Child Protection Project Officer

The 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 nations.

Through 2018-2021 Strategic Plan, UNICEF’s work in education prioritizes equity – supporting all children regardless of their circumstances to have equal opportunities in education and learning – helping children secure basic skills such as literacy and numeracy and a wider range of skills. This includes paying particular attention to early learning, girls’ education, education for children with disabilities as well as education in emergencies and post-crisis context. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNICEF’s education programme is focused on the area of inclusive early learning, quality primary and secondary education and intercultural and inclusive education. In the area of inclusive early learning, the programme supports the continued expansion of preschool education programme.

The Child Protection programme is guided by principles and rights stipulated in international conventions , domestic strategies , UNICEF’s commitment to the rights and needs of girls and boys living in situations of vulnerability ; UNICEF’s commitment to gender equity, gender equality and gender-responsive policies and programming as cross-cutting themes; principles laid out in UNICEF’s Strategic Plan for 2022-2025 and UNICEF’s 2021 – 2030 global child protection strategy; the importance of pursuing a systems approach to child protection; the importance of ensuring participation of girls, boys and adolescents in programme and policy design; a result-based management framework approach; and a life cycle approach that recognises how risks and needs vary by age during childhood and adolescence.

The Child Protection component aims to protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. UNICEF provides support to strengthen the protective environment for children and the overall country’s child protection system. In partnership with governmental and non-governmental organizations, the Child Protection section is currently focusing on developing the child protection system, improving justice for children, fighting violence against children, and strengthening capacities of partners and other stakeholders in order to better protect children.

The programme has been developed in consultation with key stakeholders including government ministries, agencies and institutions, civil society organisations, academia and international organisations. It is based on the evidence included in the 2019 UNICEF Situation Analysis of Children (SitAn) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the UN Common Country Analysis (CCA). The programmatic interventions are derived from the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) outcomes for BiH, ensuring people contribute to, and benefit from, accountable and transparent governance systems and rule of law (Outcome 2) and ensuring that health care and social protection systems are providing better quality and more accessible and inclusive services (Outcome 6).

The programme is carried out in partnership with State, Entity/District Brcko, and Cantonal Ministries/Departments responsible for social welfare/protection, justice, security/interior, health, and education, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres, Police Academies, the Office of the Ombudspersons for Human Rights, academia, statistical institutes, United Nations agencies (IOM, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UN Women, and WHO), international development partners (e.g. EU, SDC, Sida), and international and national non-governmental organisations.

Under the supervision of the OIC Child Protection Head of the Section, the Child Protection Officer will provide professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the child protection projects through the application of theoretical and technical skills in researching, collecting, analyzing, and presenting technical programme information while learning organizational rules, regulations and procedures to support the development and formulation of the Child Protection Programme within the UNICEF BiH.

Main responsibilities:
• Provide technical and implementation support for Child Protection programming and implementation processes, with a specific focus on the UNICEF-led components of the Gender Accelerator Joint UN programmes related to Women’s Economic Empowerment and Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls;
• In close collaboration with the Head of Section of the Child Protection Section work with colleagues and partners to discuss programme implementation, including challenges, provide solutions, recommendations and/or to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level interventions and/or decisions.
• Contribute to knowledge management by keeping records of reports and assessments for easy reference and documenting best practices and lessons learned.
• Liaise with and provide technical support to government counterparts, non-governmental organizations and other partners implementing activities related to the CP programme.
• Support mapping and analysis of data related to violence against children and justice for children.
• Conduct regular programme field visits to liaise with partners, monitor ongoing projects, exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support; document findings in trip reports and recommend adjustments as needed. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems to the CP HoS for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, processes and best practices in child protection, to support programme implementation.
• Research potential donors, draft/contribute to project proposals, project briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.
• Provide quality inputs to project and donor reports and prepared briefing notes, as needed. Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances.
• Attend meetings, prepare minutes and track action points for follow-up.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Support the overall functioning of the Child Protection Section, with other relevant tasks assigned on an on-going basis, as needed.