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, commitment

Since 1950, UNICEF has supported the most important transformation for children and adolescents in Brazil. UNICEF Brazil with its main office in Brasília and nine field offices UNICEF works in close partnership with national and sub-national government, corporate partners, youth, and civil society organizations. For information of the work of our organization in Brazil, please visit our website:  UNICEF Brazil

How can you make a difference?

The Child Protection Officer reports to the Chief, Child Protection for supervision. S/he provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for child protection within the Country Programme from design and planning to delivery of concrete and measurable results. S/he prepares, implements, and manages a variety of technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate programme design, implementation, monitoring, evaluating and reporting.

The Child Protection Officer will accomplish this by:

1. Support programme design and planning

• Conduct and update the situation analysis for the design and planning of child protection related programmes/projects, through research, analysis and reporting on cross-sectoral child protection trends (e.g. economic, social, health, education), efficiently using data to plan programme strategies and priorities.
• 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.
• Provide technical and operational support by elaborating and administering documents and transactions, preparing related materials and data, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programming, planning and results-based management (RBM).
• Prepare required programme documentations, materials, and data to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

2. Technical and operational support for programme implementation

• Conduct regular field visits and analysis and exchange information with other colleagues, as well as partners/stakeholders to provide technical support and assess progress.
• Take initiative to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution, reporting to the Chief Child Protection and Child Protection Specialist 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, procedures, strategies, and best practices in child protection, to support programme implementation.
• Support the Child Protection and more specifically the PSEA focal point in all matters that contribute to protection against sexual exploitation and abuse and enhance UNICEF’s zero tolerance policy.

3. Support programme management, monitoring, delivery of results and reporting

• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations, identifying potential risks and needed mitigation to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level decision-making.
• Keep records of reports and assessments for ease of reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluation exercises and programme reviews internally and with government and other counterparts, to assess progress and to report on required action/interventions by higher level management.
• Support the monitoring and report on the use of sectoral 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.
• Contribute to the preparation of donor reports, project reports and the End of Year Review documents and any other ad hoc reporting required.

4. Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts, civil society organizations, UN agencies and other national or local stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme planning and implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain child protection results.
• Participate in inter-agency meetings/events on programming to ensure child protection is integrated into the UNSDCF’s planning and preparation of programmes/projects, strengthening UNICEF’s role in ensuring cross-sectoral and inter-agency priorization of child protection issues.
• Research information on potential donors and contribute to resource mobilization efforts, including by preparing materials and briefs for fundraising and partnership development purposes.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy, engaging key stakeholders in UNICEF’s priority strategies, promoting awareness, establishing partnership/alliances, and supporting fundraising 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 and implementation.
• Participate in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of other colleagues and external stakeholders.

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

Education:  A university degree in one of the following fields is required: law, social assistance, international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, or another relevant social science field.

Experience: A minimum of two years of proven professional experience in programme planning, implementation and management in child protection related areas is required.

Experience working with the child protection system in Brazil or another developing country is required.

Language: Fluency in English and Portuguese is required. Knowledge of Spanish is an asset.

Desirable:

Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.

Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN agency or organization is considered as an asset.

A master’s degree and more than two years work experience will be considered as an asset.

Advanced knowledge of State and Municipal public management and of the structure and functioning of local child protection systems (Sistema de Garantia de Direitos – SGD) is considered as an asset.

Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.

For Manaus, experience in indigenous and ‘ribeirinhos’ context is an added advantage.

PLEASE INDICATE IN YOUR COVER LETTER YOUR PREFERED DUTY STATION: MANAUS OR BRASILIA

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS).

The 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)

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

Child Safeguarding

Child safeguarding involves proactive measures to limit direct and indirect collateral risks of harm to children, arising from UNICEF’s work, UNICEF personnel or UNICEF associates. The risks may include those associated with physical violence (including corporal punishment); sexual violence, exploitation, or abuse; emotional and verbal abuse; economic exploitation; failure to provide for physical or psychological safety; neglect of physical, emotional or psychological needs; harmful cultural practices; and privacy violations.

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 afro-descendants, indigenous, LGBTQIA+ and other minorities 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.
• 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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here

This job opportunity is presential and for Brazilians only or internal candidates with a work permit for Brazil.