Child Protection Specialist ((Monitoring and Evaluation) P4/ Fixed Term - WCARO Dakar Senegal

For every child, a geographically mobile & diverse workforce Under the general supervision of the Regional Chief Child Protection, Under he supervision of the Regional Advisor Child Protection, the incumbent will provide expert technical advice, support and analysis to the UNICEF Regional Office (RO) and the 24 Country Offices (COs) in the region, on monitoring, evaluation, research and reporting related to their child protection programs. The post holder will work closely with the other Child Protection Specialists to support COs to build a strong evidence base on the Child Protection regional priorities 2018-21.

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

Under he supervision of the Regional Advisor Child Protection, the incumbent will provide expert technical advice, support and analysis to the UNICEF Regional Office (RO) and the 24 Country Offices (COs) in the region, on monitoring, evaluation, research and reporting related to their child protection programs. The post holder will work closely with the other Child Protection Specialists to support COs to build a strong evidence base on the Child Protection regional priorities 2018-21.

The Specialist contributes to achievement of concrete and sustainable programs/projects results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF's Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework

Key Expected Results

1. Technical support to Country offices
2. Capacity building
3. Knowledge Management
4. RO’s and COs’ Planning and Monitoring processes
5. Fundraising

1. Technical support to Country offices: In  close cooperation with the Monitoring and Evaluation, unit and the child protection section in WCARO, support COs to review the evidence base of their child protection programs in order to ensure their targeted results are measurable and proportionate to the capacities (human and financial) within their particular context. The post holder will focus on building an evidence base across the region of the thematic areas prioritized within the RO Child Protection Strategy 2018-21. The post holder will monitor trends, emerging evidence and practice in the technical area and the responses of other UN agencies, key development partners and advise the Regional Adviser Child Protection and other technical colleagues and COs on strategic issues. Support quality evaluations and research methodologies of programme interventions child protection.

2. Capacity building: Provide and/or facilitate support to COs for capacity building of child protection staff, government counterparts and non-government partners in the area of developing and maintaining Information Management Systems for their child protection programs in order to better target their programs and more effectively report on results.

3. Knowledge Management: Ensure the maintenance and updating of a regional knowledge base on child protection, drawing on available and current data, knowledge and research globally and in the region. Ensure COs have access to this knowledge in order to develop evidence based advocacy and interventions.  Promote and support systematic data collection on children affected by protection violations, including innovative research methodologies.

4. RO’s and COs’ Planning and Monitoring processes: In coordination with other technical colleagues in the Child Protection, section, and in close cooperation with the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, at both CO and RO level, support the CP section in WCARO planning and monitoring (developing Annual work plans, inputs to RAM and Mid-year Review, etc.) and coordinate the child protection inputs to CO planning processes (COAR review, CDP development, Strategic Moments of Reflection, Programme strategy note development etc.). Contribute to inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration with other regional office sections, specifically C

5. Fundraising: Contribute to increasing the financial resources available for child protection activities in the region by supporting country offices on the preparation of project proposals, particularly through strengthening the accent on evidence-based programming; preparing regional multi-country proposals and donor reports and monitoring utilization of funds in consultation with the Regional Adviser. 

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

• Post-graduate university degree in social sciences, development studies or other relevant field.\

• At least 8 years of relevant international experience in planning, monitoring, evaluation and child protection. 

• Fluency in English and French. Portuguese and/or Spanish will be an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core Values

• Commitment
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Integrity

Core competencies

• Communication (II)
• Working with people (II)
• Drive for results (II)

Functional Competencies

• Leading and supervising (I)

• Formulating strategies/concepts (II)

• Analyzing (III)

• Relating and networking (II)

• Deciding and initiating action (II)

• Applying Technical Expertise (III)

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 organization.