UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

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, peace

UNICEF Syria was established in 1970 and has been working with partners to help empower children to fully claim and enjoy their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF works with partners across Syria to deliver supplies, services, and expertise in areas of Child Protection, Education, Health, Nutrition, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation for every child. UNICEF also provides humanitarian assistance when needed.

Syria continues to face one of the most complex emergencies in the world. Unprecedented humanitarian needs are compounded by displacement inside the country and across its borders, extensive destruction of civilian and social services infrastructure, devastating impacts on the economy, and most importantly, the breakdown of the social fabric that stitched the country together for decades.

Today, 90% of people in Syria live in poverty, most are unable to make ends meet or bring food to the table. Families have had their resources depleted, with limited employment opportunities, skyrocketing prices, and shortage of basic supplies. For most people, the current socio-economic challenges represent some of the harshest and most challenging circumstances they have faced since the beginning of the crisis 11 years ago.

In 2024, 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance. This is the highest number of people in need ever recorded in Syria since 2011. The number of children in need – more than 6.5 million – has increased by seven per cent in the past year alone. This is largely due the ongoing conflict, continued displacements, the unprecedented economic crisis, deepening poverty, and unemployment. The COVID-19 pandemic, the hike in price of commodities triggered by the overall global economic situation and the impact of sanctions are further compounding the dire situation.

For information of the work of our organization, please visit our website: UNICEF Syria

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision and technical guidance of the Child Protection Specialist, and with oversight from the Chief of Child Protection, the Child Protection Officer will facilitate the development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the children and armed conflict component of the sectoral programme in Syria.

In the development of this programme, the Child Protection Officer will provide programme management, technical assistance, and coordination, in compliance with sector standards and the UNICEF core commitments for children in humanitarian action, and will co-design programme solutions informed by evidence, in collaboration with key stakeholders, and provide technical advice on the child rights-based and evidence-informed approach to end and prevent child rights violations against children.

The Child Protection Officer will support the development and preparation of the Child Protection programme on children affected by armed conflict, and is responsible for the management, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of this programme, within the country programme. The Officer will provide technical guidance and management support throughout the programming process. The Child Protection Officer will facilitate the administration and achievement of concrete and sustainable contributions to national and international efforts to create a protective environment for children against all forms of harm, and to protect their rights to survival, development and wellbeing as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/ frameworks, and UN intergovernmental bodies.

The Child Protection Officer will contribute to the achievement of results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology, and UNICEF Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Key function, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks

1. Programme Development, Planning & Management.

– Prepare and provide Syria country office inputs into all reports relevant to the children and armed conflict component, including but not limited to quarterly reports, country reports, reports within the framework.
– Provide inputs to UNICEF strategic sectoral programmatic documents and proposals and reports to donors related to the above-mentioned area. Provide technical and operational support to colleagues and partners to ensure smooth implementation of the Child Protection Programme in Syria.
– Participate in strategic and programmatic discussions on the planning, implementation and monitoring of the child protection programme in Syria; manage the partnership with organizations; and undertake any other relevant tasks as requested.
– Support the supervisor, colleagues at all levels as needs develop, to ensure accurate and consistent inputting of information into the Syria Information Management System.
– Undertake any other tasks assigned by the Supervisor.

2. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

– 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 protection, to support programme implementation.

3. Networking and partnership building

– Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on child protection.
– Participate in inter-agency meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of child protection programmes/projects, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF position and strategies with UNDAF development and planning processes.
– 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.

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

Education:
– University degree in one of the following fields is required: international relations, human rights, child rights, humanitarian affairs, humanities, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
– Advance degree (master’s or higher) in relevant areas will be an asset.

Work Experience:
– A minimum of two (2) years of professional experience in child protection and/ or social development programming/ planning and management in a humanitarian context is required.
– Experience in programme development in the monitoring and reporting mechanism on grave violations against children, in a UN system agency or organization is considered a strong advantage.
– Advanced knowledge of supporting government counterparts in the implementation of action plans is an asset.
– Professional experience in a humanitarian context is required.
– Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
– Experience in humanitarian contexts is considered as an added advantage.
– Experience in the Middle East is an advantage.

Language Proficiency:
– Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

Desired Skills:
– Team player
– Manage confidential information
– International or national experience working with government counterparts

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Level 1: Builds and maintains partnerships, Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness, Drive to achieve results for impact, Innovates and embraces change, Manages ambiguity and complexity, Thinks and acts strategically, and Works collaboratively with others.

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

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

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 measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be 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 canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates from industrial countries are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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 does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Staff members with Fixed Term, Continuous or Permanent contracts with UNICEF serving in an E/Non-Family Duty Station must have served a minimum of one year Time in Post (TIP) in their current position at the time of the closing of the vacancy announcement.

Syria Country Office is a non-family duty station, with an E hardship classification.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.