For every child, a change……

The Senior Adviser Child Protection (Prevention of Harmful Practices) will be part of the Prevention of Harmful Practices Unit. Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Director Child Protection (Post #14333) in collaboration with the Principal Adviser Gender (Post #53111), and within the context of supporting achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, UNICEF Strategic Plan, UNICEF Gender Action Plan, and UNICEF Child Protection Strategy, the Senior Adviser Child Protection (Prevention of Harmful Practices) provides overall support to the Child Protection Section on the prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C). This function will serve as the Global Coordinator for the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage (for which UNICEF serves as administrative agent in the Programme Support Unit) and provides oversight and supervision of UNICEF’s inputs to the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on FGM/C.

To this end, the Senior Adviser Child Protection (Prevention of Harmful Practices) will work in close collaboration with UN agencies, including the UNFPA, WHO, UN Women, and UNICEF programme and policy sections, particularly the Gender Section but also Social Policy, Education and Health; all the targeted countries and regional offices for the Joint Programmes; donors (particularly in the steering committees); and partner advisory groups. In order to ensure that the work on prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C) is effectively considered and coherently integrated into appropriate work streams, the Senior Adviser Child Protection (Prevention of Harmful Practices) will work in close collaboration with UNICEF divisions, in particular the Gender Section, and other teams (units) in the Child Protection Section. This is a Nairobi-based position with frequent international travel to regional and country offices, international conferences, workshops and seminars.

Purpose of the post..

The Senior Adviser Child Protection (Prevention of Harmful Practices) will develop and support the work of the office on the prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C). Incumbent will also be responsible for leading and managing the achievement of concrete and sustainable results according to plans, budget allocations, results based-management approaches and methodology, and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

How can you make a difference?

Strategic and managerial leadership

• Shape the evolving strategic vision and results-oriented direction for the UNICEF work on the Prevention of Harmful Practices Team as well as for the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage.
• Provide supervision and guidance to the Team, setting individual and team objectives and establishing clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines. Provide regular and timely direction and guidance to all staff on the Team to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
• Provide timely guidance to enable the Programme Support Unit to perform its duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently; and plan and ensure timely performance management and assessment of the Core Joint Programme Coordination Unit.
• Manage funds allocated to the work around prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C) by prioritizing activities to be funded, in line with the annual work plan, and ensuring efficient and timely use of funds vis-à-vis grant expiration dates.
• Establish the Child Protection Section’s annual work plan in the area of prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C) as well as the Joint Programme’s annual work plan. This involves setting priorities, targets and performance measurement indicators and monitoring progress and results achieved according to performance standards. This is done in close collaboration with the Gender Section.
• Draft policy briefs and communicate the essential elements for realizing the strategic vision and programmatic results for UNICEF management and key stakeholders/participants in the Joint Programmes, including governments, senior managers, programme staff and other partners.

Programme development, planning and management

• Develop programme proposals and take other actions to leverage funds for the areas of responsibility, reflecting priorities on the prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C).
• Align global child protection programmes with the UNICEF Strategic Plan, UNICEF Gender Action Plan, international standards and mechanisms, donor development policies, and UN-wide interventions and initiatives.
• Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises to assess progress globally and to engage stakeholders to take required actions to achieve results, identify lessons learned and facilitate strategic use of knowledge gained.
• Prepare programme reports for UNICEF senior management, the Executive Board, donors and partners.
• Establish specific goals, objectives, strategies and implementation plans for the sector using results-based planning terminology and methodology. Prepare documentation for programme review and approval.

Advisory services and technical support

• Strengthen capacity at country and regional levels by developing inter-agency standard-setting guidance and tools to support the work around prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C). This will take place through strategizing with country and regional offices and partners to raise awareness of the guidelines, informed by a collected body of knowledge that can be shared and replicated across countries.
• Provide technical advice to senior management on issues related to prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C), resulting in strategic visibility and advocacy.
• Lead discussions on the formulation of global strategies and policies for both inter-agency and UNICEF-specific work on prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C).
• Improve programme and policy coherence and coordination across teams (units) in the Child Protection Section and other sections and divisions, and through engagement with other key actors.

Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Develop and maintain inter-agency relationships supporting the development of enhanced policy frameworks, guidance and tools around prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C).
• Proactively build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with governments, UN system agency partners (particularly UNFPA, WHO, and UN Women), donors, internationally recognized institutions, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes and the private sector, in order to leverage these partnerships to achieve greater results for children.
• Lead technical partnerships including the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programmes on ending child marriage and FGM/C by serving as an active member of the respective steering committees and partner advisory groups.
• Actively serve and take leadership roles where appropriate on relevant coordinating and policy bodies, ensuring close collaboration within Programme Division and with regional and country offices and partners.
• Represent UNICEF in global forums to advocate for organizational positions in the development of global priorities.
• Serve as UNICEF focal point to provide information to relevant media, research groups, academic institutions and NGOs in the area of prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C).

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Advance research, and identify research gaps, with key partners in the area of prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C), concentrating specifically on the formulation of policy and good practice.
• Enhance acquisition of programme knowledge through systematic collection of country programme experience (lessons learned, best practices, reviews, evaluations) in the area of prevention of harmful practices, including a focus on scalable interventions as well as measurement of changes in social norms.
• Promote critical thinking and innovative approaches for the prevention of harmful practices (with a focus on child marriage and FGM/C), keeping abreast of current research and introducing and implementing cutting-edge practices on child protection management information systems. Work to institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned, including in post-emergency and fragile settings.
• Ensure research is applied to learning and practice in the field by disseminating and tracking relevant shifts in programme design and implementation.

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

• An advanced university degree in international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law or other social science field is required.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional work experience at field level and national and international levels in programme planning, management, monitoring and evaluation in areas related to child protection is required.
• Experience on fostering collaboration with a broad range of partners, driving innovation and achieving measurable outcomes on prevention of harmful practices is required.
• Experience of strong advisory skills tailored to a diverse range of stakeholders, including the UN agencies, government bodies, non-profit organizations and private sector entities is required.
• Experience working with minimal supervision in carrying out responsibilities and in representing organizations at senior level in global forums is required.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, French or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability (CRITA), and sustainability

Please click Here to view UNICEF’s core values and Here to view our competency framework.

UNICEF competencies required for this post are.

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to including everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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 promoting 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.

Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF.

UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page.  If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.