L’UNICEF recrute un Responsable de la protection des enfants dans l’action humanitaire, Kinshasa, RDC

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’s fundamental mission is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organisation does – in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, which focuses on the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have the opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the extent that a child has an unequal chance in life – in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions – his or her rights are violated. It is increasingly clear that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens – by tackling inequalities – will not only give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but will also lead to sustained growth and stability in countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards the realization of the human rights of all children, which is UNICEF’s universal mandate, as defined by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, by supporting the equitable development of nations.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), UNICEF has been working since 1963 to ensure that the rights of every child are respected. The Democratic Republic of Congo is recognised as one of the countries in which children are subjected to the greatest atrocities. Access to essential services is very limited and children are subjected to widespread exploitation and abuse, including recruitment into armed groups, forced labor, sexual abuse and abandonment.

On June 16 2023, UNICEF Executive Director activated a Level 3 (L3) Corporate Emergency Activation Procedure (CEAP) Scale-up for the eastern DRC for a period of six months, from 15 June to 14 December 2023 in order to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Eastern DRC, and notably in North Kivu, Ituri and South Kivu. On 16 June, the Emergency Relief Coordinator and IASC Chair also activated a humanitarian systemwide Scale-Up to urgently address the scale of unmet needs in eastern DRC with a with a particular emphasis on the protection/GBV, health outbreak, nutrition, and food security.

The alarming levels of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as the increasing number of grave violations against children are at the heart of UNICEF’s response to the crisis.

UNICEF in the DRC is therefore urgently looking for a Child Protection in Humanitarian Action Manager (TA) to reinforce its capacities to coordinate its scaled-up Child Protection and GBViE response and notably strategic programme design, implementation and coordination within the framework of the L3 activation for a period of three to six months.

How can you make a difference?

The Child Protection Manager in Humanitarian Action works with Chief of Child Protection at L5 level based in Kinshasa. The current Child Protection programme has an output specific to the protection of children in humanitarian situations across the country. The manager will specifically assist in the management of child protection programmes in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri within the framework of the L3 CEAP activation.

1. Purpose for the Job:

The Child Protection Manager is responsible for managing and overseeing the development, implementation and monitoring of emergency preparedness and responses in the Country Offices, in fulfilment of UNICEF global commitments for child protection within the Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) and in line with Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action.

This includes resource management for CPHA (financial, personnel and goods), technical support, quality oversight and leadership in key CPHA programme response to support field offices and partners to plan and implement child protection responses in emergencies, and to strengthen the child protection capacities of UNICEF and partners, notably within the L3 activation period.

The CPHA manager is also expected to promote linkages within the Child Protection Section and with other sections, particularly education, health, nutrition, SBC among others. The CPHA Manager will also be responsible to engage external partners such as CP AoR, Protection cluster, and other strategic partnerships.

2. Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

1. Managerial leadership

• •  Establish the annual work plan with the child protection team working under child protection in emergencies; set priorities/targets and performance measurements. 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. Programme development and planning

• •  Provide technical advice and operational support to the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis to ensure that current and comprehensive evidence-based data on child protection issues is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection, and to set programme priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans.
  •  Keep abreast of national, regional and international development priorities on child protection and rights to leverage UNICEF’s position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate and promote child protection interventions, policies and social change to achieve goals on child’s rights, protection, survival and wellbeing, as productive members of society.
  •  Supervise the development of child protection programmes/projects (as a full component of the CO and/or UNSDCF programmes). Establish plans of action, programme goals and results, using results-based planning methodology and terminology (RBM).
  •  Guide and coordinate the timely preparation of programme recommendations and related documentation for inclusion in the Country Office Programme recommendation ensuring alignment with overall UNICEF Strategic (Child Protection) Plans, regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
  •  Collaborate with national and global colleagues, partners and allies to develop partnership frameworks to address specific needs and to leverage resources for enhancing and scaling up child protection programmes/projects. Ensure synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes/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 programmes/projects to ensure the protection and well-being of children in cases of armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergency situations.

3. Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results  

• • Plan and collaborate on monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results in child protection programmes.
  •  Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action and interventions to achieve results.
  •  Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths, and/or weaknesses in programme management. Identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
  •  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.
  •  Plan, approve, monitor, certify, and control the use of programme 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 and prepare programme/project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme 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, support social/economic/political/legal development planning & implementation, and to support delivery of results on child protection, human rights and other related issues.
  •  Coordinate and 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 and catalyze social changes for a protective environment for children.
  •  Lead in country discussions on child protection emergency preparedness, programming and contingency planning to ensure proactive and appropriate responses are in place to meet onset of emergencies nationally, or in other designated locations.

5. Networking, coordination, 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 private sector to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on child protection.
  • Prepare communication strategies and implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances for sustainable results and support fund raising for UNICEF and Country Office child protection programmes and emergency interventions.
  • Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency discussions (CP AOR, Protection Cluster and associated WG/TFs) and planning on child protection in emergencies response and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNSDCF process in development planning and agenda setting. Collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNSDCF planning and preparation of programmes/projects including emergency preparedness.

6. Web development

• • 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. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
  • Contribute to the development of policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
  • Organize, plan and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders to promote sustainable results on child protection and related programmes/projects.

3. Impact of Results:

The CP manager will contribute to diversifying and strengthening child protection in humanitarian action and armed conflict in line with the CCCs, global standards and UNICEF/UN humanitarian policy.

Positioning child protection in humanitarian preparedness, planning and response along with strong quality assurance and accurate reporting is critical part of the impact.

The CP manager will lead the evidence generation agenda comprising: (i) child protection specific humanitarian needs overviews (ii) reviews, and evaluations with focus on what works at scale and makes an impact on the lives of children (iii) real time monitoring. It is important that any CPHA response will contribute to child protection system strengthening

The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of child protection programmes/projects is expected to create a protective environment for children against harm and all forms of violence and ensures their survival, development and well-being in society.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
• Professional experience:
  • A minimum of eight years of professional experience in child protection in the context of emergencies, children affected by armed conflict and displacement at international level is required
  • Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
  • Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Langage: Fluency in French and English is required. Fluency in a local language ( i.e Swahili) is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

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, are expected to declare any disciplinary measures or criminal sanctions relating to sexual misconduct or harm to children prior to taking up service. They shall sign a code of conduct upon arrival and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

[If Applicable] Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply!!!