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Job Title:  Senior Child Protection Assistant

Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Duty Station:  Uganda

About US:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCR’s mandate under the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is to lead and co-ordinate action for international protection to refugees; seek permanent solutions for the problems of refugees and safeguard refugee rights and well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate concerning issues of statelessness, as it is given a designated role under Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Job Summary:  The Senior Child Protection Assistant normally reports to a higher-grade Protection or Child Protection colleague responsible for child protection. S/he monitors child protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards and provides functional protection support to information management and programme staff.   The Senior Child Protection Assistant is expected to coordinate quality, timely and effective protection responses to the needs of populations of concern (children, women, marginalized groups) and is responsible for implementation of Best Interests Procedures for children at risk in their area of responsibility, under the guidance of the supervisor.  S/he identifies opportunities to mainstream Child Protection methodologies and integrate protection safeguards in operational responses in all sectors and liaises externally with authorities and partners on protection doctrine and policy as guided by the supervisor.  The Senior Child Protection Assistant also ensures that persons of concern under area of responsibility are involved with the Office in making decisions that affect them, whether in accessing their rights or in identifying appropriate solutions to their problems. To achieve this, the incumbent will need to build and maintain effective interfaces with communities of concern, local authorities and protection and assistance partners.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

Needs identification, Strategy and Advocacy

• Contribute to assessing child protection issues through multi-sectoral and protection specific assessments.
• Facilitate consultation with children, youth and communities to inform child protection strategy and programme activities.
• Contribute to the formulation of child protection strategy and planning.
• Ensure compliance with UNHCR’s child protection policy, priorities and commitments, as well as other aligned policies on age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP), GBV, gender equality, disability and youth empowerment.
• Undertake consultation with children, youth and communities and provide information on appropriate and meaningful approaches for their effective participation and programmatic responses on child protection issues.
• Provide input to Protection Unit to inform advocacy to address key child protection concerns.

Programme planning and implementation

• Engage children, youth and communities in the implementation of child protection activities, provide information to children, youth and communities about child protection services and monitor and report on needs and issues to inform the Operations Response.
• Conduct Best Interest Procedures for individual children at heightened risks and prepare Best Interests Determination report, when required.
• Participate in the Best Interests Procedure Case Conferences and BID panels and draft associated documentation as required.
• Implement child protection SOPS and ensure up to date and effective referral to key services.
• Store and update child’s case file in UNHCR data bases in accordance with UNHCR standards.
• Engage with children, youth and community members in identifying community-based child protection activities.
• Monitor and support appropriate care arrangements for unaccompanied and separated children and referral of children to ICRC or other relevant partners for establishment of family linkages.
• Regularly report on emerging protection issues and concerns voiced by children, youth and communities and assist in drafting reports, compiling and preparing data for the protection unit/section.
• Provide functional guidance to UNHCR and partner staff involved in child protection activities.

Partnership, coordination and capacity building

• Assist the Child Protection interagency coordination and information management activities as needed.
• Provide technical support and monitoring to child protection partners.
• Support in implementing learning activities for UNHCR and partners staff and communities.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The ideal applicant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Senior Child Protection Assistant job must For G5 – 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher
• Certificates and/or Licenses: HCR Protection Learning Prg;
• Two years of previous work experience relevant to the function of child protection in a local context and having experience in the field of child protection prevention and response, broader protection or social work involving empowerment of women and girls, gender, child protection, mental health, counselling and working with survivors, humanitarian and development issues. Skills and experience in interviewing and working with children and families.
• PR-Experience in Best Interest Procedures for children;
• PR-Interviewing and counselling refugees/asylum seekers and in individual case management;
• IT-Computer literacy;
• PR-Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS);
• Language Requirements: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

Desirable

• Experience with child protection case management. Knowledge of UNHCR child protection policies and tools including the UNHCR Best Interests Procedures Guidelines, and interagency child protection Minimum Standards, Guiding Principles and GBV case management standards.
• Knowledge of local child protection laws, policies and services.
• Knowledge and experience of participatory approaches to engage with and mobilize communities.
• Broad knowledge and understanding of displacement and protection issues including GBV, education and the application of the Age, Gender and Diversity Policy.
• Completed Protection Learning Programme.
• Experience working with marginalized groups.
• Knowledge of protection information management tools, including but not limited to proGres and/or CPIMS.

How to Apply:

All candidates should send their online applications at the link below.

Click Here

Deadline: 21^st November 2021

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