Child Protection Officer

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress. UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a "first call for children" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families. UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children – victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities. UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the Organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing 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 an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give more children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations. The UNICEF child protection programme in Angola works combines policy advocacy with field interventions that ensure immediate and long-term results for children. The Child Protection program pivots essentially around the prevention and response to violence against children, especially girls, and birth registration. Furthermore, the programme seeks synergies with other program areas, in particular social policy, through decentralization of social services, and by mainstreaming violence prevention in health, education and early childhood development programs. The UNV Child Protection Officer will assist the UNICEF child protection section with the implementation of interventions on the strengthening of birth registration services and the child protection system to prevent and respond to cases of violence against children within the country programme for Angola. The main purpose of this assignment is to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal 16.2 (SDG target 16.2 “end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children”) and 16.9 (“by 2030 provide legal identity for all including free birth registrations”).

The objective of this assignment is to contribute to strengthening UNICEF’s commitment to reduce the risk of violence in children's lives and provide effective responses for child survivors of violence in Angola, particularly girls. The UNV Child Protection Officer will assist the Child Protection section with the implementation of interventions that aim to support the effort of the government of Angola in strengthening its child protection system. Under direct supervisor of the Chief Child Protection, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: a) Support to program development and planning Participate in strategic and programmatic discussions on the planning, implementation and monitoring of the child protection programme in Angola. Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral program goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of child protection and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting. Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming pro-cesses by executing/administering a variety of technical, program, operational and administrative transactions, preparing related materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support program planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results. Prepare required program documentations/materials/data to facilitate the program review and approval process. Knowledge management: collecting data on child protection, identifying, organizing, storing and disseminating information related to the programme. b) Technical and operational support to program implementation Provide technical and operational support to colleagues and partners to ensure smooth implementation of the Child Protection Programme in Angola with a focus on the following two outcomes: Scaling-up the registration of children under the age of five through the strengthening of the legal identity agenda in Angola, including for children with disability and other vulnerabilities. This stream of work will require for the UNV to work closely with the government agency in charge of birth registration to set up a coordination mechanism, undertake a thorough situation analysis and support government efforts in developing a roadmap for birth registration and improving its integration in health care and education programmes. Violence against children: supporting evidence generation efforts; developing programmes that address social norms related to violence, particularly as it relates to children and caregivers with disability, and overseeing the development of programmes related to mental health and psycho-social support. Conduct regular program field visits and surveys and/or exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support, take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks, and potential problems for timely action to achieve results. Provide training and technical support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, and best practices on child protection. c) Networking, resource mobilization and reporting Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate program implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on child protection. Ensure timely and accurate preparation of donors’ reports. Support the section to prepare and consolidate their contribution to the country office annual report. Under the guidance/supervision of the CP Section Chief, develop and prepare fund-raising/donor proposals in line with the Country Office fundraising strategy. This includes coordination with programme colleagues, gathering, compiling and consolidating information as well as writing/editing proposals and preparing proposals for management review/clearance as per country office standard operating procedures. Write, produce and edit human interest stories for dissemination including for donor reporting requirements as well as social media.