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UNICEF State of Palestine seeks to engage a consultant to develop standardized Best Interests of the Child (BIC) Assessment and Determination Procedures to strengthen child protection and child justice systems in Palestine.

Building on the Child Rights Law, the Juvenile Protection Law, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and relevant national legislation and policies, the consultant will review the existing legal and institutional framework, consult with key stakeholders, and develop practical procedures, guidance, and implementation tools to support child protection counsellors, justice actors, and other relevant professionals in consistently applying the Best Interests of the Child principle across child protection, justice, family law, and alternative care cases.

The purpose of this assignment is to initiate and organize a full formal process for assessing and determining the best interests of the child, which includes a transparent and objective procedures that helps with the assessments. These procedures should be built on several factors like the opinions and views of the child, legal reasoning, timely perception, and establishment of facts. The procedures/mechanism developed should be flexible to permit it to be applied by different child protection and judicial actors in different legal/formal settings with some special measures in cases of emergency with criteria for interim measures.

The procedures/mechanisms will overall help in the improvement of a responsive and protective child protection system for children in Palestine.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: TMC0005300_external_TOR.pdf

Minimum requirements:

Education: Masters · An advanced University degree in law, social work or international human rights.
Work Experience: 5 years · At least five years in applied research and policy analysis, including publications in peer reviewed journals in the field of child protection, child rights and child justice.
Skills: Demonstrated technical expertise in child protection. Excellent English writing and good communication and presentation skills/ability to express concisely and clearly ideas and concepts in written and oral form.
Ability to adhere to strict deadlines yet operate in national environments of uncertainty and ambiguity.
Language Requirements: Professional level knowledge of Written and Spoken English. Arabic language is an Asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
Cover letter
A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) TMC0005300_financial proposal.docx

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Development of Procedural Guidelines for Child Best Interests Determination, State of Palestine, 4 months (Home Based)