The Ugandan Jobline

Job Title: Child Protection Officer

Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Duty Station:  Kampala, 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 Child Protection Officer is a member of the protection team in a Country or Sub-Office. S/he may report to a Senior Child Protection Officer, Senior (Community-Based) Protection Officer, Head of Sub-Office or to the Assistant Representative for Protection. In smaller Offices, the post may report directly to the Representative. The incumbent has direct supervisory responsibility for child protection staff. S/he provides functional child protection oversight to information management and programme staff. The incumbent works directly with communities and children of concern to identify the risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their families and communities. The incumbent also acts as an advisor to senior management in designing a child protection strategy that fits within the broader Protection and Solutions Strategy by ensuring that it is based on consultation with persons of concern, including children, adolescents and youth. The incumbent plans and undertakes quality, timely and effective child protection responses in line with UNHCR’s Framework for Child Protection, in an age, gender and diversity inclusive manner.

The Child Protection Officer will maintain a close working relationship with the Bureau and the Division of International Protection for system-wide coherence.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Needs Identification, Strategy and Advocacy

• Support timely assessment, monitoring, reporting of child protection issues including through multi-sectoral and protection specific assessments and monitoring including the meaningful participation of children, adolescents and youth and lead the analysis of child protection related findings.
• Monitor the implementation of UNHCR’s Child Protection strategy within the overall Protection and Solutions strategy.
• 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.
• In collaboration with partners, assess the capacity of national child protection system and services, work towards the inclusion of children of concern into national child protection laws, policies and services and build the capacity of the national child protection system to provide quality support to children of concern.
• Oversee child protection data and evidence collection, analysis and dissemination within UNHCR and partners.
• Support the participation of children, adolescents and youth of concern to inform protection and assistance programming, support their engagement in protection solutions and ensure that UNHCR meets its commitments to accountability to children, adolescents and youth of concern.
• Ensure that existing protection monitoring mechanisms adequately capture protection risks facing children, adolescents and youth.
• Support evidence-based advocacy with UNHCR senior management, authorities and other actors on child protection.

Programme planning and implementation

• Design and monitor the implementation of UNHCR’s child protection programme, including multi-sectoral activities to address the protection needs of children of concern.
• Establish/enhance and oversee Best Interests Procedures for children at risk including referral systems, follow-up and monitoring in line with UNHCR Best Interests Procedures Guidelines.
• Establish/update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for child protection services in collaboration with partners.
• Ensure UNHCR and partners’ child protection information management systems are functioning in accordance with UNHCR’s Policy and procedure as well as interagency data sharing protocols and standards.
• Strengthen community-based child protection programmes and approaches in collaboration with communities and community-based protection colleagues.
• In collaboration with UNHCR colleagues, ensure that UNHCR procedures, including registration, refugee status determination, solutions and accountability mechanisms are child-friendly and are in line with AGD approach.
• Provide technical support to UNHCR colleagues to effectively mainstream child protection in UNHCR’s overall response.
• Monitor and refine child protection programs implemented by UNHCR and partners.
• Support the integration of child protection in the operation’s planning, reporting, communication and fund raising.
• Provide functional guidance to UNHCR and partner staff involved in child protection activities.
• Advise UNHCR programme and senior management to ensure that the necessary human and financial resources are allocated to protect children of concern.

Partnership and coordination

• Establish and/or strengthen partnerships for Child Protection with community-based, local, national, and international organizations, with a focus on ensuring continuity and sustainability.
• Establish, strengthen and where appropriate lead Child Protection coordination mechanisms, within the broader protection working group/cluster and in consultation with the Senior Protection Officer or Head of Office.
• Represent UNHCR’s position and priorities in relation to child protection in inter-agency fora.
• Contribute to interagency monitoring and reporting on child protection issues and programmes.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• In collaboration with partners, assess learning needs on child protection for UNHCR teams, partners and government counterparts.
• Develop and implement child protection capacity development plan and activities for UNHCR staff and partners, supports relevant interagency capacity building and integrates child protection within broader UNHCR capacity building plans and initiatives.
• Provide child protection technical guidance to UNHCR and partner staff in protection, education, health and other relevant sectors.
• Introduce innovative approaches, document and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in child protection and apply relevant knowledge on effective child protection programming to the operation/region.
• Perform other related duties as required.

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Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• For P3/NOC – 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree in International Law, Human Rights, International Development,   International Relations,  Anthropology,  Social Work, Political Science  Social Science  or other relevant field.
• At least four years of progressively responsible experience in the field of protection of children, broader protection or social work involving children and youth, with knowledge of issues relating to child protection, education, gender, humanitarian and development issues, and GBV prevention and response.
• Applied experience in child protection prevention and response.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and implementation of multi-sectorial child protection prevention and response programming.
• Knowledge of protection in forced displacement settings, knowledge and demonstrated use of UNHCR and Interagency child protection tools and guidance.
• Strong experience in interacting with and building partnerships and synergies with UN agencies, NGOs and civil society organizations.
• Skills and experience in interviewing and working with children and families and supervising staff on case management of at risk children.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the international legal and policy framework governing refugees, asylum seekers and returnees and IDPs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of community communication and engagement approaches including community-based child protection.
• Extensive experience in working with children, adolescents and youth and participatory child friendly approaches.
• Demonstrated coordination and consensus building skills to manage multiple stakeholder consultation processes.
• Experience managing child protection case management programmes, including implementation of best interests procedures.
• Demonstrated understanding of critical issues around child protection data and knowledge of safe and ethical data collection analysis and conducting assessments.
• Experience using ProGres, CPIMS or other protection data management systems.
• Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to functions of position and/or interagency child protection learning programme.
• Demonstrated knowledge of engagement with child protection Interagency humanitarian architecture, experience in interagency coordination and strong skills in working with partners
• Language Requirements: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

Functional Skills

• *PR-Child Protection Prevention and Response Programming
• IT-Computer Literacy
• DM-Data Management
• CO-Drafting and Documentation
• TR-Training – Virtual and face to face
• PR-Child Protection Case Management and Best Interests Procedures
• PR-Child Protection Information Management System
• CO-Cross-cultural communication
• CL-Multi-stakeholder Communications with Partners, Government & Community
• PR-Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD)
• PG-Stakeholder management and coordination with Implementing Partners (Gov/NGO/Corporate)
• (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should apply online at the link below

Click Here

Deadline: 16^th February 2023

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