Consultant – UNICEF-UNHCR joint approach to National Child Protection Systems Strengthening. Req#571861

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Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Consultant – UNICEF-UNHCR joint approach to National Child Protection Systems Strengthening

Section/Division/Duty Station: Child Protection Section – PG – NYHQ

Duration: 3 June 2024 – 30 June 2026

Home/ office Based: REMOTE

About UNICEF

If 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. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

In line with UNICEF – UNHCR Strategic Collaboration Framework, the agencies’ respective HQ child protection teams have agreed to a joint approach to national child protection system strengthening and joint specific objectives, including:

• Technical support on high impact interventions towards refugee children inclusion and strengthening specific elements of national child protection systems.
• Strategic policy advocacy initiatives to advance South to South learning, promote experience sharing amongst key government and civil society stakeholders.
• Learning products to accelerate inclusion through investments in key programmatic and advocacy guidance on social service workforce ratios and costing, national and agencies social and child protection workforces’ capacity strengthening.

This approach is supported by PROSPECTS 2 (2024-2027), a multi-year programme financed by the Government of the Netherlands and first launched in 2019 which brings together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), ILO, UNHCR, UNICEF, and the World Bank to test and scale new approaches to forced displacement in eight hosting countries in the Middle East and North Africa, East Africa, and the Horn of Africa regions – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda. 

PROSPECTS aims to shift the paradigm from a humanitarian to a development approach in responding to forced displacement crises, by bringing together development and humanitarian actors, governments, the private sector, and forcibly displaced persons and host communities themselves meaningfully engaged as partners in designing and implementing solutions.  Pillar three of PROSPECTS 2 specifically supports the UNICEF-UNHCR agreed to a joint approach focused on the inclusion of all children in national child protection system.

Scope of Work:

As per UNICEF commitment to the donor, the Dutch MoFA, the consultant supports the joint UNICEF – UNHCR child protection program planned under Pillar three of PROSPECTS 2. More specifically s/he will contribute to the joint technical support on high impact interventions and joint strategic policy advocacy initiatives objectives. S/he also supports UNICEF HQ child protection team regarding the Joint learning products to accelerate inclusion. Finally, s/he supports interagency coordination and reporting components of the joint program. 

The consultant S/he is formally supervised by the UNICEF HQ Child Protection Specialist, Child Protection Systems Strengthening and Care, under the overall supervision of the Senior Advisor Child Protection (Child Protection System Strengthening). S/he supports the operationalization of the PROSPECTS program in close collaboration with both UNICEF HQ child protection teams in humanitarian action senior advisor, and UNHCR HQ child protection team. 

The consultant plays a crucial role in ensuring effective coordination of the global initiative, fostering coherence and synergies between the different streams of work with support from global and regional UNICEF and UNHCR team members.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

1. Inception report – By 30 June 2024
2. 6 PROSPECT Planning and Reporting meetings organized, and meeting minutes finalized and shared. 3 meetings by 30 April 2025 and 3 meetings by 30 April 2026
3. 8 PROSPECTS country office reports, including budget reviews, completed on a quarterly basis. By 31 July 2024, 31 October 2024, 31 January 2025, 30 April 2025, 31 July 2025, 31 October 2025, 31 January 2026 and by 30 April 2026 respectively.
4. 10–15-page report summarizing promising practices on new approaches to forced displacement in 8 PROSPECTS countries. – By 31 March 2025

PPT summarizing promising practices on new approaches to forced displacement in 8 PROSPECTS countries. – By 31 March 2025

5. Regional workshop implemented with key stakeholders and workshop report finalized (10 pages max). Workshop 1: by 30 June 2025 and Workshop 2: by 30 April 2026
6. Global workshop implemented with key stakeholders and workshop report finalized (15 pages max). – By 30 April 2026
7. 4 thematic technical meetings/calls organized, and meeting minutes finalized and shared. Thematic call 1: by 30 September 2024, Thematic call 2: by 31 March 2025, Thematic call 3: by 30 September 2025 and Thematic call 4: by 31 March 2026
8. Learning product 1: Technical Brief on investments in SSW in refugee hosting communities. – By 31 August 2024.

Learning product 2: Study on cross-border case management. – By 31 December 2024

9. A central repository accessible to UNICEF and UNHCR is updated with all PROSPECTS documents, work products and materials. – By 31 May 2025 and By 30 June 2026.
10. 2 Regional Workshop. – By 31 June 2025/31 May 2026

1 Global Workshop. – By 30 June 2026

Qualifications

Education:

An advanced master’s degree level.

Enter Disciplines: Social work, forced displacement, migration, law, social development, international development, social science, and other related disciplines.

Work experience:

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience with UNICEF, IOM, UNHCR and/or other relevant actors, including experience with child protection programming on national system strengthening, migration and or humanitarian contexts.
• Experience in communication, program reporting, fund raising, programme monitoring and evaluation, ideally with international or child rights organizations.

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Advanced ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in written and oral form; specific skills in report writing and editing.
• Ability to work in an international and multicultural environment.
• Good interpersonal skills, and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations within a team, across teams and organizations.
• Proven ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Knowledge of UNICEF’s core commitments to children in humanitarian action, key international standards and guidelines related to child protection in humanitarian action, as well as the humanitarian cluster approach and refugee coordination model.

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability.
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

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

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. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.