Organization: UN Children's Fund
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Closing date:
12 Feb 2017if 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 PositionThe Chief, Child Protection Section reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. The Chief is responsible for managing and leading all stages of child protection programs/projects from strategic planning and formulation to achieve a concrete and sustainable UNICEF contribution to national and international efforts to create a protective environment, where girls and boys are free from violence, exploitation and abuse, and unnecessary separation from family; and where laws, services, behaviors and practices minimize children's vulnerability, address known risk factors, and strengthen children's own resilience.
The Chief, Child Protection Section is responsible for leading and managing as well as establishing the plans of action to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results in programs/projects according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF's Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.
Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks
1. Managerial leadership
Establish the Section's Annual Work Plan with the child protection team; set priorities/targets and performance measurement indicators. Monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance to enable the team to perform their duties responsibly and efficiently.Plan and ensure timely performance management and assessment of the team.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.2. Program development and planning
Lead/support in the planning, development and update of situation analyses to ensure that current comprehensive and evidence-based data on child protection issues are available to guide UNICEF's strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection and to set program priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans.Keep abreast of national/regional/international development priorities on child protection and rights to leverage UNICEF's position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate/promote child protection interventions and policies and social change to achieve goals on child's right, protection, survival and well-being as productive members of society.Lead, coordinate and supervise the development of child protection programs/projects (as a full component of the country programme of cooperation). Establish plans of action, program goals and results, using results-based planning methodology and terminology (RBM).Oversee the timely preparation of program recommendation and related documentation for inclusion in the Country Program Document ensuring alignment with the UNDAF, the overall UNICEF's Strategic (Child Protection) Plans, regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.Consult and collaborate with national/global colleagues/partners/allies to develop a partnerships framework to address specific needs and to leverage resources for enhancing/scaling up child protection programs/projects. Ensure synergies, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programs/projects with UNICEF Strategic Plans and priorities, donors' development strategies/policies, national priorities/competencies and UN System development interventions/initiatives.Ensure emergency preparedness is contained in national programs/projects to ensure the protection and well-being of children in cases of armed conflict and natural disasters and other emergency situations.3. Program management, monitoring and quality control of results
Coordinate, plan and/or collaborate with monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results in child protection programs.Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action/interventions to achieve results.Assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.Monitor programs/projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.Plan, approve, monitor and control the use of program resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) certifying/verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.Submit program/project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed of program progress and critical issues.4. 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 and to support social/economic/political/legal development planning, implementation and delivery of results on child protection, human rights and other related issues.Coordinate/ensure the availability of technical experts (with Regional Office/HQ) to ensure timely support throughout all stages of programming/project processes.Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating poverty and all forms of discrimination against women/children by advising on and advocating strategies and approaches to promote/catalyze social changes for preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and abuse.Lead in country discussions on child protection emergency preparedness, programming and contingency planning to ensure proactive and appropriate responses are in place to meet the onset of emergencies nationally or other designated locations.5. 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, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes and the private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on child protection.Develop communication strategies and implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances for sustainable results and support fund raising for UNICEF and Country Office child protection programs and emergency interventions.Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency discussions and forums on child protection and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered. Collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF planning and preparation of programs/projects including emergency preparedness.Liaise with MONUSCO Child Protection on issues of common interest and responsibility (e.g. MRM, MARA, DDR, etc.)6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
Promote critical thinking and innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable child protection programs/projects 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. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.Lead and/or develop policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programs and projects.Lead/plan/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on child protection and related programs/projects.Qualifications of a Successful Candidate
An Advanced University Degree (Master's) in International Development, Human Rights, Psychology, Sociology, International Law or other social science field is required. A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant, professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection and/other related areas, at the national and international level, some of which preferably were served in a developing country is required.
Relevant work experience in child protection and related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts are an added advantage.Fluency in English and French (written and oral) are required. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) is considered an asset.Competencies of a Successful Candidate
Core Values
CommitmentDiversity and InclusionIntegrityCore competencies
Communication - Level IIIWorking with People- Level IIIDrive for Results- Level IIIFunctional Competencies
Leading and supervising- Level IIIFormulating strategies/concepts- Level IIIAnalyzing- Level IIIRelating and networking- Level IIIDeciding and initiating action- Level IIIPersuading and influencing- Level IITo view our competency framework, please click here.RemarksThis is an extension of the application deadline in order to expand the candidate pool. Previous applicants need not reapply as their original application will be duly considered.
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 organisation.
How to apply: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. To apply, click on the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=496654