Especialista Sistemas Locales de Protección y Prevención de Violencia

Organizational Context

UNICEF, established in 1946, is a permanent UN agency dedicated to ensuring the rights of all children, especially the most vulnerable. In Ecuador, UNICEF has worked for over 40 years with the government and civil society to promote child well-being, advocating for social investment in education, health, and protection. The agency's mandate in Ecuador focuses on child protection, health, social inclusion, and education, supported by operations, fundraising, communications, and monitoring teams. This specific project, funded by the Peacebuilding Fund, aims to strengthen social cohesion and protection in border communities.

Job Purpose

This assignment, part of a binational Ecuador-Peru project funded by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), aims to strengthen social cohesion, child protection, and the prevention of criminal violence, recruitment, and gender-based violence in border communities. The role will contribute to enhancing institutional protection and prevention mechanisms by developing practical tools, coordination procedures, and technical capacities. The focus is on strengthening existing structures like local protection councils and specialized services, fostering effective coordination between community risk identification and institutional protection pathways. The volunteer will support the participatory development of a Prevention and Protection Toolkit, systematize best practices, create operational guides, and build local actors' capacities for violence prevention, facilitating coordinated responses between communities and institutions.

Responsibilities

The UN Volunteer will support the UNICEF Child Protection Officer by strengthening institutional capacities and developing tools. This includes conducting participatory diagnostics of existing protection mechanisms, mapping protection routes and protocols, and assisting in the creation and validation of practical guides and operational manuals. The role involves contributing to a Prevention and Protection Toolkit by gathering methodologies and best practices, and systematizing lessons learned. Furthermore, the volunteer will enhance the coordination of local protection systems by strengthening collaboration between local councils, governments, and community organizations, facilitating joint work for early risk identification and timely protection activation. The volunteer will also coordinate territorial actions, support capacity-building through training on violence prevention and child protection for local actors, and manage knowledge through monitoring implementation, preparing technical reports, and participating in project meetings.

Work Experience

A minimum of three years of professional experience in child protection, rights protection systems, community work, violence prevention, or human rights is required. Experience working with local governments, public institutions, facilitating participatory processes, and developing technical tools like guides and manuals is essential. Desirable experience includes work in violence prevention, child recruitment, gender-based violence, human mobility contexts, border areas, and knowledge of Ecuador's child protection system.

Skills

Proven experience in child protection, institutional strengthening, and community development. Skills in participatory facilitation, capacity building, and technical tool development are crucial. Experience with local governance structures, violence prevention strategies, and inter-institutional coordination is highly desirable. Proficiency in Spanish is required, with basic English being an asset. Expertise areas include human rights, legal affairs, and emergency preparedness/crisis response.

Explore related opportunities