Child Protection Specialist, P4, Fixed Term, Kyiv, Ukraine, #125158

Job no: 563629

Position type: Fixed Term Appointment

Location: Ukraine Division/Equivalent: CEE/CIS

School/Unit: Ukraine

Department/Office: Kyiv, Ukraine

Categories: Child Protection

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UNICEF Ukraine

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Significant escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine has resulted in increased humanitarian needs and population displacement within and outside of the country. The situation is rapidly evolving; and hostilities have led to destruction of key infrastructure and disruption of basic social services and economic activity. A number of children have been caught in the crossfire and have been injured and killed, highlighting the extremely vulnerable situation children are in. The conflict in Ukraine poses an immediate and growing threat to the lives and well-being of the country’s 7.5 million children, millions of whom have been displaced, evacuated or transferred and thousands of whom have been separated from their parents/caregivers or were forced to flee whilst in alternative care arrangements.

UNICEF is rapidly scaling up its multi-sectoral response to the increasing humanitarian needs in Ukraine. Ensuring the protection and well-being of women and children is central to UNICEF’s response efforts. Multi-purpose cash transfers will be undertaken to support vulnerable households with children. UNICEF will also provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, as well as the resumption of primary health care and nutrition services and will work to enroll displaced children in local education programmes. The protracted armed conflict, widespread displacement, and over-stretched national systems and services will leave thousands of children in need of humanitarian assistance for the foreseeable future. In particular children who were separated from their caregivers or who were forced to flee whilst being in an alternative care arrangement before the escalation of the conflict, will need to be protected, whilst family tracing and reunification, best interest assessments/determination and return and reintegration systems and mechanisms are setup. All of this in a complex legal framework which involved national, regional and international laws, conventions and norms whilst Ukraine is implementing a care reform focusing on deinstitutionalization and the strengthening of family- and community-based alternative care options and providing reintegration support to returning children.

Under the supervision of the Chief, Child Protection, based in ECARO o/p Budapest and in close daily coordination with the Chief, Child Protection in Ukraine, the Child Protection Specialist develops and expands support to Ukraine country office and its partners on child protection programming related to Family tracing and reunification for children without parental care displaced from Ukraine. This involves building the capacity of partners and providing the necessary support programmatic strategies that respond to the unique needs and vulnerabilities that apply to these children in need of special protection, reunification and reintegration, in line with international standards. As most of the Ukrainian children who were in institutions and other forms of alternative care who find themselves outside Ukraine have living relatives, the specialist will support the government’s leadership to restore their pathways for family contact and reunification. The specialist will support government and UNICEF partners with technical, operational and programmatic support to promote their duty to uphold the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name, and family relations. The specialist will develop linkages to support services made available under UNICEF’s existing programme of cooperation in Ukraine.

How can you make a difference?

The Specialist supports the implementation of designated partnerships, in line with UNICEF policies, and contributes to the achievement and acceleration of results across countries affected to support family tracing and reunification of children without parental care, including UASC and children evacuated from alternative care, with the following key functions/accountabilities: Technical and operational support for programme development and planning in relation to family tracing and reunification

•  Supporting the programme area on family tracing and reunification, provide leadership, guidance, and direction for sectoral/intersectoral programme development, design and planning in a sector with a complex work environment requiring a high level of foundational, functional and technical competencies to contribute to policy debate as well as programming, in own industry.
•  Conduct and update situation analyses for the development, design and management of family tracing and reunification related programmes/projects. Research and report on development trends (e.g. economic, social, health) and data for use in programme development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results.
•  Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through research, analysis and reporting of family tracing and reunification, child protection and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.
•  Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programme development and planning processes by executing and administering a variety of technical, programme, operational, and administrative transactions, preparing related materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating of results.
•  Prepare required programme documentations, materials and data to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

Family tracing and reunification programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

•  Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level interventions and/or decisions. Keep records of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
•  Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programmes/projects, and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.
•  Conduct regular programme field visits and surveys and exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support. Take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
•  Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verifying compliance with approved allocations, organizational rules, regulations, procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on critical issues and findings to ensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
•  Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

Technical, strategic and policy-level support to UNICEF RO and CO as well as to their governmental and non-governmental partners

