National Consultant for Child Justice at UNICEF Nigeria

UNICEF Nigeria is supporting the Government of Nigeria to strengthen prevention of and response all forms of violence against children. In particular, assistance will be provided to strengthen the child protection system, including through modelling the system in four States, in order to demonstrate the impact of a well-functioning child protection system, to develop a common model for operationalizing the Child Rights Act at State level and to develop standardized tools, including regulations, working protocols and training manuals to govern the system.

The emergency in the northeast of Nigeria has led to large scale displacement of civilians with the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) estimating 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the six states of the Northeast. The increasing number of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), including children orphaned in the ongoing hostilities, is a growing issue of concern. There is a pressing need for the Child Protection Programme to scale up its interventions in North East to meet the needs of UASC, and in particular to support alternative care for UASC and the establishment and implementation of family tracing and reunification mechanisms.

If you are a Nigerian National who is passionate and committed professional and want to make a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria is recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: National Consultant for Child Justice

Vacancy Number: VN-NGR-21-2015
Location: Lagos (with travel to Osun)
Level: Mid-level
Type of Appointment: Special Service Agreement (SSA) for 11.5 Months

Background of the Post

• UNICEF is partnering with UNODC to support the Government to implement a major European Union (EU) funded programme of reform of the justice sector.
• UNICEF is responsible for implementing key components of the reform programme related to child justice, in order to strengthen the capacity of the justice system to handle cases of children in contact and conflict with the law in line with international standards and the national Child Right Act 2003 in 10 States.
• In particular, the programme will promote child specialism throughout the justice system, promote diversion and alternatives to custody pre- and post-trial and strengthen protection of children in detention.

Purpose of the Consultancy:

• Provide expert support to the State Government to reform the child justice system.
• Ensure timely implementation of key component of the child justice reform programme.

Major Tasks to be Accomplished:

• Support the Nigeria Police Force to strengthen their capacity to effectively handle to children's cases.
• Support the efforts of the judiciary to strengthen the capacity of Family Courts.
• Work with legal aid provides and the justice sector to increase access of children in conflict with the law to legal aid and improve the quality of the legal aid.
• Work with justice sector and social welfare to promote diversionary and alternative sentencing programmes for children in conflict with the law state.

Qualifications

• Advanced University degree in Social Science, Law or relevant discipline
• 5 years professional experience in the justice and/or child protection sector.
• Experience of working with government and NGO partners to implement justice and/or child protection programmes.
• Understanding of the international and National framework for child justice
• Excellent organization and planning skills
• Strong advocacy skills
• Strong written skills
• Fluency in English

Desirable Specialized Knowledge/Experience:

• Experience in implementing child justice reform programmes.
• Experience in designing and implementing legal programmes.
• Experience in implementing diversion and community rehabilitation programmes for children in conflict with the law.

Application Closing Date
19th March, 2015

How To Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit their application, accompanied by an updated CV in English and a completed United National Personal History Form, which can be download below and sent to: [email protected]

Click Here to Download the United Nations Personal History Form