Child Protection Specialist on Alternative/Interim Care-P3/NOC at UNICEF

How can you make a difference?

Assess, design and initiate interventions to address the interim, medium and long term care needs of children. The care advisor will be responsible for ensuring that quality programmes and capacities are initiated to provide care and protection to children in a range of in-country locations. 

Key activities & duties

• Identify and agree within and between agencies and other stakeholders the roles, responsibilities and accountability for planned action and future decision-making around care issues. Ensure that care interventions are informed by and integrated with other core sectors of education, health, nutrition, food security and livelihoods. 
• Facilitate coordination between child protection actors who have a role in the provision of interim and longer term care (e.g. through the child protection sub cluster and sub groups of the sub cluster) 
• Initiate and/or carry out capacity-building of key international and national staff in specific care and child protection competencies including appropriate approaches, where needed 
• Ensure planning and subsequent cooperation and program structures are done in partnership with key stakeholders, in particular the Government, and that they aim to establish/strengthen processes and mechanisms at local, district, national (and broader level) which support identification, monitoring and response to the care and protection concerns of children. 
• Closely coordinate with the emergency family tracing intervention (Identification, Documentation, Tracing and Reunification - IDTR), to ensure the primary focus of children in care remains on family tracing and reunification. 
• Assist with ongoing assessments of care providers and vetting of interim care provisions based on global standards, principles and practice. Adapt the assessment as necessary and feasible given the context.  
• Ensure adequate monitoring and follow up for children in emergency care centres and advocate, plan and programme for longer term community-based care options for children in need of care. 
• Design and initiate effective programme and advocacy interventions to address the risks and violations of children’s protection rights raised by the assessment of children in and in need of interim care. Taking into account short term/long term interventions within the framework of overall long-term programme goals as well as a systems approach. 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education-

• Advanced university degree in social work, child psychology, or other relevant field. 

Work Experience- 

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience with UNICEF and/or other relevant actors, including experience with child protection programming related to interim or alternative care for children in overseas contexts.  
• Knowledge of key international standards and guidelines related to alternative care for children. 
• Experience working in the context of a natural disaster or armed conflict highly desirable. 

Language Requirement:- 

• Fluency in verbal and written English and/or French (depending on the country office's official language). 
• Good written and spoken skills in the language of the humanitarian operation in country of assignment and knowledge of another UN language or a local language is an asset.

Deadline: 14 Mar 2023