Child Protection Specialist (Harmful Practice) at UNICEF

The Child Protection Specialist (Harmful Practices) will serve under the direct supervision of the Chief of Field Office in Lagos. This function will work within the context of supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, UNICEF Strategic Plan, UNICEF Gender Action Plan, UNICEF Child Protection Strategy and the Country Programme (or UNDAF). Under the UN Joint Programme on the elimination of FGM, in close collaboration with UNFPA and other UNICEF sections in the Lagos field office (SBC, health, education and social policy), the incumbent will coordinate the implementation of the FGM programme in the Southwest region, will develop partnerships and contribute to the overall work of the Child Protection section to end all forms of violence against children, particularly girls, in region. The implementation of the programme will be scaled-up in the States where the Joint Programme is currently active (Oyo, Ekiti and Osun) and will be expanded to new hotspots identified in the latest MICS 2021 as priority states to end FGM for children 0-14 (Kwara, Ondo, and Edo).  The Child Protection Specialist (based in Lagos field office) will work closely with the Child Protection Specialist (Harmful Practices) and the Child Protection Chief of Section based in Abuja to ensure that the aims and approaches to create the conditions to prevent violence against women and girls and harmful practices at the individual,  community/organizational and societal level, and strengthen access to services with a survivor-centric approach in line with the overall UN Joint Programme.

How can you make a difference? 

The Child Protection Specialist reports to the Chief of field Office for general supervision and operational guidance and to the Chief of Child Protection and the Child Protection Specialist (Harmful Practices) for technical implementation of the programme. The CP Specialist is responsible for the management, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of the child protection programme within the country programme with a particular focus on the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the elimination of FGM. This also includes the provision of support to the implementation of the Child Protection programme(s) as it relates to System Strengthening (including data management, community structure and social welfare workforce strengthening, justice for children and birth registration). This role requires a strong background and professional experience in gender and social norms change, in addition to child protection interventions.   H/She facilitates the administration and achievement 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 wellbeing as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/frameworks and UN intergovernmental bodies.

The CP Specialist contributes to the achievement of results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• Support child protection system programme planning and implementation.
• Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results on harmful practices.
• Networking and partnership building on harmful practices, including with traditional/religious leaders and women and youth-led groups, to scale-up the Movement for Good to end FGM in Nigeria.
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building.

Education:

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields: international development, gender, social norms, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or any relevant social science field as it relates to harmful practices and gender issues.

Experience: 

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection and gender related areas is required.
• At least five years of relevant professional experience with demonstrated track record of having harmful undertaken and led evidence-based programming on child protection, gender, social norms or harmful practices, with a cross-sectoral and adolescent girl focus.
• Experience working on community engagement programmes is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection and gender related areas in the UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Experience in research and analysis, and especially monitoring and evaluation on gender, adolescents, and harmful practices.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is considered as an added advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset