INTERNAL/EXTERNAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Vacancy Notice No.: ETH/AA/IC/VN/003/2021

Grade: NOB

Type of Contract:  Individual Consultant Contract

Duration of Contract: Until 31 December 2021 

No of Positions: One (1)

General Background of Project or Assignment:

Forcibly displaced children are at greater risk than adults of abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, trafficking or forced recruitment into armed groups and face other child protection risks as well. The disruption of protection mechanisms such as family and community in displacement situations can have a significant effect on children in general and girls in particular, as they may face gender-related protection risks. Refugee children in urban settings also face multi-facetted protection risks due to high costs of living, limited protection related information and family/community support. On the other hand, children are highly resilient and find ways of maximizing the existing coping mechanisms within family, friendship, learning, playing, sports, and they can be active members of their community.

Children’s rights are enshrined in international law, including in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and are at the heart of UNHCR’s protection mandate^[1]. Due to the high proportion of refugee children in Ethiopia and the specific protection risks, they are facing in displacement setting, responding to the specific protection risks of children is a key priority for UNHCR Ethiopia. Therefore, this national Child Protection Strategy (2021-2025) shows UNHCR’s commitment to the protection of children from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence and aims at contributing to a better future for children, their families and communities in the best interests of children.

As of April 2021, Ethiopia hosts 805,164 registered refugees and asylum-seekers originating from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and some 26 other countries. According to UNHCR statistics, the total number of refugee children in Ethiopia is 469,683, representing 58.33 percent of the total refugee population. Out of the total number of children, 41,670 are unaccompanied or separated children, while 66,712 children are registered as children with specific needs other that unaccompanied and separated.

UNHCR and partners provide comprehensive child protection services for refugee children to prevent and respond to child protection issues. These child protection services include Best Interests Procedures (BIP)/Child protection case management; provision of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), strengthening of community-based child protection mechanisms and birth registration among others

For UNHCR, ‘’A child protection system includes functions undertaken by a range of formal and informal actors to prevent, mitigate and respond to the risks faced by children’. A child protection system is comprised of six multi-sector elements: Legal and Policy Framework; Knowledge and Data; Coordination; Human and Financial Capacities; Prevention and Response Activities and Advocacy and Awareness-Raising.^[1]

In line with the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), UNHCR and partners promote the inclusion of refugee children in a national child protection system. In this regard, the UNHCR Best Interests Procedures (BIP) Guidelines strengthen guidance on working with the national child protection system to ensure access to comprehensive case management and services for at risk children. Moreover, the revised UNHCR BIP Guidelines^[2] strengthen guidance on inclusion of refugee children in the national child protection system. The guidelines also clarified the roles of UNHCR in different circumstances, such as when the national procedures are appropriate and accessible to refugee children; where States have established appropriate procedures that are not (fully) accessible to refugee children, and where procedures are accessible but not fully appropriate, or where procedures do not exist.

Therefore, in light of the above, an assessment of the national child protection system in Ethiopia to understand the current status for inclusion of refugee children and the capacity of the national system are crucial to determine the specific strategy and interventions of UNHCR in the national child protection system. The criteria of what constitutes appropriate national procedure will be assessed based on the criteria outlined in UNHCR’s Executive Committee (ExCom) Conclusion No. 107 (2007)^[3]; on children of concern, United Nations Child Rights Conventions^[4] and the UNHCR revised BIP Guidelines.

These TORs also build on the work that UNICEF is currently supporting, namely a capacity assessment of Ethiopia’s child protection system with the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth (MoWCY) that includes (1) a rapid assessment of the child protection system, (2) child protection budget and expenditure analysis and (3) comprehensive mapping and assessment of the social service workforce for child protection. The rapid assessment has now been completed, preliminary findings of which were shared with the assessment Governance Committee, chaired by MoWCY. The data collection for the budget and expenditure analysis has been completed and reports drafted, while the mapping and assessment of the social service workforce is underway. UNHCR was one of the key informants for the rapid assessment of the CP system as part of this exercise. The CP system capacity assessment is implemented by an international consultant firm- Ministerial International and led by MoWCY through a Governance Committee involving representatives from relevant Ministries that are part of the child protection system. Moreover, UNHCR and UNICEF are committed to a model and transformative Blueprint partnership to secure refugee children a fair deal in line with the Global Compact on Refugees, and as reflected in the commitments made at the Global Refugee Forum. Some of the main objectives of this new partnership include strengthening existing national child protection systems, including birth registration systems, development of capacities of national partners on refugee protection and integration of refugee children in the national child protection systems and plans.

UNHCR seeks to undertake a comprehensive assessment on the appropriateness and accessibility of the national Child Protection system for refugee children. The assessment covers all the six regions within the refugee operations to identify the existence of any variations in refugee children’s inclusion in the national child protection system. In this regard, the assessment has the following objectives: 

For more details and application click the below link: 

IntExt National Consultancy on Child Protection (003).doc

Job Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience

Years of Experience / Degree Level

• 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1-year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education: International Law, Human Rights, International Development, International Relations, Anthropology, Social Work, Gender Studies, Political Science, Social Science, or other relevant field.

How to Apply

This vacancy is open for qualified Ethiopians only.

Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

UNHCR 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.

IMPORTANT

Applicants who wish to be considered for this position should send their brief CV, with the summary of their Personal Profile, Academic Background and Work Experience and a Brief Proposal (Maximum 2 pages) by email to:- ethadhr@unhcr.org

NB: Candidates may be required to sit for a test. Due to the volume of applications only short-listed candidates will be invited for interview. 

Refugees – who cares?  We Do.