UNICEF Maldives has an exciting career opportunity for a Child Protection Officer, at NOA level, (Temporary Appointment) for 1 year. Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply!
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For every child, every right.
ADVERT – Child Protection Officer, NOA, Temporary Appointment, Male', Maldives (only for Maldivian Nationals) #136294 Internal/External
Background:
Significant strides have been made towards the protection and promotion of children’s rights; gaps still remain. The enactment of the landmark legislation the Child Rights Protection Act (CRPA) 19/2019 and Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) 18/2019 have brought about a systematic overhaul and paved way to raise the standards of protection for children in the Maldives. The CRPA established an independent children’s ombudsperson, a high-level Child Rights Council, created the Child and Family Protection Services for safeguarding the interests of children in need of care and protection, and criminalized non-reporting of child abuse cases. The JJA raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 15 years in line with international standards and established a framework that focuses on diversion and restorative justice as opposed to retributive justice. Ensuring the implementation of these laws requires considerable system strengthening and capacity building of relevant staff.
The Maldives, with its geographical dispersion, presents great challenges in not only attending to cases, but also in accessing services. Most of the services are based in Greater Male’ Region. The more remote islands, face numerous difficulties in accessing violence prevention, protection and response services. The child protection system’s main challenges include shortage of qualified workforces and an efficient system for referrals and case management.
The UNICEF Maldives Child Protection Programme, under the current Country Programme 2022 – 2026, work towards strengthening the child protection system of the country through; capacity building; establishing community mechanisms and strengthening the referral and case management, including the system for caring for children deprived of family care; and enhancing child rights promotion and monitoring system.
Purpose for the job:
The Child Protection Programme needs additional support for at least an year, for programme planning and timely rollout of the interventions and to ensure the planned results are achieved on time. Under the guidance of the supervisor, the Child Protection Officer is responsible for Implementation of the child protection rolling work plan for 2024-2025. More specifically, the proposed child protection officer will lead the rollout of the programmes related to children in contact/children in conflict with the law. Further, the child protection officer will assist the child protection specialist with the planning and execution of the child protection program reviews.
Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:
- Support designing, coordinating and implementation of activities of the juvenile justice system intervention.
- Support to programme development, planning, programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.
- Technical and operational support to programme implementation.
- Networking and partnership building.
- Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
JD for VA - Child Protection Officer NOA TA (Juvenile Justice).pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum Requirements:
Education:
A university degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
Experience:
- A minimum of 1 year of professional experience in social development planning, management and programme implementation in child protection-related areas is required.
- Experience in working at community level is considered as an asset.
Language Requirements:
Fluency in English and Dhivehi is required.
Desirables:
- Candidates with educational background in international law, and/or relevant experience.
- Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.
For every Child, you demonstrate...
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This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.
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 | 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.
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Remarks:
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable persons with disabilities 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.
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.
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