Duties and Responsibilities

Duty Station: Amhara 

Duration :3 months with possible extension 
Start Date: ASAP

Reporting to: Child Protection Specialists (NOC level) based in Amhara

Background

Ethiopia is gripped in the midst of a mix of complex, enduring, and emerging emergencies, including the Tigray crisis, resulting in displacement which increases protection risks for women and children.

According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) 2021, 23.5 million people are in humanitarian need, projected to increase to 23.8 million by the second and third quarters of 2021. 12.4 million are estimated to be children. Among them, 2.7 million are internally displaced persons (IDPs), and an estimated 58 percent of IDPs are children, with 1.5 percent of the total child population (approximately 23,895) expected to be unaccompanied and separated. The conflict in Northern Ethiopia has resulted in an estimated 496,000 IDPs. The same report suggests that child protection concerns are exacerbated in the face of various emergencies that result in displacement that increase children’s exposure to protection risks, including violence, abuse, exploitation, gender-based violence (GBV), family separation, harmful negative coping mechanisms, and psychosocial distress with enduring impact on their mental health. 

The vast numbers of IDPs currently come from North Western and Central zones of Tigray, Metekel and Kemashi zones in Benishangul, Awi Zone, and North Shewa in Amhara, Konso, Burji, Konta and Hadiya zones in SNNPR. 

According to the various assessment reports, there is mounting evidence that insecurity and fear has led to adverse mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS) well-being outcomes for all vulnerable populations, including service providers (such as teachers and the social service workforce) for whom their own wellbeing is critical so that they may be able to better provide a caring and supportive environment for those under their care. Moreover, increased exposure of already vulnerable populations, particularly children, women, IDPs, refugees, migrants, safety net clients, the elderly and the disabled to protection risks including exploitation, abuse, neglect, harmful practices and violence (including gender-based violence), who in the absence of access to essential services, may also likely resort to negative coping mechanisms, that would further endanger their wellbeing. Furthermore, there are distressing reports of increased sexual violence, and a corresponding lack of services for survivors, compounded by a climate of fear to report and seek help, hampering efforts where few services may be available. 

Justification

As part of its child protection response, UNICEF seeks to provide and strengthen child protection and GBV services to affected populations. The quality of implementation of services requires monitoring of the situation, technical assistance to implementing partners, and skilled coordination. 

The deployment of Third-Party Child Protection in Emergencies Consultants linked to affected areas will provide technical support to the implementation, monitoring and reporting of UNICEF’s child protection program response. The consultants will also play a convening role with child protection program partners. The existing efforts to strengthen/establish zonal/woreda level coordination mechanisms require further support and this will ensure continued monitoring of the child protection situation and ongoing responses in highly dynamic emergency contexts. This technical support will be linked with strengthening the capacities of Government sectors and other UNICEF PCA partners to provide CPIE and GBVIE response services in line with UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children for Child Protection. This dedicated Child Protection in Emergencies Consultants are therefore required to provide the needed field support to ensure a coordinated, quality-assured response in dynamic and acute emergency settings. 

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks 

Under the supervision and leadership of the Child Protection Specialist (supervisor):

I. UNICEF Child Protection in Emergencies Response: In line with the Core Commitments for Children for Child Protection, provide technical and programmatic support for the design, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of child protection in emergency response in partnership with BoWCYA and NGOs and ensure that interventions included in the child protection priority focus areas are implemented, monitored and managed in a timely and effective manner. Specifically;

• Provide technical support and closely follow up on the establishment and strengthening functional Child protection and GBV AOR coordination forum at regional and Emergency woredas

1. Support and coordinate the implementation of the CPiE Response action plan through the leadership of the regional and Zonal office of Women and Children Affairs (ZoWCYA) to strengthen prevention, coordination and address the needs of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) based on agreed best interest determination standards in line with the National Case Management Framework 

2. Support the establishment of community-based safe environments for women and children, including child-friendly spaces, learning spaces, and other safe spaces, with attention to girls, adolescents and their caregivers, and support the provision of psychological first aid and psychosocial support services.

3. Strengthen the capacity of IPs to complete registration and documentation of the caseload of all unaccompanied, separated and missing children in the IDP sites and host communities 

4. Ensure an appropriate and confidential filing system is maintained by social workers and case managers for all identified and registered cases of child protection in woredas offices of BoWCYA. 

