United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Career Opportunities

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

We are recruiting to fill the positions below:

Job Title: Consultant to Support the Review and Development of the National Strategy to End Child Marriage in Nigeria

Job No.: 551188
Location: Abuja (Remote)
Level: Consultancy
Contract type: Consultancy
Categories: Child Protection
Contract Duration: 6 months

Also Check: Recent African Union (AU) Jobs

Overview

• Nigeria has the largest number of female child brides in Africa (23 million girls and women married as children) and carries the third largest burden of married girls globally (3.3M), after India (26.6M) and Bangladesh (3.9M).
• At least 44.1 per cent of girls in Nigeria are married before their 18th birthday, while 18.5 per cent are married before they turned 15 so almost 1 in 5 girls.
• Child marriage is a key driver of socio-economic challenges especially in northern Nigeria, leading to school drop-out and adolescent pregnancy which is also linked to high maternal mortality and malnutrition, among other issues.
• Child marriage occurs in a context of limited knowledge and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services, with complications of early childbearing (maternal mortality ratios is at 576 per 100,000) and obstructed labor such as obstetric fistula which affect an estimated 20,000 women and girls every year in Nigeria.
• While the data shows a 9 per cent decline in the prevalence of child marriage since 2003, and a projected further decrease by 6 per cent by 2030, because of the rapid increase in population, the number of female child brides will increase by more than a million by 2030 and double by 2050.
• Additionally, an estimated 10 million more girls will be at risk of becoming brides as a result of the pandemic.

In Nigeria, whether a girl will be married before she reaches 18 years depends largely on the geographic location, the economic status of her family and her education:

• According to MICS 2016-17, prevalence rates of women who marry before 18 in some parts of Northern Nigeria are well over 50 per cent, including Bauchi: 64.4 per cent; Jigawa: 74.9 per cent; Katsina: 70.9 per cent; Kebbi: 66.9 per cent; Sokoto: 68.6 per cent; Yobe: 62.0 per cent and Zamfara: 71.4 per cent
• North west Nigeria has the lowest median age of marriage (15.8 yrs), with Katsina, in north west Nigeria, which has the lowest median age of marriage of any state, at 15.5 yrs (NDHS 2018)
• The median age of child marriage is nine years lower among the lowest wealth quintile compared to the highest wealth quintile (NDHS 2018)
• 68 per cent of women from the poorest households were married before 18 (MICS, 2016-17)
• 52.3 per cent of rural women compared to 29.4 per cent of urban women were married before the age of 18 (MICS, 2016-17)
• The median age of first marriage of women with no formal education is 15.8 years compared to 21.9 years amongst those with secondary education (NDHS 2018).
• 63.3 per cent of women with no education and 73.3 per cent of those with non-formal education were married before 18 years compared to 22.6 per cent of those with secondary education (MICS 2016-17)
• Nigeria has committed to ending child marriage within the African Union Commission framework and launched the National Campaign and Strategy to End Child Marriage on 29 November 2016.
• The National Strategic Plan to End Child Marriage in Nigeria 2016 – 2021 was the first national action plan adopted by the Federal Government aimed at “highlighting the multi-sectoral, multi-faceted activities needed to bring about successful elimination of this harmful practice based on the premise of a strengthened coordination platform led by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs”.
• The key actors for this include but are not limited to various MDAs such as Health, Education, Information and National Orientation Agency, Finance, Budget and National Planning; traditional and religious bodies, civil society organizations, foreign and national donors and implementing partners.
• Following the expiration of the strategy at the end of 2021, a consensus was reached at a meeting (March 2022) of the Core Group on Ending Child Marriage in Nigeria, led by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, to review and develop a new 5-year costed National Strategy to End Child Marriage in Nigeria (2022-2027) which will provide a strategic roadmap that will consolidate and build on the gains made, with a view to accelerating efforts towards ending child marriage in Nigeria by 2030.
• The policy review process will need to identify, assess and address any existing gaps not addressed by the previous policy as well as emerging trends, patterns and evidence on child marriage in Nigeria.
• The outcome of this exercise will be to produce a costed and operational strategy and action plan through which the rearticulated goals, objectives and strategies in the revised plan are realised.
• The revised policy should incorporate a rights-based and gender transformative approach to prevention (education as a delay tactic) and response (health, SRHR and justice) to child marriage, aimed at repositioning efforts aimed at ending Child Marriage in Nigeria.
• To this end, FMWA/UNICEF Nigeria is seeking to hire a local consultant to support the revision and the development of the National Strategy to End Child Marriage in Nigeria (2022-2027).
• This activity will support outcome 3.2.24 on Strategic advocacy and partnerships to address child marriage under Pillar 3 of the Spotlight Initiative.
• The Spotlight Initiative (SI) is a global partnership between the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in support of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
• In Nigeria, the focus states for Spotlight implementation are Adamawa, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi, FCT, Lagos and Sokoto. However, this exercise will be conducted both at the national and state (selected) levels.

