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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, hope. 

Across the Pacific, tens of thousands of children interact with justice systems every year. These children include victims and witnesses, as well as those accused or convicted of having committed a crime. While data on the number of children deprived of their liberty is limited, we do know that 181 per 100,000 children are deprived of their liberty in Kiribati, nearly six times higher than the global rate (36 per 100,000 children).

Unfortunately, justice systems in the Pacific are not currently equipped to respond to the needs of children in contact or conflict with the law. These systems often are completely out of reach for children, especially the most vulnerable. And when children do interact with the justice system, justice actors, such as police, prosecutors, legal aid, and the judiciary, are not equipped with the resources, capacity, and knowledge to promote child-friendly interactions. This results in revictimization of child victims and witnesses and unnecessary and avoidable confinement of alleged child offenders.

Promoting children’s access to justice is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG 16 on promoting just, peaceful, and inclusive societies, and the targets 16.3 (access to justice for all) and 16.2 (prevention of violence against children).

Numerous challenges are present in promoting access to justice for children across the Pacific, and specifically in Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI). The cornerstone of this work is putting into place the legal and normative frameworks that provide the basis for children to fully enjoy their rights. While there has been some progress in updating Child Protection and Juvenile Justice legislation to bring it in line with international standards (such as the recently passed Child Care and Protection and Child Justice Acts in Fiji), gaps remain.

It remains a priority to establishing and implementing legal and policy frameworks that promote family strengthening and reduce institutional care, establish special measures for child victims and witnesses, and promote alternatives to detention for children in conflict with the law. Further, there must be dedicated focus to ensure these laws and policies are fully and effectively implemented.

Beyond legal frameworks, it is also crucial to ensure that when children come into contact with the justice system, either as victims, witnesses, or if accused, child-friendly justice procedures and services are in place. This includes the development and implementation of standard operating procedures and other resources at all points where a child may interact with the justice system. Across the Pacific, Police are a key first responder who interact with vulnerable children and families. Support is needed to ensure Police provide child-specific and child-friendly services to these children.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the direction of the Child Protection Specialist (Child Justice), the consultant will further map and identify specific needs within National Police services across five countries (Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, FSM, and RMI) related to provision of child-friendly services. This includes developing or strengthening training packages for child friendly services and then rolling out training Police across these countries to build the capacity of Police to carry out child-sensitive investigations of crimes against children. Key factors include providing child-sensitive services to child survivors of sexual assault, utilization of child interviewing techniques, making appropriate referrals of children in need of support to other service providers including social welfare and MHPSS professionals, and ensuring child-safe emergency accommodation where appropriate.

Please refer to the ToR ( TOR Regional child justice consultant.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:  

Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above.
• Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel
• Living allowance where travel is required.
• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

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

Education:

• An Advanced University degree in international development, human rights, international law, or other relevant field is required.

Experience & Skills:

• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in child justice, child protection and/or other related areas at the international level, some of which preferably were served in a developing country, is required.
• Relevant experience in building capacity of actors in child justice, child protection, and social welfare sector is an asset.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Experience working in the UN system agency or UN organization is an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

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. Consultants 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.