Mission and objectives

Il a été créé en 1946 par l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU sous l’appellation : Fonds d’urgence international des Nations unies pour les enfants. C’est en 1953 qu’il est devenu une agence permanente. L’UNICEF assiste les gouvernements dans des programmes à long terme visant à l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des enfants : santé, vaccination et nutrition, prévention sanitaire, éducation primaire, situations particulièrement difficiles. L’UNICEF mobilise la volonté politique et des ressources matérielles pour aider les pays, en particulier les pays en développement, à donner la priorité aux enfants, et pour renforcer leur capacité de formuler des politiques appropriées et de mettre en place des services en faveur des enfants et des familles. L’UNICEF œuvre, avec le concours de tous ses partenaires, à la réalisation des objectifs de développement humain durable que s’est fixés la communauté mondiale et de l’idéal de paix et de progrès social consacré par la Charte des Nations Unies.

Context

Humanitarian action is of fundamental importance to UNICEF and encompasses interventions aimed at saving lives, alleviating suffering, maintaining human dignity, and protecting the rights of affected populations wherever there are humanitarian needs, as well as interventions addressing underlying risks and causes of vulnerability to disasters, fragility and conflict. UNICEF’s humanitarian action is guided by the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs) which set organizational, programmatic and operational commitments and benchmarks against which UNICEF holds itself accountable for the coverage, quality and equity of its humanitarian action and advocacy and which are mandatory for all UNICEF personnel. Furthermore, UNICEF is committed to support humanitarian coordination through the cluster approach. Introduced as part of the humanitarian reform, the cluster approach, aims at ensuring clear leadership, predictability and accountability in international responses to humanitarian emergencies by clarifying the division of labor among organizations and better defining their roles and responsibilities within the different sectors involved in the response. As a member of the IASC, UNICEF work along with national and local stakeholders (including national and local authorities, CSOs, and communities) to support humanitarian coordination and to improve the collective impact of humanitarian response. Whether the cluster approach is activated or not, UNICEF plays a key role in both global and country-level interagency coordination for its areas of programmatic responsibility. As Cluster Lead Agency (CLA) for Nutrition, WASH, Education (co-led), and Child Protection Area of Responsibility (AoR) within the Protection Cluster, UNICEF is committed to fulfil the core functions defined by the IASC when the clusters are activated or when UNICEF is asked to support sectoral coordination. A well-run Child Protection AoR coordination team is a formal deliverable of the Cluster Lead Agency and forms a part of the agency’s work. Created in 2013, the Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR) in the Central African Republic (CAR) coordinates humanitarian efforts to protect children, standardize approaches, strengthen capacities, identify trends, and advocate for vulnerable children affected by conflict and disasters. It works closely with the Ministry of Gender, Women’s Protection, Family and Child (MPGPFFE), the Protection Cluster, and other sectors to ensure child protection is integrated into humanitarian planning. The activation of this forum was driven by the collapse of state structures, armed conflict, and rising food insecurity. The 2019 Peace Agreement remains essential for dialogue, despite ongoing violations. The CP AoR continues to support the integration of child protection into peacebuilding efforts, ensuring children’s rights are prioritized in the country’s stabilization process. In 2024, the security situation remains unpredictable, particularly in violence-affected areas. The CAR crisis requires multifaceted responses to address the needs of children and adolescents. The UNV Child Protection AoR Coordinator will be based in Bangui and will report to both UNICEF CAR Representative as well as UNICEF Chief of Field Office and Emergency for technical guidance and Strategic direction.

