Child Protection Officer

Mission and objectivesAbout us United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future. UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. It is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in 191 countries through country programmes and National Committees. What We Do UNICEF works to protect the rights of every child in South Sudan

Context UNICEF’s programming in South Sudan focuses on addressing urgent humanitarian needs while strengthening fragile national systems. Core priorities include child protection, education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and social protection. UNICEF supports vaccination campaigns, treatment for malnutrition, and safe water access, while advocating for children’s rights and equity. In child protection, efforts target family tracing, reintegration of children released from armed groups, and care for survivors of violence. UNICEF also expands access to education, particularly for displaced and marginalized children. Through emergency response and long-term systems building, UNICEF remains a critical actor for children’s survival, protection, and development. UNICEF is committed to support humanitarian coordination through the cluster approach. Introduced as part of the humanitarian reform, the cluster approach, aims at ensuring clear leadership, predictability and accountability in international responses to humanitarian emergencies by clarifying the division of labor among organizations and better defining their roles and responsibilities within the different sectors involved in the response. As a member of the IASC, UNICEF work along with national and local stakeholders (including national and local authorities, CSOs, and communities) to support humanitarian coordination and to improve the collective impact of humanitarian response. Whether the cluster approach is activated or not, UNICEF plays a key role in both global and country-level interagency coordination for its areas of programmatic responsibility. As Cluster Lead Agency (CLA) for Nutrition, WASH, CP (co-led), and Child Protection Area of Responsibility (AoR) within the Protection Cluster, UNICEF is committed to fulfil the core functions defined by the IASC when the clusters are activated or when UNICEF is asked to support sectoral coordination. Humanitarian action is of fundamental importance to UNICEF and encompasses interventions aimed at saving lives, alleviating suffering, maintaining human dignity, and protecting the rights of affected populations wherever there are humanitarian needs, as well as interventions addressing underlying risks and causes of vulnerability to disasters, fragility and conflict. UNICEF’s humanitarian action is guided by the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs) which set organizational, programmatic and operational commitments and benchmarks against which UNICEF holds itself accountable for the coverage, quality and equity of its humanitarian action and advocacy and which are mandatory for all UNICEF personnel.

Task DescriptionWithin the delegated authority and under the supervision of Child Protection Specialist or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will fill the role of Child Protection Officer, Bentiu and will: report to the Child Protection Specialist for technical supervision and the Chief of Field Office (CFO) Bentiu for day-to-day supervision. The Child Protection Officer provides professional technical, operational, and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for child protection programs/projects within the Country Programme from development planning to delivery of results. H/She prepares, executes, manages, and implements a variety of technical and administrative program tasks to facilitate program development, implementation, program progress monitoring, evaluating, and reporting. The Child Protection Officer will be roving within Unity State. Key Tasks and Responsibilities 1. Support to programme development and planning • Conduct and update the situation analysis for the development, design and management of child protection 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 child protection and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting. • Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming 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 documentation, materials and data to facilitate the programme review and approval process. 2. 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. • 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 and operational support to strengthen and scale up UNICEF Child Protection Provide technical and operational support to UNICEF implementing partners and counterparts for improved CP service delivery. • Provide support to the CP Area of Responsibility in support of UNICEF’s role. • Support the operationalization of the sectoral and UNICEF plan on MHPSS; GBV prevention and response; identification, family tracing, reunification, and reintegration of UASC and other vulnerable children and adolescents. • Provide technical and operational support to monitor and report grave child rights violations and support programs for victim assistance and reintegration of child survivors. • Support professionalization of the social workforce in support of improved case management, effective community mobilisation and timely and quality response. • Contribute to emergency coordination and represent UNICEF in the cluster and inter-cluster coordination mechanisms. • Support the establishment and implementation of youth reintegration and diversion programming. 3. Networking and partnership building • Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on child protection. • Participate in inter-agency meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of child protection programmes/projects, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with UNDAF development and planning processes. • Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes. • Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for child protection programmes. 4. 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. • Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the fol Results/expected outputs: • As an active UNICEF team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: 1. Evidence-Based Child Protection Programme Design and Planning • Updated situation analyses and research reports produced to inform child protection priorities. • Sectoral programme goals, objectives, and strategies developed using RBM, with programme documents prepared for review and approval. 2. Effective Programme Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting • Regular monitoring, evaluation, and programme reviews conducted, with lessons learned documented and applied. • Compliance with financial/resource management ensured, and high-quality progress reports delivered to management, donors, and partners. • Technical and operational support provided to strengthen CP service delivery, including MHPSS, GBV, UASC/FTR, youth reintegration, and case management. 3. Strengthened Partnerships, Capacity, and Knowledge Sharing • Government and stakeholder partnerships built and sustained through coordination, joint planning, and inter-agency engagement. • Resource mobilization supported through donor briefs, advocacy materials, and fundraising inputs. • Capacity-building initiatives and knowledge products developed to professionalize the social workforce and promote good practices. • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed

Competencies and valuesThe competencies required for this post are: Core Values • Care • Respect • Integrity • Trust • Accountability • Sustainability Core Competencies (For Staff without Supervisory Responsibilities) * • 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) • Professionalism • Integrity • Teamwork and respect for diversity • Commitment to continuous learning • Planning and organizing • Communication • Flexibility • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards [Insert name of Host Agency]’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values

Living conditions and remarksThis is a National Volunteer assignment the volunteer is responsible for their accommodation.