Child Protection Officer
Organizational Context
UNICEF, established in 1946, works globally to ease child suffering, protect child rights, and promote their survival, development, and healthy growth. In Morocco, UNICEF supports national efforts to ensure vulnerable children benefit from a protective environment, focusing on preventing violence, abuse, and exploitation. The country office program priorities include enhancing prevention and response services, strengthening inclusive child protection systems, improving inter-agency coordination, and ensuring access to services for children on the move.
Job Purpose
The UNV Child Protection Officer will support UNICEF Morocco's child protection program, contributing to initiatives that prevent and respond to violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect. The role involves strengthening child protection systems, improving case management, enhancing referral pathways, and ensuring access to quality, child-sensitive services. The Officer will also promote justice for children, positive parenting, community engagement, and the transformation of harmful social norms. Additionally, the position supports evidence generation, data analysis, reporting, knowledge management, and the integration of child safeguarding, gender equality, inclusion, and child participation across all program interventions.
Responsibilities
The Child Protection Officer provides technical, operational, and administrative support to the child protection program. Key responsibilities include: - **Programme Development and Planning:** Researching and analyzing development trends, preparing technical reports, and contributing to the formulation of program goals, objectives, and strategies. This involves supporting results-based planning and monitoring. - **Programme Management and Monitoring:** Collaborating with partners to address implementation issues, monitoring program activities and resource utilization, and participating in reviews. Reporting on progress, challenges, and resource compliance is crucial. - **Implementation Support:** Conducting field visits, assessing progress, providing technical support to counterparts and partners, and reporting on critical issues to ensure timely resolution. - **Networking and Partnership Building:** Developing and maintaining partnerships with government counterparts and stakeholders, participating in inter-agency coordination, and supporting resource mobilization and advocacy efforts. - **Innovation and Knowledge Management:** Identifying and sharing lessons learned, applying innovative approaches, and contributing to capacity-building initiatives for stakeholders.
Work Experience
A minimum of three years of relevant professional experience in social development planning and management, specifically in child protection areas, is required. Experience in child protection systems, prevention and response to violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect, case management, and child safeguarding is essential. Experience supporting research, data collection, analysis, program implementation, and monitoring is also necessary.
Skills
Key competencies include professionalism, integrity, teamwork, respect for diversity, and a commitment to continuous learning. Strong planning, organizing, and problem-solving skills are essential. Excellent communication, interpersonal, and reporting skills are required, along with the ability to work effectively in diverse teams and collaborate with various stakeholders. Familiarity with disability and social inclusion aspects, project management, program development, and strategy is also beneficial.