Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist, P3, Kibondo, Tanzania(Temporary Appointment)

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BACKGROUND

Tanzania has received over 243,469 asylum seekers from Burundi since May 2015, over 57% of whom are children (UNHCR Tanzania, March 2017). Tanzania hosts the largest number of Burundian refugees in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, and when combined with the pre-existing caseload of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the number of refugees in Tanzania is 305,442. The current influx of refugees into Tanzania from Burundi averages approximately 234 people per day (UNHCR Tanzania, March 2017).  Following the lifting of the prima facie refugee status for asylum-seekers from Burundi (effective 20 January 2017), UNHCR currently working with the Government of Tanzania to develop refugee status determination (RSD) procedures for asylum seekers from Burundi in line with the Refugees Act 1998. While the socio-political situation in Burundi remains tense and unpredictable, cross-border influxes are expected to continue throughout 2017.

Refugees in Tanzania are hosted in three (3) refugee camps (Nyarugusu, Mtendeli and Nduta) located in the Kigoma Region. Although the government and partner assistance continues, all three (3) refugee camps full beyond designated capacity and the delays in finding a suitable fourth camp site is leading to overcrowding and stretching of resources.

Many of the Burundian children crossing into Tanzania have witnessed acts of violence, some reportedly witnessing family members and friends hurt or killed.  As with many refugee populations, sexual violence is underreported, but camp-based assessments and reporting point to sexual violence begin perpetrated upon children both enroute to Tanzania and while in the camps. The lead implementing partners for child protection are the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Nyaragusu Camp and Plan International (Plan) in Mtendali and Nduta Camps. Since the influx began, 8,267 children (3,477F; 4,790M) have been identified as unaccompanied or separated with 3,168 (1,261F; 1,907M) children placed in alternative foster care arrangements (IRC and Plan International Reports, March 2017).  Younger children are usually easier to place with foster families, but alternative care arrangements – such as group living – are often the only option for adolescent girls and boys.

Since the onset of the influx, UNICEF has focused its attention on supporting case management (including psychosocial support through child friendly spaces) for children with acute protection concerns. In particular, UNICEF has engaged in partnership agreements with IRC for child protection interventions in Nyaragusu camp, specifically supporting IRC’s capacity on case management including the provision of psychosocial support services through child friendly spaces and on parenting interventions. UNICEF has also provided technical support to IRC’s transition from a paper-based case management system to the digitized and globally used Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS).   For the duration of the rest of 2017, and in to 2018, UNICEF will continue to support case management, with specific focus on the CPMIS+ (PRIMERO) assessment and operationalization, as well as work with Plan International around programming for adolescents.

UNICEF has also led an innovative intervention to support case management capacity across the three (3) camps by supporting the deployment of Government Social Welfare Officers (SWOs) from other districts across Tanzania. The SWOs who have already received training in child protection case management are seconded to both IRC and Plan International to support the delivery of case management in the respective camps. Tanzania’s leveraging of existing government professional social welfare staff to support the humanitarian response is considered a best practice in the region.

UNICEF has also been supporting UNHCR as a co-lead for the operationalization of Child Protection Working Groups (CPWGs) to coordinate child protection interventions across the three (3) camps; however, as there have been gaps in the human resources within both UNHCR and UNICEF in the child protection sector, the functionality of the CPWG has been constrained. A key focus area for the UNICEF Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist will be to work with the newly deployed UNHCR Child Protection Coordinator to support the CPWGs as an effective coordination mechanism for the child protection response across the three camps.

In addition to the emergency refugee response, the UNICEF Tanzania Child Protection Section is working with the Government of Tanzania to establish and strengthen a national child protection system for Tanzania that can effectively prevent and respond to violence, abuse, and neglect of children. A National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children (NPA-VAWC) (2017-2022) was launched by the Government of Tanzania in December 2016, and represents the guiding framework for government and all relevant stakeholders in addressing violence against women and children in Tanzania.

The new NPA-VAWC provides a framework for the Violence Against Women and Children theme of the new UN Joint Programme for Kigoma.  This group is comprised of UNICEF, UNWomen, IOM, and UNFPA, with UNICEF providing coordination support at the national level.  The focus of the NPA-VAWC interventions under the Joint Programme focus on supporting prevention and response interventions in the four refugee hosting districts of Kibondo, Kakonko, Kasulu TC, and Kasulu DC.  At the district level, this work includes building the capacity of key front line service providers (SWOs, police, district hospitals, and justice for children actors), supporting implementation of physical infrastructure (Police Gender and Children’s desks), establishing district coordination structures (District Protection Committees), and working at the ward and village level to strengthen Most Vulnerable Children’s Committees (MVCCs). Given the dynamic interaction between refugee and host communities, and emerging issues related to child exploitation and labor, sexual and gender based violence, and potential for community conflict, the these four districts  of Kigoma now hosting refugees have been prioritized for child protection systems scale up in accordance with the NPA-VAWC.    

