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

UNICEF Ukraine

How can you make a difference?

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, where all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism.

Job organizational context:

UNICEF’s Child Protection Program aims at strengthening child-friendly and family-oriented protection services to vulnerable children and caregivers and supporting that all children grow up in a safe and nurturing family environment. This includes ensuring that the most vulnerable have their right to safe housing, nurturing family care, protection, health, and inclusive education. UNICEF’s programme objectives and related activities are designed through a system strengthening lens and an integrated approach involving both humanitarian response and care reform, supporting institutional, community, families and children capacity-strengthening.

As such, UNICEF is supporting at national, regional and local level the reform of the care system, supporting the scale up of family-based alternative care (e.g. foster care, guardianship, and adoption) for children without adequate parental care; supporting the provision of integrated social services to children and caregivers and ensuring the development of and access to a minimum package of social services and resilience services. In addition, UNICEF supports the GoU to provide reintegration support to children without parental care or who were otherwise separated from their families or in need of family reunification or placement who have returned to Ukraine following their forced displacement abroad, ensuring placement into appropriate family care selected to meet the child’s unique needs, profile, and situation and facilitate reintegration back into community by accessing strengthened and specialized social services as well as a reintegration package of services.

Purpose for the job:

The Child Protection Officer – Alternative Care and Reintegration – reports to the Child Protection Specialist based in Odesa for supervision and works collaboratively with teams at both Country and Field Office level. The Officer supports the implementation of UNICEF Odesa Field Office Alternative Care and Reintegration Program and works in close collaboration with both Oblast and hromada administration, implementing partners and other humanitarian and protection partners. In priority hromadas, the Officer coordinates UNICEF efforts with local authorities and UNICEF implementing partners to implement a coherent approach towards: strengthening integrated social services and the provision of the minimum package of social services for children and caregivers; strengthening of family-based care options and independent living for children deprived from parental care, including children returned from evacuation; and support to reintegration into community (returned children, care leavers, etc). This includes providing professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout program planning and implementation, progress monitoring, evaluation and reporting towards the delivery of quality results.

The minimum package of social services include the support to municipalities in developing and/or enhance the provision of the following services: counselling/ resilience strengthening; case-management (social support) for families in hard life conditions and foster families, early intervention; social assistance during inclusive education; daycare for children with disabilities and emergency (crisis) intervention.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks: 

Summary of key functions/accountabilities: 

• Support to programme development and planning
• Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
• Technical and operational support to programme implementation
• Networking and partnership building
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to the Alternative Care and Reintegration programme development and planning

• Conduct and update the situation analysis for the development, design and management of the Alternative Care and Reintegration programme. Research and report on trends and collect regular data for use in programme development, management, monitoring, evaluation and delivery of results. In particular, assess the situation and capacity of social workforce and the care system, identify bottlenecks to the creation, monitoring and support to family based-care forms in line with EU and global standards.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through research, analysis and reporting of child protection and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.
• Based on hromada level needs assessment and situation analysis of the childcare system and identification of bottlenecks, the Officer supports the development of Oblast and hromada workplans to enhance the care system’s ability to respond to the needs of children and caregivers, the strengthening of integrated social services and the provision of the minimum package of social services, access to family-based care forms including for children with special needs and reintegration processes.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical, programme, operational, and administrative transactions, preparing related materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating of results.
• Prepare required programme documentations, materials and data to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results 

• Coordinate the Alternative Care and Reintegration Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.  Work closely and collaboratively with Oblast/local authorities, UNICEF colleagues and partners, to discuss implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level interventions and/or decisions. Keep records of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programmes/projects, and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.
• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verifying compliance with approved allocations, organizational rules, regulations, procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on critical issues and findings to ensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• Take part in the establishment and participate to Oblast and hromadas social/child protection service taskforces, providing continuous technical support and coordinating with UNICEF implementing partners
• Provide technical support for regular review of issues and addressing bottlenecks related to strengthening integrated social services, fostering alternative care and conduct of monitoring visits by local Ombudsman representatives and local divisions of the National Social Services Agency and Child Affairs Divisions and supporting the reintegration of children including children from forced displacement, including evacuation.
• Conduct regular programme field visits and surveys and exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support. Take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices in child and social protection, to support Alternative Care and Reintegration programme implementation.

4. Networking and partnership building 

• Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders for the successful implementation of the Alternative Care and Reintegration Programme, through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation.
• Support the capacity building of local stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on strengthening integrated social service for children and caregivers, enhancing family-based care and reintegration of children. This includes supporting the capacity building on processes to prioritize the best interests of children in alternative care and supporting the implementation of a unified registration system and case management procedures tailored to the unique needs of children.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for child protection programmes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Research and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

Impact of results

The efficiency and efficacy of support provided by the Child Protection Officer – Alternative Care and Reintegration to programme preparation, planning and implementation, contributes to the achievement of sustainable results to create a protective family environment for all children and  ensures their well-being and development in society. Success in the Alternative Care and Reintegration programme in turn contributes to maintaining and enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to support the GoU in enhancing the care reform in line with EU and global standards, prioritizing safe and nurturing family care for all children and access to integrated social services for vulnerable children and caregivers, promoting greater social equality in the country.

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

Education:

A university degree in one of the following fields is required: Social Sciences, International Law/Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or another relevant technical field

Experience:

• A minimum of two years of professional experience in social protection / child protection at national and/or subnational level is required.
• Strong knowledge of the Ukrainian system of child protection, system of social protection, system of alternative care for children (residential and family-based) is an advantage.
• Experience in strengthening social workforce and system of social services is an advantage.
• Experience in development of strategies and plans of action in area of child protection and social protection is an advantage.
• Experience in building dialogue, negotiate and coordinate with national and local governments (including hromada heads, child affairs and social services) and CSOs is an advantage.
• Experience in program/project management, monitoring and evaluation of projects, particularly in the field of child protection and social protection is an advantage.
• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Ukrainian and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 include 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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable women are encouraged to apply.

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 are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will 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.

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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

This position is based in Odesa and the incumbent will be expected be work on-site. However, depending on the security conditions and advisory, s/he will be required to relocate within Ukraine.