Scope of Work
In carrying out this assignment, the consultant will need to:

• Conduct a literature review of frameworks, studies and evaluations of successful practices implemented in Nigeria and other countries.
• Conduct desk review of program and policy documents (national and sub-national and sectoral policies on health, education, labour etc.), that take stock of the situation of child marriage and programmatic responses, including the recent analysis of the integration of ending child marriage policies and plans into budgets.
• Provide a summary of the available data, including the 2014 VAC survey, and latest data from MICS and NDHS on the emerging trends.
• Review and develop a revised National Strategy to End Child Marriage in Nigeria, particularly with a view to strengthening a comprehensive approach to the prevention and response to Child Marriage including strengthening case management, availability of quality child-sensitive social welfare and justice services and ensure involve other sectors (education and health)
• Provide recommendations to the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the national and sub-national Technical Working Groups (TWG), and its first year workplan, including increasing the impact and visibility of the work conducted by the TWG.
• Review use of tools and indicators that inform data collection on the situation of child marriage and service provision and provide recommendations on the standardization indicators and tools in line with CEDAW and African Charter reporting requirements to support and how data can be fed into a national “data bank”.

Knowledge / Expertise / Skills Required

• Advanced Degree in International Development, Social Welfare, Public Administration, Gender or other relevant course.
• 10+ years of demonstrated experience in the area of research into policy making on child marriage, related social issues, adolescent girls’ programming or related field.
• Demonstrated experience in research, both quantitative and qualitative.
• Experience in the field of child marriage is an asset;
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required
• Fluency in Hausa is an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate:

• UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

See Also: Career Job Opportunities for Graduate at The International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Job Title: Individual Contractor to Support Edo State in Scaling of Digital Learning and Skilling and School to Work Transition

Job No.: 552392
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Contract type: Consultancy
Level: Consultancy
Categories: Health

Job Description
How can you make a difference?

• This consultancy aims to better enable UNICEF to deliver on intended results and to support the State Government of Edo to institutionalize effective approaches for education continuity and skills development.

Under the supervision of the Education Manager, the consultant will be responsible for the following to support achievement of better learning outcomes and adolescents’ skills development to transition to the world of work:

• Support the efforts to ensure harmonized coordination in addressing the learning crisis and improving foundational literacy and numeracy acquisition, in consultation with the Edo State Ministry of Education and the different development partners.
• Support the integration of the Teacher Management Information System (TMIS) at state level which will enable data generation that could lead to improved and more effective education planning and administration.
• Support with the setting up and guide on the implementation of the learning assessment community within the state
• Provide capacity strengthening, technical support and guidance to Edo State on connectivity, digital literacy, job-specific skills development, and alternative skills development pathways for young people, to align with GenU 9JA initiative, with a specific focus on YOMA.
• Lead the development and management of a network on adolescent skills development among key partners in Edo State, including the public and private sector, youth-led networks and academia, for exchanging best practices and strengthening the relevance of skills development to labour market needs.
• Conduct a mapping on adolescent skills development which identifies: (i) the skills needed for effective transition from learning to earning; (ii) existing and potential partnerships that are addressing/could address these skills; (iii) potential new initiatives for and by young people (Youth-led initiatives), with a focus on life skills; and (iv) remaining gaps and needs
• Lead the development of a state- and local-level framework to guide the identification and implementation of innovative, cost-effective partnerships for digital and job-specific skills development onboard different digital platforms including GenU 9JA YOMA and linkages to work, with a focus on skills for girls and guided by UNICEF’s Learning Agenda .
• Provide technical and operational expertise to support the establishment of strategic partnerships for skills development and linkages to work for Edo State including through GenU 9JA, as well as ongoing work by other development partners, such as the World Bank.
• Scope possibilities for and coordinate activities on leveraging existing resources, such as those developed by the World Bank, to offer alternative pathways to skills development and empowerment, particularly for young girls and including through digital technology. For example, this might involve exploring opportunities to leverage Learning Passport in Edo State to strengthen teachers’ capacities for implementing the life skills, digital skills and employability content currently available through the World Bank’s Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project as well as ensure the provision of YOMA in digital hubs, in and out of schools.
• Building on the above-outlined partnerships, support the identification of additional strategic partnerships with the public, private sectors, youth-led initiatives and academic institutions for the provision of entrepreneurship training, apprenticeships, mentoring and 21st-century/job-specific skills development opportunities.
• Develop a results framework and indicators for the above activities, including methodological guidelines for the collection of data against the indicators and, using the framework, support the monitoring and evaluation of programme implementation.
• Further support the generation of evidence (e.g., documenting of practices, stakeholder interviews, data collection, case studies) on programme effectiveness and effective practices for engaging young people in skills development opportunities and linkages to work.

