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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, protection.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The assignment focuses on supporting UNICEF ECARO in the area of child rights and child protection, with a focus on child justice and access to justice. The consultant will support the ECARO Child Protection section with technical and legal support at the regional and country level, to advance key partnerships, strategic approaches and technical capacities, and partnership development.

Scope of Work

1. Support the preparatory work for the organization of a regional convening with a focus on access to justice and child justice. Prepare concept note and coordinate inputs from RO and relevant COs. Develop proposals for speakers and relevant technical guidance. Provide technical support to the development of key technical papers that will guide the development of the conference and relevant outcome documents.

2. Provide technical and legal support to regional and country offices child protection teams:

• On the development and implementation of technical support initiatives with a focus on child protection and child justice in the region and in relevant country offices, with a particular focus on the EU countries.
• On enhancing technical capacities, child protection and justice frameworks and practices, and ensuring children's rights and needs are central in protection systems. This includes advising on partnership development, legal reforms, policy development, and implementation strategies to improve access to justice for children.
• On enhancing child rights and access to justice agenda through supporting the development of guidance and strategic approach in ECARO, in a coordinated way and in consultation with key actors.

Work Assignment Overview

Estimated Duration of the Contract

30 working days between October and December 2024

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be remote/home-based with no travels foreseen.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please submit a professional fee (in USD) based on 30 working days to undertake this assignment.

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

• A relevant Master’s degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, law, social science or related field
• At least 3 years of experience in child justice,child rights or international relations
• Proven experience in the areas of child rights and child justice.
• Knowledge of the ECA region, including regulatory frameworks for the national child justice system is desirable.
• Proven experience and knowledge of UNICEF legal frameworks and procedures. The experience of working with UNICEF is a strong asset.
• Demonstrated experience in producing high-quality reports and other documents to specified deadlines
• Good analytical skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to be flexible and deliver results under tight deadlines.
• Fluency in English (oral and written). Knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish is desirable.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Please include a full CV and a Cover Letter in your application. Additionally, indicate your availability and professional fee (in USD) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.