Key duties and responsibilities

Managerial leadership

• Provide advice to the RACP in establishing the annual work plan including developing strategies and determining priorities/targets and performance measurements for ending harmful practices and violence against boys, girls and women. Coordinate work progress monitoring and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards and report to RACP critical issues for timely action.
• Provide technical assistance/advice to the 21 country offices on all aspects of programming and implementation to enable country offices to achieve program/performance objectives.
• Any other related duties as requested by the RACP.

Programme development and planning

• Plan and/or provide technical assistance and operational support to the preparation/design and conduct/update of situation analysis to ensure that current comprehensive and evidence-based data on child protection issues are available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection and to set program priorities, strategies, design and implementation plans.
• Keep abreast of national/ regional /international development priorities on child protection and rights to enhance program management and delivery related to ending harmful practices (child marriage and female genital mutilation) and ending violence against boys, girls and women.
• Participate in strategic program discussion on the planning of child protection programs/projects. Formulate, design and prepare programs/projects proposal for the ending harmful practices, ensuring alignment with the overall UNICEF’s Strategic Plans Regional and Country Program and coherence/integration with UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDF), regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
• Establish specific goals, objectives and strategies and implementation plans for the ending harmful practices portfolio using on results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare required documentations for program review and approval.
• Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.
• Provide authoritative technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes to ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of programs/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.

Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results

• Plan and/or collaborate with monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results for the ending harmful practices portfolio.
• Provide technical expertise to monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action/interventions to achieve results.
• Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
•  Monitor programs/projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
•  Plan, monitor and control the use of program 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/prepare program/project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on program progress and critical issues.

Advisory services and technical support

• Provide technical advice to key regional bodies, INGO, UN system and other country office partners on policies, strategies, best practices and approaches on ending harmful practices and violence against boys, girls and women.
• Coordinate/ensure the availability of technical experts (with HQ and RO) to ensure timely support throughout all stages of programming/project processes and integration of the sectoral programme with other sectors.
• Participate in strategic discussions to influence policy and agenda setting for combating poverty and all forms of discrimination against adolescent girls / women / children by advising on and advocating strategies and approaches to promote/catalyze social changes for a protective environment for child survival, development and well-being in society.
• Prepare policy papers, briefs and other strategic program materials for management use, information and consideration.
• Participate in regional discussions on child protection emergency preparedness, programming and contingency planning to ensure proactive and appropriate response are in place to meet onset of emergencies regionally.

Additionally, other activities and responsibilities related to Advocacy, networking and partnership building and Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building will be required

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law or other social science field is required.
• A minimum of eight of relevant professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection is required and any other related areas at the international level some of which preferably were served in a developing country is required.
• Experience with programming to end child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and violence against boys, girls and women is required.
• Relevant experience in child protection and related areas, program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset. Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or Portuguese is an asset.