UNICEF recruits 01 Child Protection Manager
Child Protection Manager, (NO-4), Bissau, Guinea Bissau, # 17832
Job Number: 521248 | Vacancy Link
Locations: Africa: Guinea-Bissau
Work Type : Fixed Term Appointment
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, protection
UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children’s rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world. To learn more about UNICEF, visit www.unicef.org.
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a Portuguese-speaking country located in West Africa. The country covers an area of 36,125 km2, (of which 8,120 km² are sea including 90 islands and islets in the Atlantic); it is bounded to the north by Senegal and to the east and south by Guinea-Conakry. Guinea Bissau’s population is estimated at 1.7 million inhabitants (HDR 2016). Women make up 51.5% of the total population. 28% of the population resides in the autonomous sector of Bissau. Guinea-Bissau remains one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 177 out of 189 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index in 2017. Children continue to face enormous challenges. The country is among the 15 countries with the highest under-five mortality in the world and among the 10 countries reporting the highest neonatal mortality globally. The net school attendance ratio is only 62% (same for boys and girls), leaving many children behind. Food insecurity is a recurrent threat for a part of the population and close to a third of children are stunted (27.6%). Women and girls in Guinea-Bissau are even more vulnerable, with less adolescent girls accessing education compared to boys: literacy rates that are as low as 50.5% for women aged 15-24 compared to 70.4% for men of the same age cohort . Female Genital Mutilation and child marriage remain a widespread practice, with high social acceptance.
According to the 2018 Fragile State Index, Guinea-Bissau is ranked as the third most Fragile State in West Africa, after Guinea and Nigeria. The main factors of fragility emphasized were fractionalized elites, lack of state legitimacy and deficient public services. The country also faces high economic inequalities and demographic pressures.
How can you make a difference?
The Child Protection Manager in UNICEF Guinea Bissau reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. He / She is responsible for managing and supervising all stages of child protection programmes/projects from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable contributions to national and international efforts to create a protective environment for children against all harm and to protect their rights to survival, development and well-being, as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/frameworks and UN intergovernmental bodies.
The Child Protection Manager is responsible for establishing the plans of action and overseeing work progress to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable programme/project results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.
Major duties and responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative, the Child Protection Manager will:
Managerial leadership
Establish the section’s annual work plan with the child protection team; set priorities/targets and performance measurements.
Supervise team members by providing them with clear objectives and goals, direction and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
Programme development and planning
Provide technical advice and operational support to the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis. Supervise the development of child protection programmes /projects (as a full component of the CO and/or UNDAF programmes).
Collaborate with national and global colleagues, partners and allies to develop partnership frameworks to address specific needs and to leverage resources for children.
Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results
Monitor programmes/projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems.
Take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
Submit and prepare programme/project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme progress and critical issues.
Advisory services and technical support
Provide technical advice to key government officials, NGO, UN system and other country office partners on strategies and best practices to influence approaches/policies.
 Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating poverty and all forms of discrimination against women/children.
Advocacy, networking and partnership building
Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local/national governments, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions.
Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on child protection and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered.
Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable child protection programme / project initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce, and implement best and cutting-edge practices on child protection management and information systems.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:
An advanced university degree (Masters level) in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
A minimum of eight years of professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection related areas, at the international level, is required.
Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or an international development organization is considered as an asset.
Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
Prior experience in leading and supervising teams is required
Fluency in English and Portuguese is required. Knowledge of French is considered as an asset.
For every Child, you demonstrate:
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
The technical competencies required for this post are:
Leading and supervising (I)
Formulating strategies/concepts (II)
Analyzing (III)
Relating and networking (II)
Deciding and initiating action (II)
Applying Technical Expertise (III)
View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
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.
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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks:
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.
Closing Date Wed May 01 2019 00:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)