•  Provide support to UNICEF regional and country teams, notably Child Protection and senior management, as well as to governmental counterparts, other UN Agencies, donors and other partners to develop child rights-centred policies, strategies and processes built on the best interests of the child on family tracing and reunification.
•  Draft, review, develop and validate policies and strategies on family tracing and reunification.
•  Develop and roll-out, along with partners at all levels, child rights-centred case management approaches to family tracing and reunification, including Standard Operating Procedures, supervision mechanisms, preparing returns and monitoring systems.
•  Build consensus amongst and ensure the buy-in of partners, notably governmental partners, around family tracing and reunification processes and procedures.
•  Support governmental counterparts in operationalising and undertaking Best Interest Assessments and Determinations, based on best practices and a strong legal understanding of rights, roles, responsibilities, jurisdiction and obligations.

Networking and partnership building

•  Build and sustain effective close working partnerships at the global, regional and country levels, with relevant government counterparts, national stakeholders, global partners, allies, donors, and academia – through active networking, advocacy, and effective communication – to build capacity, exchange knowledge and expertise, and reinforce cooperation to achieve sustainable and broad results in child protection.
•  Draw on internal and external resources and partners to understand and serve as a resource on legal considerations related to children with complex child protection concerns based on their legal status.
•  Prepare communication and information materials for RO and CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances, and support fundraising for child protection programmes and emergency interventions.
•  Participate and represent UNICEF in appropriate inter-agency discussions and planning on child protection-related issues to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on planning and preparing programmes/projects.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

•  Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
•  Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
•  Research and report on best and cutting-edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
•  Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

Support to other aspects of child protection in humanitarian action

•  Provide technical support to UNICEF CO Child Protection in Emergencies / Humanitarian Action programming on an ad hoc basis, notably as it pertains children without family care, UASC, children evacuated from institutions.
•  Build linkages and referral pathways to other components of UNICEF Ukraine’s programming, both within Child Protection such as Better Care, GBV, justice for children, etc., but also other sections, such as Social Policy, Education, Health, etc.
•  Represent UNICEF in regional and national fora on Child Protection issues and programming.

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

•  An advanced university degree (Master’s) in one of the following fields is required: child protection, international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant field.
•  A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection related areas is required.
•  Knowledge and qualifications in applicable legal areas, including international human rights law, private international law, IHL, international refugee law and regional law (EU and Council of Europe) are considered an advantage.
•  Experience working in an environment where systems strengthening approaches are used to respond to humanitarian and child protection responses is a distinct advantage.
•  Prior hands-on experience in emergency programming, including preparedness planning and active involvement in a humanitarian crisis is required.
•  Prior hands-on experience in middle and or high-income contexts with upstream advocacy and programmes experience is highly desirable.
•  Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
•  Good understanding of the child protection, humanitarian action, and development context in ECAR region is an asset.
•  Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and deliver under pressure is a requisite.
•  Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in a diverse organization tailoring language, tone, style, and format to match audience.
•  Ability and willingness to travel to emergencies countries if necessary.
•  Proficiency in English, written and verbal, is required. Working knowledge of another official UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) and/or regional language as needed to perform the role is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1) Works Collaboratively with others (1) Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1) Innovates and Embraces Change (1) Thinks and Acts Strategically (1) Drive to achieve impactful results (1) Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Please note that this role is aimed at supporting UNICEF response to the Ukraine emergency in neighboring and surrounding countries. The successful candidate for this emergency recruitment MUST be available to commence work within four weeks of receiving an offer.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Eligible UNICEF International Professional (IP) Staff Members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to a Temporary Appointment, which is dedicated to L3 (or L2) Response, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and their current tour of duty, and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.

Advertised: Jul 04 2023 FLE Daylight Time

Application close: Jul 18 2023 FLE Daylight Time

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•  Closes Jul 18 2023Child Protection Specialist, P4, Fixed Term, Kyiv, Ukraine, #125158 in Ukraine

  The Child Protection Specialist will support government and UNICEF partners with technical, operational and programmatic support to promote their duty to uphold the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name, and family relations. The specialist will develop linkages to support services made available under UNICEF’s existing programme of cooperation in Ukraine.

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