Protection Officer (Child)

Protection Officer (Child)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
UNHCR places the highest importance on the provision of effective protection to children and youth of concern, with children and youth representing more than half of the persons falling under its mandate. UNHCR uses a rights and community-based approach, with a strong emphasis on inclusion within national child protection and education systems and services, to address the protection needs of children and youth of concern.  Child and youth protection is recognized as global organizational priority for UNHCR. Despite efforts to improve child and youth protection programmes, operations continue to face serious challenges in meeting UNHCR standards in this area of protection.  Dedicated child protection staff positions are needed to provide technical support to improve UNHCR¿s operational capacity to deliver effective protection to children and youth of concern.

The Child Protection Unit in the Division of International Protection (DIP) works in close collaboration with other teams in DIP, with the regional Bureaux and with the Division of Programme Support and Management, among others including the Division of External Relations.

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Senior Advisor (Child Protection), the incumbent of this position will have a specific role in supporting UNHCR operations in the practical  implementation of UNHCR¿s global policies and priorities relating to protection of children, in both emergency and protracted situations, in developing countries as well as in middle-income and in industrialized countries. The incumbent is expected to be a professional with proven experience in child protection and is able to support the operationalization of the protection of children in situations of forced displacement and in mixed migration contexts.

With increased resettlement quotas in 2016 and 2017, it is essential for UNHCR to increase its capacity to identify, respond and support children at risk, to ensure they have access to life-changing opportunities and durable solutions. Such an increase requires support for child protection programming in countries of asylum that facilitate the identification and referral of children at risk through case management tools, such as the best interests procedure. A corresponding increase in UNHCR's specialist expertise on child protection at multiple levels - field, regional, and global - is therefore required. This expertise will strengthen the capacity of operations to: (a) analyse information related to child protection and translate it into appropriate profiles for resettlement; (b) to strengthen institutional capacity in case management, including best interests procedure, destined to children in need of durable solution; and(c) to work with resettlement colleagues to ensure appropriate measures to support children at risk to navigate the resettlement process by adopting child friendly procedures.

The Protection Officer (Child) will strengthen institutional capacity in case management, including best interests procedure, destined to children in need of durable solutions and other children at risk; and to work with resettlement colleagues to ensure appropriate measures to support children at risk to navigate the resettlement process by adopting child friendly procedures support the strengthening of field capacity to collect and analyse information related to child protection to support prioritization and identification of appropriate profiles for resettlement.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT
Accountability
- Country operations receive timely, effective, and field-oriented expert technical advice on child protection programming, particularly in the implementation of the best interest procedure for children at risk, such as unaccompanied and separated children.
- Operations supported are more efficient in identification and processing of children at risk considered for resettlement
- UNHCR's position and priorities in relation to child protection are accurately and authoritatively represented in inter-agency fora.

Responsibility
- Support the implementation of child friendly procedures in processing of resettlement cases and other relevant protection procedures.
- Provide operational support to country offices in the development and implementation of child protection components of country specific protection and solution strategies.
- Support development and updating of training material for case management and the best interests procedure and deliver trainings and provide coaching for UNHCR and partner staff as needed.
- Monitor progress on child protection global strategic priorities (GSP), in particular those related to the best interests process in order to identify trends and gaps in UNHCR programming.
- Provide support to the Child Protection Unit and the Resettlement Service at a global level on policy and procedures relating to resettlement of children at risk, particularly unaccompanied and separated children.
- Provide technical support to field operations, either remotely or through field missions, on case management procedures in order to ensure that case management including the best interests procedure is effective in identifying, referring, and supporting children at risk in need of durable solution.
- Provide technical support on effective information management, including effective use of proGres or other information management system to support child protection case management for resettlement and for children at risk.
- Provide guidance on assessment, data collection and analysis of child protection trends, to support prioritization and identification of appropriate profiles for resettlement.
- Contribute to inter-agency work on case management in order to promote use of and consideration of the best interest procedure in displacement contexts.
- Liaise with other HQ entities, including the Regional Bureaux, in order to strengthen child protection case management in the field and share information on progress made and gaps identified in order to guide decisions regarding resource allocation in support of child protection case management and the best interest procedure, especially during the annual programme review process.
- Contribute to the development of operational guidelines and tools on child protection and the best interests process.
- Facilitate data management and analysis activities - including field-level capacity building - for the Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS) and other sources of data, and contribute to inter-agency discussions and processes on these issues.

Authority
- Enforce local compliance with UNHCR's global protection policies and standards related to child protection and the best interests procedure.
- Represent UNHCR in internal and external meetings.
- Undertake field and technical support missions.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- University degree in International Law, Human Rights, International Development, International Relations, Anthropology, Political or Social Science, with authoritative knowledge of issues relating to refugee women, child protection, gender, humanitarian and development issues, and SGBV prevention and response.
- Minimum 8 years (6 years with advanced university degree) relevant professional experience of which 2 years in the field and 3 years in an international capacity.
- At least two years of progressively responsible experience in the field of protection of children, broader protection or social work involving children and youth.
- Thorough understanding of child protection, and practical child protection experience from a national context but preferably also from humanitarian, development or forced displacement situations.
- Thorough experience in managing in child protection case management programmes, in particular focusing unaccompanied and separated children.
- Familiarity with UNHCR best interests procedure and experience in implementing the procedure in the field
- A good understanding of resettlement policies, practice, and procedures.
- Excellent facilitation skills and experience in development and delivery of training material.
- Familiarity with assessment methodologies, M&E as well as database management is desirable.
- Excellent knowledge of English and working knowledge of another UN language.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Diverse field operational experience.
- Good IT skills including database management skills.
- Proven communication skills, both oral and written.
- Demonstrated knowledge of community communication and engagement approaches
- Extensive experience in working with children and youth.
- Solid knowledge of UNHCR's child protection programming and case management tools, such as the best interests procedure.
- Familiarity with UNHCR resettlement policy, practice and procedures, including case identification and processing stages.
- Familiarity with information management systems (proGres, RAIS, CP IMS).
- Ability to work under significant time pressure and come up with innovative and creative solutions faced with fast-paced changing circumstances.
- Coordination and consensus building skills to manage multiple stakeholder consultation processes.
- Ability to develop and strengthen partnerships and networks in child protection.