of team-working and collaboration in a multi-cultural environment (Working with People - Level 3).
- Self-driven professional that has high-level leadership and supervisory skills; provides others with a clear direction; motivates and empowers others; recruits staff of a high caliber; provides staff with development opportunities and coaching (Leading & Supervising - Level 3).
- Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives (Formulating Strategies and Concepts - Level 3).
- Analyzes and integrates potentially conflicting numerical, verbal and other data from a number of sources (Analyzing - Level 3).
- Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups. Actively nurtures good relationships with people across all organizational levels and boundaries, and with government leaders and stakeholders (Relating & Networking - Level 3).
- Identifies urgent and potentially difficult decisions and acts on them promptly; initiates and generates team- and department-wide activities (Deciding and Initiating action - Level 3).
- Makes a positive impression on other individuals in one-to-one settings(Persuading and Influencing - Level 2)

To view our competency framework, please click here. 


UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.