Qualifications
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

•  A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in education programme design and implementation, specifically in non-formal and formal education design and delivery, teacher training, and/or e-learning
• At least 2 years of proven experience in project management, programme design and implementation, and programme coordination involving multiple stakeholders
• A minimum of 2 years working experience in large-scale deployment of skills development programmes
• Proven experience coordinating the engagement of private sector, government, and adolescents in project delivery
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian political and educational context and understanding of development issues, especially for marginalized populations.

Other Skills and Attributes:

• Experience working with UN agencies or other international development agencies would be an asset
• A good understanding of UNICEF’s programmatic areas, namely Education (especially Education in Emergencies), social policy and child protection
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. Consultant should be at ease in presentations and meetings with different high-level stakeholders and officials
• Demonstrated ability and experience in coordination and supervisions is required.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and to establish harmonious and effective relationships both within and outside the organization, more specifically with Ministry of Education and other education institutions.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent oral and written communication in English is required.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Job Title: Chief Field Officer (CFO)

Job Number: 552363
Location: Kaduna, Nigeria
Contract Type: Fixed Term Appointment
Level: P-4
Categories: Programme Management

How Can You Make a Difference?

• Under the guidance of the Chief Field Operations, the Chief Field Officer (CFO) is accountable for managing and leading the total programme commitment of the Kaduna Field Office within the Nigeria Country programme.
• The CFO represents UNICEF in his/her Area of Responsibility (AoR), leads and oversees the various program sectors and operational service teams ensuring the delivery of quality results in accordance with UNICEF’s programme of cooperation, country programme management plan and overall vision set forward by the Representative.

Summary of Key Functions / Accountabilities

• Effective management of UNICEF presence, staff and assets in the Area of Responsibility
• Effective knowledge management systems adopted and utilized to strengthen area/country programme management.
• Situation Analysis prepared and updated; critical programme intervention points and measures identified; and programme work plans, recommendations and reports prepared.
• Programme funds optimally used.
• Programme monitoring and evaluations effectively conducted to improve programme performance, and programme status reports timely prepared. Gender/sex disaggregated data and inputs relevant to the country programme are provided as an integral part of programming.
• Rights based and results based programming approach fully incorporated into all phases of programme and project processes.
• Commitment and institutional capacities of the national and local partners effectively gained and established.
• Rights perspective and advocacy at the national, community and family levels incorporated in policy analysis for establishing and elevating UNICEF’s credibility in national and international policy debates.
• Effective partnerships and collaboration achieved and maintained for advocacy, technical cooperation, programme development/management/coordination, information sharing and networking.

To Qualify as an Advocate for Every Child, You Will Have

• An Advanced University Degree in one of the following field: Health, Public Health, Social Sciences, International Relations, Public Administration, Government and Public Relations, Public or Social Policy, Sociology, Social or Community Development, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of eight years of professional work experience in programme management, planning, monitoring and evaluation, project administration or another relevant area is required
• Experience working in a developing country/emergency context is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Familiarity/ background with emergency is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

 For Every Child, You Will Demonstrate
UNICEF’s Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and Competencies:

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Application Closing Date
8th July, 2022.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
• 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.
• UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
• 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.

Remarks:

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
• The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract is valid for the entire period of the contract. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).