Security Support and Humanitarian Access Facilitation Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF is responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. UNICEF Health program is designed to support national health priorities with focus on programs that will positively impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged children, such as the prevention and treatment of diseases through establishing community-level efforts and services to promote the health and well-being of children. In line with this strategy, UNICEF supports immunization and health prevention programs for childhood diseases and funding for sustainable health services. UNICEF programs have been guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which affirms the right of all children to “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health.”
UNICEF is committed to realizing the rights of all children to help them build a strong foundation and have the best chance of fulfilling their potential. We believe that ensuring a happy and healthy child begins before birth: from ensuring his/her mother has access to good neonatal care and delivering in a clean, safe environment to reaching adulthood as a responsible, healthy and informed parent to the next generation. This journey relies on a child having access to shelter, good nutrition, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education.

Context

UNICEF promotes the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. UNICEF strives towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.
In Nigeria, children remain the most deprived of a range of rights, including the right to good nutrition, resulting in all forms of malnutrition. The latter is a consequence of complex interactions between individuals, households, and broader social and economic conditions. The First 1,000 Days of Life, from conception to two years of age, have been identified as a critical window for nutrition and child development and deprivations during this critical period result in irreversible consequences. Consequently, Nigeria has the highest number of malnourished children in Africa and the second highest in the world.
North-west Nigeria is one of the six geographical zones of Nigeria consisting of 7 of the 36 states of the country. The states include Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. It is the native homeland of Hausa people with the second largest tribe being Fulani with other minority ethnic groups especially in Kaduna state. It covers 25.75% of the country’s total landmass. The region population is estimated at 48,942,307 million based on 2016 National population estimate with majority being Muslims (Sunni) and good percentage of Christians in Kaduna state. About 80 per cent of the region’s population are farmers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists or small-scale entrepreneurs. The region has substantial solid mineral deposits, including gold exploited by artisanal miners in open pit mines.
Though the region has such high economic potentiality, it has the lowest level of human development index and has the highest rate of poverty in Nigeria. All seven states as of 2019 had poverty levels above the national average of 40.1 per cent, led by Sokoto (87.7 per cent), Jigawa (87 per cent) and Zamfara (74 per cent). A large number of the population are illiterate with a literacy rate of 29.7 %1 despite a long history of informal Islamic and Arabic education. The region has the highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria with majority of these children form poorly implemented almajiri system of education.
Access to quality health care is still a major challenge with large population having limited access to basic health care, immunization and clean water. The region has been experiencing complex and multi -faceted security crisis characterized by conflict between farmers and pastoralists, rising crime and infiltration by non-state armed groups. That insecurity situation compounded by COVID-19 pandemic effects; continue to be a major threat that further hampers access to basic services and livelihood whilst fueling sexual violence.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of a designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will:
• Advise and support the Chief of Field Office and Security Manager in the execution of his/her duties regarding the security of UNICEF personnel and eligible family members, premises in accordance with UN and UNICEF Security Management System.
• Provide advice and manage the implementation of all technical security requirements identified in the SRMs, the Security Plan(s) and the Residential Security Measures (RSM) and support the compliance with other relevant policies, guidelines and assessments.
• Monitor the security situation and provide independent and comprehensive security analysis with the goal of identifying trends and predicting the specific conditions that would impact on the security of UNICEF personnel, eligible family members, premises, assets and resources.
• Provides analysis to understand security dynamics, ensuring the analysis addresses environmental, socio-economic, and political factors.
• Prepare, maintain and update UNICEF security documentation including security contingency plans and provide the CFO/CSM with mandatory reports in accordance with UNICEF security reporting guidelines.
• Establishes contact and maintains networks with UNSMS, I/NGO, diplomatic and international community security advisors and relevant local authorities as appropriate.
• Monitor the security situation and provide comprehensive security analysis.
• Implement security activities in support of UNICEF operations and participate, coordinate and/or undertake security tasks for implementation of field missions.
• Ensure that UNICEF personnel are kept informed of matters affecting their security and the actions to take in the event of an emergency.
• Provide technical oversight for UNICEF contracted security providers such as guards service.
• Develop coordination and maintains networks with UNSMS, I/NGO, diplomatic, and international community security advisors.
• Collaborate and coordinate with UNDSS and the Security Cell to enable UNICEF activities.
• Ensure that security collaboration with NGOs working as UNICEF implementing partners is undertaken, in coordination with UNDSS, and using the SLT policies as a framework.
• Provide a service that deals professionally, efficiently and politely with everyone entering or leaving the property of UNICEF.
• Follow-up of incidents and problems at UNICEF premises, through responding to and the support of staff.
• Humanitarian access coordination and implementation by liaising with UN/AFP partners, local authorities and leaders to facilitate access for UNICEF programmes through sensitization of humanitarian principles (humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence) in conjunction with UNSMS policies, especially Security Risk Management process.
• Support UNICEF in the development and implementation of access strategies, preparedness plans and programme contingency plans as required.
• Establish sound partnerships with government authorities, implementing partners, religious leaders, local communities and other actors who could facilitate implementation of programmatic activities in the field.
Results/expected outputs:
• As an active UNICEF Nigeria team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to the Security Section, Government, Donors and other Stakeholders in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
 Security Risk Management and Planning.
 Security Services.
 Programmatic Security Information Analysis.
 Security Networking and Partnership Building.
 Networking with Federal and State actors, local leaders and other counterparts to facilitate UNICEF programmes in the field.