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UNICEF, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, works together with partners in 190 countries and territories to promote and advocate for the protection of the rights of every child.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to an Advocate

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children's rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally - click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The EU-UNICEF Strengthening Social Protection Systems (SUSI) Project supports the Government of Nigeria to strengthen the governance, coordination, and delivery of social protection programmes. A key priority under the project is to advance the development and enactment of a comprehensive Social Protection Bill, supported by coordinated advocacy and technical legal expertise.

The project aims to mobilize support among National Assembly members, state assemblies, government institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners to promote the adoption of a legal framework that institutionalizes social protection and ensures sustainable, child-sensitive and inclusive systems.

To support this process, UNICEF seeks to engage a National Legal Expert to provide technical legal analysis, support the drafting process, and contribute to advocacy efforts aimed at advancing the social protection bill at both federal and state levels.

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide legal and technical support to the advocacy and drafting process for a comprehensive social protection bill at Federal and 4 target states in Nigeria.

Specifically, the consultant will:

• Conduct mapping and analysis of existing legal and regulatory frameworks related to social protection at federal and state levels.

•  Provide legal expertise to inform the drafting and review of social protection legislation.

• Support advocacy campaigns targeting the National Assembly and state assemblies, in collaboration with social protection partners.

•  Provide legal advice on aligning the proposed legislation with international standards and national policy frameworks

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the UNICEF Social Protection Specialist and in close collaboration with government counterparts and social protection partners, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Legal and Institutional Mapping

•Conduct a comprehensive review of existing legal and policy frameworks relevant to social protection in Nigeria.

•Map federal and state laws, bylaws, regulations, and institutional mandates affecting social protection programmes.

•Identify legal gaps, overlaps, and inconsistencies affecting the implementation of social protection interventions.

•Analyze alignment with social protection strategy framework at the National and State levels, international human rights and social protection standards (e.g., Social Protection Floors).

• Provide comparative analysis of social protection legislation from other countries where relevant.

2. Support with the Drafting of Social Protection Legislation

• Provide technical legal inputs to the drafting or revision of a Social Protection Bill.

• Ensure the draft legislation clearly defines:

-Institutional mandates

-Financing arrangements

-Governance structures

-Accountability mechanisms

-Eligibility principles and inclusion of vulnerable populations.

-Contribute to communication materials explaining the legal and institutional value of the proposed legislation.

3. Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement

•  Provide legal briefs and talking points for engagement with National Assembly committees and state assemblies.

•  Support multi-stakeholder consultations and technical discussions with government, civil society, and development partners.

•  Contribute to communication materials explaining the legal and institutional value of the proposed legislation

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone:

1.Inception and Legal Scoping

• Review existing policy and legal frameworks related to social protection in Nigeria

• Identify key federal and state legal instruments affecting social protection.

• Conduct initial consultations with UNICEF, government counterparts and development partners.

Deliverables/Outputs

Inception Report including methodology, workplan, stakeholder engagement strategy and advocacy approach.

Preliminary Legal Mapping Note identifying key laws, regulations and policy instruments relevant to social protection.

2. Comprehensive legal analysis

• Conduct detailed review of legal and institutional frameworks governing social protection at federal and selected state levels

• Identify legal gaps, inconsistencies and overlaps affecting implementation

Deliverables/Outputs

Comprehensive Legal Framework Mapping Report covering federal and state legislation relevant to social protection.

Gap Analysis Brief.

3. Drafting Support and Technical Legal Advice

• Provide legal inputs to the drafting or revision of the Social Protection Bill

• Support technical working group discussions and consultations with government stakeholders

• Develop legal briefs to support legislative discussions

Deliverables/Outputs

Technical Legal Input to Draft Social Protection Bill (annotated comments or revised provisions).

Legal Brief for Policy Makers explaining key provisions and legal rationale of the bill.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  ToR_National legal expert- Social Policy Abuja Nigeria.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Law, Public Law, Constitutional Law, Public Policy, or related field.

Minimum 10 years of professional experience in legal analysis, legislative drafting, or public policy.

Demonstrated experience working on public administration, social protection and labour law, and human rights legislation.

Experience engaging with legislative processes in Nigeria, including the National Assembly or state assemblies.

Proven experience working with government institutions, development partners, or international organizations.

Familiarity with international social protection frameworks and standards is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

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

UNICEF is also proud of a diverse workforce who are profoundly committed to supporting the full realization of children’s rights, and in uplifting a rights-based approach in all that we do.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others  

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 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 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.