5. Assist BOWCA, ZoWCYA, and WOWCA to facilitate family tracing, verification, and reunification efforts for unaccompanied and separated children in coordination with ICRC/Ethiopian Red Cross (ERCS) and community structures, where appropriate. 

6. Assess alternative care options and ensure all the necessary safeguards are in place and ensure partners abide by the relevant standards and principles.

7. Support social workers and ZoWCYA/WoWCYA staff to timely and accurately enter all case management/FTR forms into the central case management database for all IDP sites managed by BoWCYA.

8. Identify stakeholders, services, and partners with the capacity to address violence, exploitation or abuse, including GBV; and build the capacity of partners to provide multi-sectoral response services (e.g., health, psychosocial support, security and legal/justice) to victims and survivors.

9. Provide ongoing capacity assistance and monitor the implementation of the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for UASC in coordination with the BOWCA, ZoWCYA, their woreda offices, and other implementing partners of UNICEF

10. Follow up and support the implementation of the Regional response plan and Program documents with UNICEF-supported NGOs: Provide technical support to BOWCA, ZoWCYA and NGO partners to implement the overall CP/GBV regional response plans and PCAs.

11. Child Protection in Emergencies situations and response monitoring and reporting including regular Sit Reps and 5W reporting: On a monthly basis (and ad hoc requests as needed) collect, analyze information and report against the Ethiopia Country Office (ECO HAC Results framework and CP/GBV monitoring framework). Reports will be shared with the ECO through the Child Protection Specialist and Emergency Officer/ Specialist for quality assurance.

12. Reports: Ensure key reporting requirements are met including inputs for weekly/bi-weekly and monthly sitreps, donor reports and systematic coordination of appropriate responses on child protection in emergency operational response plan, with other relevant sectors, especially health, education and WASH. 

13. Capacity Building: Based on needs assessment, support and facilitate capacity building of humanitarian actors and front-line workers on child protection, GBV and PSEA areas and report on results of capacity building effort

II. CP GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR) Coordination

• Where relevant, provide Technical support to regional BOWCA and ZoWCYA to lead the child protection and GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR) coordination, promoting and facilitating active participation from key actors, 

• Work with DPRM, OCHA, the Protection Cluster led by UNHCR, and child protection actors to coordinate inter-agency needs assessment to map out priority child protection issues, and gaps and identify key resources and assets to avoid duplication and build complementarity of partner’s child protection response. Ensure that Child protection concerns are well addressed.

• Support the capacity development of the CP AOR  members at the regional and zonal levels and ensure that clear and effective communication occurs between federal, regional AOR and zonal AOR and strengthen a more standardized child protection response across all affected areas.

• Co-lead on the strategic planning against identified child protection needs and response priorities with AOR members.

• Promote the implementation of the Minimum Standards of Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and GBV Humanitarian Standards.      

• Collaborate with the Protection Cluster lead and OCHA to ensure that key child protection concerns are well reflected in all documents and humanitarian initiatives.

• Coordinate and collaborate with other clusters such as the Health and Nutrition Cluster, Education and WASH Clusters to ensure that CP is mainstreamed across sectors to meet the psychosocial needs of children affected by emergencies and promote multisectoral response to CPiE.

• Monitor the performance of the inter-agency CP/GBV response against agreed indicators and monitor the core cluster functions. 

• Represent the CP – GBV Area of Responsibility in humanitarian coordination meetings under the EOC; the Protection Cluster and other relevant meetings. 

Job Requirements

• University degree at an advanced level in the field of Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Social Anthropology, Community Development, and related.

• Extensive work experience relevant to child protection in both development and emergencies may be considered as a replacement for formal qualifications for an advanced level; 

• At least 4 years of progressively responsible humanitarian and development work experience in child protection and gender-based violence including in emergencies with UN Agencies and/or INGOs.

• Previous UNICEF/ABH/NGO experience in child protection program coordination, IDP/Returnee Situation is an asset 

• Familiarity and experience working with government counterparts 

• Strong knowledge and experience in establishing coordination architecture, especially at zone and woreda levels.

• Fluency in written and verbal English and Amharic is required.

How to Apply

interested applicants can apply through  THIS LINK