COSULTANCY: Regional Child Protection Case management and Information Management Specialist, WCARO Dakar, Senegal, 10.5 months (Remote/Work from home)

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

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The objective of this assignment is for expert technical support for countries in West and Central Africa in the reinforcement and/or development of a government and inter-agency owned child protection case management system and as part of strengthening resilient child protection systems across all contexts including climate change, public health emergency and conflict. The main focus will be on the support to governments and inter-agency partners in countries where the child protection information management system (CPIMS+/Primero) is in place. To facilitate cross-border child protection case management (noting the significant number of children in Africa ‘on the move’ for a variety of reasons), the expert will also provide technical support for review and harmonisiation of child protection case management tools that align with international guidelines and good practices. The technical expert will also lead analysis and dissemination of case management data including trends and aligned with existing data protection standards. In order to systematically collect and analyse case management data across contexts, the consultant will support countries in strengthening the disaggregation of data (including age, sex, type of protection issue and context) and aligned with global standards. As case management is undertaken by a social service workforce (SSW), human centered design principles will be employed for their engagement and to help ensure SSW ownership and take-up at national, subnational and cross-border levels.

How can you make a difference? 

Scope of Work:

Working closely with the regional Child Protection section and with the support of Planning, Monitoring, Data and Research (PMDR), and under the direct supervision of the WCARO Child Protection Specialist (VAC and Exploitation) and other relevant staff including the Child Protection Advisor, the Monitoring Specialist, the Child Protection colleagues working on case Management and CPIMS+/Primero in the Child Protection team in Headquarters, other Child Protection Specialists working on issues concerning child protection case management, relevant ICT4D colleagues, the Regional Child Protection Case management and Information Management Specialist/Consultant will be responsible for the following:

1. Provision of direct, expert support to UNICEF country offices (COs) on the child protection case management and information management system (CPIMS+)
   • Building on existing tools, standards, guidelines and procedures, support countries in the region to apply and/or adapt tools for child protection case management of government and inter-agency partners in development and humanitarian settings for the social service workforce support to children in need of child protection/social welfare services notably children at risk or victims of violence (including gender-based violence), exploitation, abuse, and children on the move who are in need of protection services both within and across borders. This support takes into account:
     • Quality Assurance Framework on case management
     • Development and adaptation of case management tools and procedures
     • Data protection and information sharing protocols, and data protection impact assessments
     • Status of efforts to plan, develop and support the social service workforce, including opportunities to include case management in pre- and in-service curricula of the social service workforce
   • Technical support for monitoring the implementation of CPIMS+/Primero including quality assurance.
   • Other related support to WCAR on Child Protection Case Management. Liaise with other global and regional leads on coordinated initiatives.
2. Provision of direct (virtual and in-person), expert support to country offices on child protection information management systems
   • Based on existing tools and guidance, tailor and adapt technical guidance to governments in the region on the child protection information management system (CPIMS+) and the deployment of appropriate digital innovations for case management in development and humanitarian situations to support children at risk or victims of violence (including gender-based violence), exploitation, abuse and for children on the move who need protection/social welfare services.
   • Technical support in strengthening CPIMS+ interoperability with other sectors’ management information systems (MIS) and based on assessments of readiness
   • In close collaboration with country offices and HQ, upgrade of the CPIMS+ 2.0 when needed.
   • Serve as WCAR technical lead on CPIMS+/Primero and liaise with other global and regional leads to strengthen CP case management including for cross-border.
   • Serve as a member of the CPIMS+ Technical Team which is the operational branch of the global Steering Committee led by UNICEF, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, Terre des Hommes (Lausanne), the Child Protection Area of Responsibility of the Global Protection Cluster, Plan International, and UNHCR.
   • Ensure the integration of a climate marker in CPIMS+/Primero in order to systematically collect and analyze data on the impact of climate change on child protection
3. Ensure the comparability of the data products by the different countries
   • Based on the results and learnings from UNICEF’s analysis of the Government of Ghana’s Social Welfare Information Management System (SWIMS) and which uses the CPIMS+/Primero, undertake analyses of the case management data (number of social service workers and type, trends and status of cases) across the region
   • Ensure comparability between countries

 

Work Assignments Overview	Deliverables/Outputs	Delivery deadline	Estimated Budget
Situation assessment including the specific role of the government, in case management and information management system and participate in relevant meetings concerning child protection information management notably CPIMS+/Primero	Following a comprehensive update. Initial update and then monthly updates with detailed 24 countries status reports on case management and information management and short reports highlighting the key learnings/contributions and implications for WCAR	10 July 2025	10%
CPIMS+ Action plans developed for governments and which includes case management, information management and capacity building	Action plans developed with WCA countries available in a sharepoint	4 September 2025	15%
In line with the regional support plan, carry out in-country and remote field support missions to support COs and government counterparts with assessments and development or refinement of country child protection case management and information management strategies. Provide ongoing remote, continued support to implementation of CPIMS+ strategies, aligned with case management development/ strengthening strategies	In-country and remote field support missions Country child protection information management strategies and action plans Mission reports validated by COs Regular updates to action plans and country support plan Technical inputs in regional and CO strategy documents for case management development / strengthening Technical inputs in regional and CO strategy documents for information management development (CPIMS+ and if, where relevant	30 October 2025	20%
Provide technical support for the roll out of Primero and support the scale-up of governmental system	Technical support in business analysis, configuration, interoperability (if required), testing, training, and technical documentation (such as implementation plans) of CPIMS+ in countries that meet the criteria Technical support for CPIMS+ roll out activities in other WCA countries and providing timely support to system administrators and CPIMS+ focal points within the region. Including support for possible presentations in the Africa IFSW Conference in November 2025 in Dakar.	27 November, 2025	20%
Provide training to UNICEF CO colleagues and other governmental child protection actors in child protection information management and case management for countries in the region. This training is based on existing tools, guidelines and procedures.	In collaboration with concerned Government and Country Office Staff, technical support for development of policies, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to child protection case management and information management systems. This is linked to data protection and case management guidelines and standards. A cross-regional exchange with ESARO (which is also rolling out the CPIMS+/Primero) will be organized to share governmental experiences and also linked to cross-border interactions	16 January 2026	15%
Development and maintenance of dashboard that allows for cross-country collaboration	Working dashboard for concerned ministry/institution (usually social welfare/gender/children) working on CPIMS+/Primero	5 March, 2026	10%
Child Protection e-bulletin story with key results, final summary report 20 pages maximum plus annexes and update the relevant sharepoint site	Final report	17 April, 2026	5%

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

• Advanced university degree, preferably in the social sciences, political science, law or other relevant field.
• Minimum of 10 years relevant experience developing and supporting information management systems in humanitarian and non-humanitarian settings
• Minimum of 7years supporting the deployment and roll-out of Primero/CPIMS+
• Experience working with government agencies (technical and strategy) working on social service workforce, child protection case management and the CPIMS
• Strong background in mobile data collection is an asset
• Ability and willingness to travel to emergency countries in the region
• Fluency in French and proficiency in English

Other Requirements

• Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system /Most updated CV
• Academic credentials/certificates
• Consultancy technical proposal;
• Financial proposal that will include:
  • Costs for each deliverable and total all-inclusive (lump sum) fees for the whole assignment
  • Travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per ToR
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable
• Previously relevant consultancy products & final evaluations (if available)
• Indicate your availability
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

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

 To view our competency framework, please visit  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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.