Child Protection Officer

UNICEF is responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. UNICEF Health program is designed to support national health priorities with focus on programs that will positively impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged children, such as the prevention and treatment of diseases through establishing community-level efforts and services to promote the health and well-being of children. In line with this strategy, UNICEF supports immunization and health prevention programs for childhood diseases and funding for sustainable health services. UNICEF programs have been guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which affirms the right of all children to “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health.” UNICEF is committed to realizing the rights of all children to help them build a strong foundation and have the best chance of fulfilling their potential. We believe that ensuring a happy and healthy child begins before birth: from ensuring his/her mother has access to good neonatal care and delivering in a clean, safe environment to reaching adulthood as a responsible, healthy and informed parent to the next generation. This journey relies on a child having access to shelter, good nutrition, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education.

The humanitarian situation in Sokoto and Zamfara States continues to expose children and families to multiple protection risks, including violence, abuse, exploitation, harmful practices, and psychosocial distress. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities face limited access to essential child protection, gender-based violence response, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and birth registration services. To strengthen protective systems and improve access to integrated services, UNICEF is implementing multi-sectoral child protection interventions projects though the Education and Youth Empowerment and Empowering conflict-affected displaced children with quality education, learning and skills development and child protection services in Sokoto State, and the Multisectoral Integrated Resilience Programme (MIRP) in Northwest Nigeria – Zamfara with focus on capacity strengthening of frontline workers, community-based structures, service delivery systems, accelerating Birth Registration of Under 1 children, and data management platforms. These interventions prioritize prevention and response to Violence Against Children (VAC), Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), and harmful practices while promoting adolescent empowerment and family strengthening. Under the supervision of the UNICEF Nigeria Child Protection Specialist in the Sokoto field office, and the overall supervision of the Sokoto Chief of Filed Office, and technical supervision from Child Protection Manager in Abuja, the UNV Child Protection Officer will support the strengthening of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services to children in schools through trained teachers and school administrators, thereby promoting resilience of children and adolescents affected by violence including conflict and directly and indirectly affected by school attacks and abductions to support their well-being and promote girls’ retention and transition. He/She will support the delivery of holistic, gender-transformative, and multi-sectoral prevention and response services—covering legal, health, education, and livelihood components—that address the protection concerns of children and adolescents, especially girls, in the States across the Sokoto Field office.

Under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist , the volunteer will be responsible for the following: 1. Support Strengthening Mental Health and Psychosocial Services (MHPSS) for Children - Provide support for the implementation of Training of Trainers (ToT) on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) for teachers and planning of cascade trainings across 55 targeted schools across Goronyo, Rabah, Tureta, Gada, Tangaza, Gwadabawa, Kebbe, Sabon Biri, Yabo, Isa Tambuwal and Wurno LGAS in Sokoto State. - Support establishment and operationalization of Child Help Desks and Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS) in targeted schools. - Provide support to implementing partners for strengthening capacity of Child Desk focal points and School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) to provide community-based psychosocial support, referral to existing services within the community and document services using CPIMS. - Support implementation of interventions aimed at preventing and responding to Violence Against Children (VAC), abuse, exploitation, and harmful practices in school and across LGAs of Intervention across Sokoto Field office. - Support implementing partners for the provision of case management services and psychosocial support to survivors. - Support implementing partners for the integration of gender, adolescent engagement, PSEA, SBC, and cross-sectoral programming into child protection interventions. 2. Support Capacity Strengthening of Social Service Workforce - Provide technical support and orientation to implementing partners in conducting training and mentoring of auxiliary social service workforce and community-based child protection structures. - Provide technical support and follow up of the capacity building of frontline workers to deliver case management and community-based MHPSS services. - Support the implementation of referral pathways and dissemination across service points and community structures. 3. Support Strengthening Birth Registration Services for under 1 Children - Provide technical support and guidance to improve birth registration services for children under one year across Sokoto FO and specifically in IDP camps and host communities. - Support training of ALGON members, health personnel, and National Population Commission staff at ward levels. - Contribute to the mobilization and involvement of the Child Protection Community-based structures members in accessing birth registration for children under one. 4. Support Strengthening Community Engagement and Prevention Programming - Support implementing partners in the rolling out of social and behaviour change strategies addressing harmful norms and practices, including community dialogues involving religious, cultural, and traditional leaders. - Provide technical support to implementing partners for the support to positive parenting programmes targeting at least 2,500 families. - Support adolescent engagement initiatives and advocacy platforms. 5. Monitoring, Reporting and Data Management - Support programme monitoring through field visits, partner engagement, and documentation of results, including contribution to the development and use of harmonized tools for data collection and reporting. - Contribute to the Child Protection Annual Workplan monitoring and as well Office Annual Management Plan indicators. - Support consolidation and analysis of programme data for internal and external reporting. 6. Partnership and Coordination - Provide support to the government counterparts, implementing partners and stakeholders in improving coordination of intervention at state and community levels. - Contribute to the knowledge management, documentation of best practices, and lesson learning.