Task Description

Under the direction of the UNICEF Representative in CAR, The UNV Child Protection AoR Coordinator is responsible for providing predictable, timely and strategic leadership and representation for the CP AoR at national level to ensure a timely and effective response. The UNV Child Protection AoR Coordinator is responsible for leading a range of stakeholders, beyond their immediate direct reports, to work collectively towards the realization of a shared goal based on evidence. The UNV Child Protection AoR Coordinator main tasks and responsibilities will include but not be limited to: Coordination, representation and leadership • Ensure and maintain a coordination mechanism that facilitates the effective achievement of the cluster functions (as outlined by the IASC Reference Module) and the requirements of the HPC (HNO, HRP and CCPM) and which builds on pre-existing coordination structures where appropriate and furthers the development of current or future national and subnational capacities, • Coordinate with the others, ensuring alignment of work and priorities, effective communication, reporting and engagement between the levels, • Support sub-national CP AoRs coordination team, • Ensure appropriate coordination and build partnerships with all relevant sector stakeholders at sub-national level including government counterparts and national authorities, local, national and international organizations, other AoRs/ Clusters/Sectors/ Working Groups and affected populations as appropriate, • Build complementarity of partner actions within the CP AOR, pro-actively negotiating with partners to avoid and resolve duplication and gaps, • Coordinate, collaborate and represent CP AoR with stakeholders across all sectors, including through inter-cluster coordination fora, developing cross-sectoral relationships as appropriate. Needs assessment and analysis • Contribute to the planning and implementation of needs assessment and analysis, including contributing to multi-sectoral needs assessments and joint analysis of need, at subnational levels, • Analyse needs assessment data and work collaboratively with the CP AoR partners to create analytical products, including an HNO based on evidence-based information. Strategic response planning • Coordinate strategic planning, response prioritization and the development of the sectoral response plan that is based on the HNO and aligned with national priorities, policies and plans, • Ensure all programme delivery modalities (in-kind, cash, voucher and services) are given equal consideration in the strategic response planning and establish and implement systematic measures for supporting their consideration and use, • Provide technical support to CP AoR partners to ensure activities are aligned with national priorities and communities’ needs, • Ensure that sub-national CP AoR response planning is updated regularly according to evolving needs and that it establishes indicators by which performance of the sub-national CP AoR can be measured, • Engage with OCHA and other AoRs/ Clusters/ Sectors/ Working Groups to contribute to the development of the HRP, representing the concerns of the CP AoR Resource mobilization and advocacy • Support partners’ resource mobilization to promote the effective functioning of CP AoR and its response, • Monitor, analyse and communicate information about CP AoR financial situation and resource mobilization and identify appropriate actions to address gaps or constraints, • Advocate for improved sectoral outcomes, network with advocacy allies and influence stakeholders’ decision-making. Implementation and monitoring • Monitor, evaluate and report on the coverage, equity, quality and progress of the response against the CP Aor strategy, priorities and agreed results at sub-national level, • Contribute to gap and coverage analysis to identify spatial and temporal gaps, overlaps and coverage of the CP AoR humanitarian response, • Monitor CP AoR partners adherence to IASC cluster approach principles, relevant humanitarian and sectoral agreements, standards, initiatives and guidelines and encourage partners to make improvements. Operational peer review and evaluation • Participate in the annual cluster coordination performance monitoring (CCPM) exercise and annual review and contribute to other sectoral and humanitarian evaluations as appropriate. Accountability to affected populations • Be accountable to the affected population by establishing inclusive and consultative feedback mechanisms and encouraging the involvement of affected population in the response, • Ensure the inclusion of cross cutting issues (age, disability, gender, gender-based violence (GBV) mitigation and response and HIV & AIDS) in sub-national AoR/ Sector/ Working Group activities throughout the HPC, • Encourage partners to demonstrate a positive and systematic approach to inclusion and diversity, • Adhere to child safeguarding and PSEA policies including procedures for challenging and reporting incidents and ensure other members of the coordination team comply. Strengthen national and local capacity • Encourage participation of local and national actors in sub-national AoR/ Sector/ Working Group activities and strategic decision-making, removing barriers to access, • Contribute to the development of a capacity assessment and capacity strengthening strategy for AoR/ Sector/ Working Group members and oversee implementation and harmonization of initiatives, • Lead early warning, contingency planning, and emergency preparedness efforts for the sub-national AoR/ Sector/ Working Group, ensuring adequate participation in inter-cluster early warning, contingency planning and emergency preparedness activities. Promote voluntary action Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country. • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible

Competencies and values

• Care • Respect • Integrity • Trust • Accountability • Sustainability Coordination Competencies • Applies Humanitarian Principles, Standards and Guidelines • Applies Key CPiE Concepts and Tools • Operates Safely and Securely • Demonstrates Commitment to a Coordinated Response • Promotes Cooperation and Collaboration • Demonstrates Accountability • Promotes Inclusion • Provides Influential and Strategic Leadership • Analyses and Communicates Information • Supports Resource Mobilization • Advocates for Improved Child Protection Outcomes • Monitors the Response • Strengthens National and Local Capacity to Respond and Lead

Living conditions and remarks

CAR is a post-conflict country. From 2013, a bloody conflict between the Seleka and the Anti Balaka armed groups, over almost the entire territory of the country. Fearing the risk of genocide, the United Nations decided to send peacekeepers to the country, to protect civilians and restore peace. The clashes having ended, entire areas of the country are always occupied by armed groups which continue to commit abuses against populations. Following the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation signed on February 6, 2018 between the 14 Armed Groups and the Government of CAR, the State started to deploy its services, in particular the Armed Forces, the police, the gendarmerie, justice in several regions of the country. The CAR has only one international airport (Bangui M’poko) which provides all air links with the outside and regions of the country. There are aerodromes in the 16 capitals of each Prefecture and in some of sub-prefectures. The road network is very poor, since there is only one main road that connects CAR to Cameroon which is paved. Two seasons alternate the climate in CAR. A dry season and a rainy season spread over 6 months each. The most feared disease is malaria, which kills many people every year. The hotel network is experiencing increasing growth but is still very expensive. In terms of food, there is a wide variety of local and imported products in Bangui and in some of cities of the country. But access to these products is different in parts of the country. All these difficulties make the cost of living more expensive. It is the same for services like banks, hospitals, electricity etc. which access is very limited and concentrated only in Bangui the capital.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements