UNICEF Pacific Consultancy: Child Protection Strategic Partnerships Consultant, Suva, Fiji, 255 days over 18 Months

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 for as long as we are needed. 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 professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to safety. 

In the Pacific we work in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu: These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, an area comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria.

All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but only a third are on track with reporting obligations. Explore the different areas of our work here: UNICEF Pacific Islands.

UNICEF Pacific’s Multi-Country Child Protection Program for 2023–2027 aims to strengthen child protection systems across 14 Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The program seeks to invest in three interlinked areas—child protection systems and data, workforce capacity and service provision, and family and community behaviour change—and is explicitly aligned with regional and national development frameworks. Implementation is supported through a mix of regional and subregional institutions (including CROP agencies such as the University of the South Pacific, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and SPC), national governments, civil society and faith based organisations to ensure localization, reach and sustainability.

The Pacific context presents acute child protection challenges that the program must address including very high prevalence of violence against children and women, entrenched social norms that justify violence, disproportionate risks for children with disabilities, and emerging stressors from climate change, labour mobility and digital harms. Significant gaps remain in sex-, age- and disability disaggregated data, coordinated referral pathways, and a trained, gender responsive workforce able to deliver inclusive services in both development and climate related displacement settings. UNICEF’s program emphasizes strengthening formal and informal systems, improving quality and accessibility of services, and empowering families and communities to prevent and respond to violence.

To operationalize these aims, the Child Protection Strategic Partnerships consultant will design an approach that maps existing capacities, identifies gaps and entry points, and proposes practical modalities for collaboration with CROP agencies, national ministries, CSOs, faith actors and organizations of people with disabilities (OPDs). These partnerships are crucial to enhance the reach, scope, and effectiveness of UNICEF’s child protection program.

How can you make a difference? 

• Convene Government and other partners to identify key issues of concern for collective action to prevention and respond to child protection concerns grounded in Pacific context.
• Engagement with UNICEF partners for strategic advocacy, based on the identification of different entry points and options for influence across the Pacific.
• Communicate and design strategic engagement on key thought leadership topics and research gaps to ensure child protection and child wellbeing issues are better understood across the Pacific by policy makers and donors alike.
• Facilitate regional convening to foster the development of strategies and plans on key emerging topics such as child online protection.
• Provide advice to UNICEF and partners on program partnership in the Pacific context, for example with Faith Based organizations, national committees, and CROP Agencies such as Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and University of South Pacific.

Please refer to the ToR ( ToR-Child Protection Strategic Partnerships Consultant, Suva, Fiji.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:  

Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a breakdown for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference shared above
• Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel for 10 days in Samoa, 10 days in Solomon Islands, 10 days in FSM, and 10 days in Kiribati))
• Living allowance where travel is required
• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

 

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• An Advanced University degree (Masters) in international development, human rights, international law, or other relevant field is required.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in child protection and/or other related areas at the international level, some of which preferably were served in a developing country, is required.
• Relevant experience working with an international organization, NGO, or Government in the Pacific, or a similar context, is required.
• Understanding of partners and established network for child protection in the Pacific is highly desirable
• Relevant experience in child protection program and project management in the Pacific, or a similar context, is required.
• Experience working in the UN system agency or UN organization is an asset.
• Experience in Pacific regional convening is highly desirable
• Proven ability to work independently under difficult conditions

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of a local language is an asset

 

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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility jobs-near-me.org UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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.

Remarks:  

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.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates 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.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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.