Child Protection Officers (Field Coordination) 3 Positions

I. Post InformationJob Title: CHILD PROTECTION OFFICERS (FIELD COORDINATION) - 3 positionsJob Level: NO-BSupervisor Title/ Level:Child Protection Coordinator, P4, 93685Section:Humanitarian AffairsPost Locations:TRIPOLI, TYRE or ZAHLE (Lebanon) II.Organizational Context and Purpose for the jobThe fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote 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. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress 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 nation. Job organizational context: Syria’s conflict has resulted in the displacement of over one million people into Lebanon alone, creating an incredible burden on the Government, UN, humanitarian agencies and host communities. Given this, the impact on children is considered to be significant where over 1 million children are affected by this crisis in Lebanon alone. The protective environment to ensure that all children are protected from violence, abuse and exploitation is being challenged where children including adolescents are increasingly at risk of various child protection violations. To respond to the increasing child protection needs, humanitarian actors have expanded their field activities and increased their presence outside the capital. The government, especially Ministry of Social Affairs is strengthening their capacity to better prevent and respond through the adoption and implementation of the National Plan to Safeguard Children and Women in Lebanon in partnership with UNICEF. A national Child Protection in Emergencies Working Group (CPiEWG) was established in Beruit, Lebanon in 2006 as a forum for coordination and collaboration on child protection in humanitarian settings. Subsequently five field-based Child Protection in Emergencies Working Group (CPiEWG) have been established (South, North (Tripoli/Akkar) and Bekaa) to strengthen coordination of the child protection response in a designated area of coverage and to support the national CPiEWG in its functions, at the field-level. At the national level there is a full time sector coordinator fully supported by UNICEF but independent from the Programme section to ensure neutrality and impartiality and at present, the field-based CPIEWG is co-led by UNICEF and UNHCR who are committed to their respective mandates, however with increasingly more resources allocated by UNICEF for the coordination work through the field based UNICEF Child Protection Specialists and/or Child Protection Officers. Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) leads the child protection sub sector. UNICEF provides support to MoSA to coordinate and is the lead UN agency for child protection sub sector at national and field level.  It is essential that such coordination mechanisms ensures horizontal and vertical information flows between regional, national and sub-national level, with the participation of various actors ranging from government and civil society, with an ultimate goal to ensure coherence and to build the evidence base to better inform policy and strategic planning and implementation processes. The coordination mechanism established at national level are duplicated in the four field areas (South and Nabatieh, North and Akkar, Beirut and Mount Lebanon; and Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel). As part of its responsibilities in support of Government leadership and support coordination with child protection partners, UNICEF will provide three Child Protection Officers for field coordination covering the following areas: 1. North and Akkar (based in Tripoli), 2. Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel (based in Zahle) and 3. South, Nabatieh, Beirut and Mount Lebanon (Based in Tyre). Purpose for the job: The Child Protection Officer (Field Coordination) will support and strengthen the effective and efficient child protection coordination already in place at the sub-national level, and will continue to support Government leadership and support coordination among child protection partners, and be the contact point for liaison between the planning processes, inter-agency strategy development and cross-sectoral planning at regional level. Furthermore, the field level coordinator will ensure increased participation of national, local and community based organizations to the coordination mechanisms as well as improving their capacity in prevention and response.    III. Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks Under the overall supervision of the UNICEF Head of Humanitarian Affairs Unit and the direct supervision of the Child Protection Coordinator and in close coordination with the Regional Ministry of Social Affairs, the key functions of the field coordinator include the following: 1. Maintenance of effective coordination mechanisms at field level-Continuation and maintenance of effective coordination mechanisms with regional authorities and other child protection partners. Support Inter-Agency Coordination body to establish and maintain appropriate field-based cross-sector coordination mechanisms.-Convene and facilitate child protection sub sector coordination meetings, and ensure the meetings are well managed, with decisions and action points clearly communicated to members and stakeholders;-Identify and establish contact with relevant field-based national / international organizations, and representatives of affected populations.Where appropriate, invite these stakeholders to participate as partners;-Establish or provide leadership and support to existing sub committees (i-e. PSS committee, Case Management Task Force, etc) of the field CPiEWG ; 2.Preparedness and capacity of child protection sub sector members at field level effectively established and strengthened-Support regional capacity mapping and gap identification exercises. Identify training needs of field-based sector partners and report to the national coordinator. 3.Participate in sector-wide needs assessment and situation analysis, prioritization of programme intervention and sector planning-Participate in field-based joint cross-sector needs assessment exercises as appropriate to ensure that identified needs, gaps and priorities are as evidence-based as possible. 4. Ensure integration of cross-cutting issues in all field coordination activities-Participate relevant field sector meetings particularly with Education Sector and raise awareness of and promote the integration of agreed priority cross-cutting issues (e.g. child labour, early marriage, school feeding) in sector/cross-sector needs assessments, analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring.  5. Application of standards, tools, guidelines and good practice-Facilitate discussion and agreement on the use of common standards and tools among field-based child protection partners. -Support the contextualization and/or roll out of global tools or tools developed in the national level.-Ensure that sector partners are aware of relevant commitments that the Government has made under international human rights and humanitarian law and promote a response that is in line with these commitments. 6. Information management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting effectively conducted.-Facilitate adequate reporting and information sharing, both within the sector and with other sectors including contact list management, collecting information from partners, ensuring partners enter all relevant information in Activity Info before the deadline and ensuring it is shared with the sector members. 7. Support and implement the child protection sector advocacy strategy on core child protection concerns-Together with field-based child protection partners, identify core advocacy concerns for the sector and contribute to the development of key messages and advocacy strategy at national level, and when appropriate local level advocacy should also be facilitated. IV. Impact of Results  An efficient and effective coordination is in place for smooth functioning and implementing of child protection programs. V. Competencies and level of proficiency required (based on UNICEF Professional Competency Profiles. Core Values -Commitment -Diversity and inclusion-Integrity Core competencies-Communication [II]-Working with People [II]-Drive for Result [II]  Functional Competencies:-Formulating Strategies and Concepts [I]-Analysing [I]-Relating and Networking [II]-Persuading and Influencing [II]-Creating and Innovating [I] VI. Recruitment Qualifications Education: University degree in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, human rights, law or related social sciences field. Experience: -Minimum of two years of relevant professional experience with UN or NGO-Knowledge and experience in application of international technical guidelines and standards in child protection.-Demonstrated experiences in organising and conducting training activities and information campaigns on child protection related issues. -Proven technical expertise in the area of child protection including program implementation, assessments including survey, monitoring, evaluation and coordination. -Previous experience in coordination-Demonstrated experiences in organising and conducting training activities and information campaign on education related issues. -Proven track record in problem solving, mediation, and facilitating large meetings Language Requirements: Excellent knowledge of English and Arabic (written / oral / comprehension)