Consultant for the Development of Child Protection Policy and Evaluation of CP Strategy

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Description

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For every child, Education and Opportunities.

Child Protection and Welfare Act 2011, states that it is the duty of State to formulate policies, which will among others, protect children from any form of discrimination and to take positive action to promote their rights; and -protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse. UNICEF, in alignment with the Act, recognises that all children have equal rights to protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence and that everyone has a responsibility to support the protection of children. Lesotho National Social Protection Strategy II 2021-2031 (NSPS), aims to strengthen child protection services and referral system to better support vulnerable children, introduce activities to prevent and respond to domestic and gender-based violence, and strengthen research and sensitisation regarding the protection of older persons. For child protection specific interventions and prior the development of NSPS II, government of Lesotho has implemented National Multisectoral Child Protection Strategy 2014/5- 2018/9 (NMCPS) aimed at providing a comprehensive coordinated system that prevents and responds to abuse, violence, exploitation, and neglect of children and protects children in contact with the law.
 
Although the country has policies such as Gender and Development and Learner Pregnancy Policy, children continue to experience unacceptable high rates of sexual and physical violence, with more than half of boys and almost one in three girls experiencing physical violence1. Further to that, COVID-19 has raised the profile of violence against women and children with reports2 indicating that COVID-19 presented unique challenges that increased child marriage as families and community structures broke down during the crisis, where 1 in 6 young women are believed to have been married before the age of 18.
 
The reports call for a continued need to create enabling policies for children. With the support of UNICEF, the Ministry of Gender, Youth, Sports, Arts, Culture and Social Development (MoGYSACSD) is looking for a Consultant to develop a comprehensive national Child Protection Policy and provide technical support in evaluation of the NMCPS 2014/5-2018/9.

How can you make a difference? 

Scope of work:

• Lesotho Child Protection Policy is intended to set out approaches and procedures to safeguarding and promoting children’s rights and provide direction on how to address the pertinent issues and challenges confronting Basotho children on a day-to-day basis. Specifically:
• the policy needs to clarify to all stakeholders, the minimum requirements for child protection programme, including during emergency settings
• act as a national tool to promote transparency and accountability among stakeholders in child protection sector.
• It should also identify and provide strategic guidance on opportunities for improving their situation.
• The purpose of this evaluation is to provide information about progress achieved towards outcomes and strategic approaches used by the government and key stakeholders, which can be used
• to inform policy advocacy work and the design, management, monitoring and implementation of its future programme.
• draw strategic lessons learned from the design and implementation of the programme and based on findings, identify lessons learned and provide practical recommendations for the next strategy.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Social Sciences, particularly related to Child Protection, Human Rights, Public Policy, International Development studies, or any related field. 
• Evidence of at least ten (10) years’ experience in guiding strategic planning processes and similar assignments carried out as required.
• Proven experience in policy and legislative drafting of the region especially Lesotho.
• Technical expertise of Child Protection sector, Sustainable Development Goals, especially those focused on socioeconomic upliftment of vulnerable groups
• Strong background and knowledge of the international, regional and Lesotho’s legislation and policies pertaining to child protection and children’s rights.
• Experience in conducting social research and analysis (Gender-Based Violence, Violence Against Children, Harmful cultural practices) is desirable.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills including interactive and interpersonal communication skills.
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s mandate and goals is an advantage.
• Proficiency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/en-us/job/562178/consultant-for-the-development-of-child-protection-policy-and-evaluation-of-cp-strategy2014520189

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