PURPOSE

To co-lead the UNHCR-led CPWGs and provide technical support to UNICEF programming priorities in both the refugee and host communities. Specifically to:

1. Provide technical leadership to support the effective operationalization of the CPWGs in ensuring a full, efficient and timely child protection response;
2. Provide monitoring, guidance and technical support to implementing partners working in the three (3) camps on case management for children with protection concerns, including support for the deployment of Government SWOs, foster care placement/alternative care arrangements, community based psychosocial support services, outreach programming for children and adolescents, and the operationalization of CPMIS;
3. With respect to the UN Joint Programme to Kigoma and the VAWC theme, provide monitoring, guidance, and technical support to the Kigoma Region District Councils in strengthening the child protection system in refugee hosting districts and ensuring linkages between the district government and camped based child protection interventions.

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MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

1. Child Protection Response Coordination (to be conducted in partnership with UNHCR as the co-chair of the CPWG):

• Support the development of agreed terms of reference for the Child Protection Working Groups across and act as a roving coordinator in supporting the operation of the CPWGs across the three camps;
• Clarify the division of responsibilities and means of coordination with other groups (e.g. SGBV, community based protection, education working groups and overall inter-agency protection working group);
• Initiate and oversee the development of a joint inter-agency child protection strategic response plan including identification of priority needs, division of labour, agreed indicators and a common performance monitoring system to track progress against objectives;
• Support assessments together with partners in the child protection sub-cluster and/or protection cluster using agreed inter-agency assessment tools;
• Support the development and operationalization of reporting tools to support the tracking of progress in the implementation of the joint child protection response plan;
• Establish and manage communication channels to support coordination and timely reporting by CPWG members;
• Consolidate inter-agency reports and develop regular implementation reports on the status of the implementation of the joint inter-agency child protection response plan;
• Represent and provide reports on behalf of the CPWGs to other relevant groups including SGBV, community based protection, education working groups and overall inter-agency protection working group;
• Monitor the trends and emerging evidence of child protection concerns and the response by Government, and analyze this information to advise on the child protection response;
• Advocate with government and humanitarian actors on urgent child protection issues arising and ensure that child protection priorities are included in strategic planning and fundraising processes.;
• Provide input into UNICEF reports, situation analysis and funding appeals as required.

2. Provide monitoring, guidance and technical support to implementing partners working in the three camps on case management for children with protection concerns

• Oversee and support the deployment of Government SWOs seconded to implementing partners working across the three camps;
• Provide technical guidance to implementing partners, including the  monitoring of existing and development of new programme agreements, with a focus on case management for children with child protection concerns, foster care placement/alternative care arrangements, community based psychosocial support services and outreach programming for children and adolescents;
• Work with the UNICEF Country and Regional Offices to support the effective roll out of appropriate Child Protection Information Management Systems (CPIMS) for use by implementing partners;
• Identify gaps in capacity of implementing partners to address child protection issues and organize briefings, trainings and technical assistance as required.

3. With respect to the Kigoma Joint Program VAWC theme, provide monitoring, guidance and technical support to the Kigoma Region District Councils in strengthening the child protection system in refugee hosting districts and ensure linkages between the district government and camped based child protection interventions.

• Conduct regular monitoring visits (and as requested by the UNICEF Child Protection Section) to the Kigoma Region District Councils (Kasulu, Kibondo and Kakonko) to monitor and provide technical assistance to District SWOs and district child protection team members in the implementation of the district child protection annual work plans;
• Ensure regular communication and coordination between the District SWOs and staff of implementing partners overseeing child protection interventions in the camps including supporting the District SWOs to regularly attend meetings of the CPWG and GBVWG;
• Assess and analyze trends in the interactions in the relationship between refugee and host communities and work to strengthen systematic links between camp based child protection interventions and the district social welfare system.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

• Advanced university degree in social work, international relations, law, child psychology, or relevant field.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience with UNICEF and/or other relevant actors, including experience with child protection programming in emergencies. 
• Experience with Coordination and Information Management (excel proficiency required).  (Coordination experience can be IDP, cluster approach).
• Practical field-based experience in refugee Case Management, CPIMS, RSD, and GBV programming.  Previous case work experience and practical usage of CPIMS valuable.
• Practical field-base experience with operationalizing community based psychosocial support programming, i.e., child friendly spaces.
• Fluency in English (verbal and written).
• Knowledge of Swahili and Kirundi advantageous.