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For every child, the right to protection.

Vacancy Announcement- Individual Consultant (Maldivian national) to Conduct a Review of the Implementation of NAP-VAC 2024–2028 and Progress of the Udhuhilan Campaign

BACKGROUND

UNICEF Maldives is collaborating with the Government of Maldives to strengthen national systems for the prevention of and response to violence against children, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Child Rights Protection Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, the Education Act, and the National Action Plan on Prevention and Response to Violence Against Children 2024–2028 (NAP-VAC).

The NAP-VAC provides the national framework for coordinated action to prevent and respond to violence against children across homes, schools, communities, institutions and digital environments. It outlines strategic priorities and planned interventions to strengthen prevention, protection and response mechanisms, improve multisectoral coordination, and promote safe and supportive environments for all children. Effective implementation requires sustained engagement across government institutions, civil society, communities and other partners, supported by clear responsibilities, adequate resources and effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

As part of efforts to advance the NAP-VAC, UNICEF Maldives is supporting Udhuhilan – For a Happy, Safe Community, a two-year programme launched in partnership with the Family Protection Authority in September 2025. The programme contributes to the prevention of violence against children, particularly domestic violence, through initiatives promoting positive parenting and caregiving, child and youth participation, community awareness, and stronger community and institutional safeguarding.

As the NAP-VAC progresses through its implementation period, there is a need to strengthen the evidence base on national progress and implementation experiences, including learning from programmes such as Udhuhilan. An updated understanding of implementation can support more informed decision-making, reinforce accountability and help direct attention towards areas requiring further action.

The review will also inform preparations for the upcoming End Violence Against Children (EVAC) Conference by providing an evidence base for national discussions on progress, remaining challenges and priority actions. Its findings will support UNICEF's engagement with the Government and partners to advance coordinated, evidence-based and accountable implementation of the NAP-VAC.

How can you make a difference?

PURPOSE and OBJECTIVES

The overall purpose of this consultancy is to assess progress in the implementation of the National Action Plan on Prevention and Response to Violence Against Children 2024–2028 (NAP-VAC), review progress and learning from the Udhuhilan campaign, identify implementation gaps and bottlenecks, and generate evidence to inform continued implementation and Link NAP-VAC interventions to the main EVAC Conference pledges, identify implementation gaps, and accelerate progress towards fulfilling commitments.

The specific objectives are to:

• Assess NAP-VAC implementation against the activities, outputs, indicators and targets in the existing NAP-VAC results and monitoring framework.

• Document progress, achievements, implementation gaps, bottlenecks and evidence gaps, including issues related to coordination, responsibilities, resources, capacity, service delivery, data and reporting.

• Review Udhuhilan progress against its strategic pillars, planned activities and intended results, including achievements, lessons, gaps and its contribution to NAP-VAC prevention priorities.

• Consolidate findings through stakeholder engagement and validation and identify priority areas requiring acceleration during the remaining implementation period.

• Prepare evidence-based inputs for the EVAC Conference by linking the NAP-VAC review to the main conference pledges, identifying priority actions to accelerate implementation, and informing the final consultancy report with practical recommendation

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: VA TOR202619 Conduct review of implementation of NAP-VAC 2024-2028 and progress of Udhuhilan campaign.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

The consultant should have the following qualifications and experience:

Education:

Advanced university degree in social sciences, public policy, development studies, child rights, child protection, monitoring and evaluation, social work, psychology, education, law, or a related field.

Experience:

At least 3–5 years of relevant professional experience in child protection, violence prevention, child rights, policy/programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation, or related areas.
Demonstrated experience in desk reviews, implementation assessments, results-based monitoring, and analysis of policies, programmes or national action plans, with strong analytical and research skills to review qualitative and quantitative evidence, identify progress, gaps and implementation bottlenecks, and develop practical, evidence-based recommendations.
Experience developing analytical reports, implementation tracking tools, policy briefs or similar evidence-based products.
Experience working with government institutions, development partners, civil society and other stakeholders, preferably in the Maldives or a comparable context.

Language Requirements: Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Dhivehi.

Desirables:

Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
Good understanding of child protection, violence against children and multisectoral approaches. Familiarity with NAP-VAC 2024–2028 and the Maldives child protection system is an advantage.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of misconduct.
UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.

Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel.
Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable [Insert candidates from targeted underrepresented groups] are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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.

Individual Consultant (Maldivian National) to Conduct a Review of the Implementation of NAP-VAC 2024–2028 and Progress of the Udhuhilan Campaign