Consultancy: Child Rights and Counter Terrorism Consultant - Req.#583832

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Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Child Rights and Counter Terrorism Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station:  Child Protection, PG

Duration: September 2025 to July 2026

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ/ Remote

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: 

For decades, UNICEF has supported children affected by armed conflict, including those who have been recruited and used by armed forces or armed groups. More recently, that has included children affected by conflicts that involve UN designated terrorist groups, whether children were recruited and used by the group, were born into a family with ties to the group, or are from a family or community that is perceived to have links to the group or has lived under the group’s control.

In this context, governments are often using punitive measures such as counter terrorism and national security frameworks in their handling of children affected by conflict rather than supporting them as survivors of grave violations of their rights and who are in need of special protection and services. Children are often interrogated for military intelligences, detained arbitrarily and without due processes on the basis of family ties, and rarely provided with services to address their experiences while they were under the control of the armed group.  This work implicates UNICEF’s work for child justice and to end detention in all its forms. UNICEF’s Child Protection Programme Team in HQ is coordinating work internally on child rights and counterterrorism across divisions and regions. At the same time, UNOCT and CTED have been actively engaged on issues related to children with links to UN designated terrorist groups.

The proposed consultancy is expected to support the Child Protection in Humanitarian Action team when it comes to engaging with governments on counter terrorism and their impacts on children and bring external in-depth technical expertise in order to support design of UNICEF strategies, programs and advocacy.

Scope of Work:

•            Support delivery of UNICEF obligations deriving from the Al-Hol Task Force (AHTF) established to address the situation in Al-Hol, Al-Roj and places of detention in northeast Syria

•            Support delivery of UNICEF obligations vis-à-vis the United Nations including those deriving from observer role in the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact Coordination Committee Secretariat

•            UNICEF internal technical support on child rights and counterterrorism to Country offices and OED 

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Consultancy planning and reporting

- Develop a workplan for the consultancy following initial consultations with consultant’s supervisor and relevant UNICEF offices

Final detailed Work Plan for consultancy          

30 September 2025

- Draft final report from consultancy including key recommendations for next steps          

End of Consultancy Report      

1 July 2026

Support delivery of UNICEF obligations deriving from the Al-Hol Task Force (AHTF) established to address the situation in Al-Hol, Al-Roj and places of detention in northeast Syria

- Develop key messages on the situation of children and their families in Al-Hol, Al-Roj and places of detention in northeast Syria. (Recommendation 10 of AHTF workplan)

One set of key messages are finalised, in written form    

30 December 2025

- Provide technical expertise on child rights/protection and counter-terrorism in the production of detailed situations update and research papers per Al-Hol Taskforce Chair requests addressed to the AHTF Secretariat and/or to UNICEF   

Six technical contributions provided

30 June 2026

1 July 2026

- Support participation of Child Protection Director to AHTF quarterly Principal level meetings and ad hoc meeting

Minimum of 4 sets of: Draft Briefing Notes, Talking Points, Meeting Minutes    

30 September 2025

30 December 2025

30 March 2026

30 June 2026

Support delivery of UNICEF obligations vis-à-vis the United Nations including those deriving from observer role in the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact Coordination Committee Secretariat

- UNICEF inputs to the Secretary-General reports on Da’esh are finalized

Inputs to the SG’s reports are developed and shared with the Secretariat.      

30 September 2025

30 December 2025

30 March 2026

30 June 2026

- Support the bi-monthly  meetings of the Global Compact -  Participation in the 4 Global CT Coordination Compact Working Groups quarterly meetings for which UNICEF has an observer status: (1) HRRoL: promoting and Protecting Human Rights and Rule of Law; (2) BLME: Border Management and Law Enforcement; (3) CJLR-CFT: Criminal Justice, Legal Responses and Countering the Financing of Terrorism; (4) P/CVE: Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism conducive to Terrorism

Support the preparation and participation of  the 4 UNICEF member at the CT Coordination Compact Working Groups quarterly meetings for which UNICEF has an observer status  30 October 2025 (4 meetings)

30 December 2026 (4 meetings)

30 February 2026 (4 meetings)

30 April 2026 (4 meetings)

30 June 2026 (4 meetings)

- Mapping of areas of work of up to three Global CT Coordination Compact WGs that may impact children or implicate their rights – Task led by UNICEF on the workplan of the Working Group on Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and Rule of Law (WG chair: OHCHR) 

Mapping completed and two presentations on the findings delivered       

30 June 2026

- Provide technical expertise to the revision of the IDDRS 6.50 on Armed Groups Designated as Terrorist Organizations           

Provide technical written contributions to Revised IDDRS 6.50 on AGDTO in support of UNICEF role in IAWG-DDR   

30 June 2026

- Support UNICEF in the implementation of EC Decision 2023/11 on terrorism and violent extremism in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin providing technical expertise on child rights/protection and counterterrorism in the development of a joint framework for the UN to support Member States affected by terrorism and violent extremism in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin     

Technical inputs on child rights/protection and counterterrorism are drafted for the UN joint-framework, and coordination assistance is provided, to support Member States to use child-rights approaches in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin     

30 June 2026

UNICEF internal technical support on child rights and counterterrorism to Country offices and OED

- Complete UNICEF Guidance note on supporting children deprived of liberty in humanitarian settings      

Guidance note is finalized

30 January 2026

- Dissemination of the UNICEF Guidance note on supporting children deprived of liberty in humanitarian settings.

PPT Presentation materials are developed, and support is provided to UNICEF to deliver a webinar         

30 March 2026

- Track returns and repatriations of TCN children to their Countries of Origin

Written and/or graphic analysis returns and repatriation of TCN children from NES to Countries of Origin

30 June 2026

- Support the Global Technical Team on the Foreign Children File meetings

Agenda, Meeting Minutes capturing progress, constraints, objectives and action points

October 2025

December 2025

February 2026

April 2026

June 2026

- Provide technical support to at least six  offices on child rights and counter-terrorism      

At least six offices are provided with technical support entailing written and verbal guidance, sharing of relevant materials and guidelines, and imparting of principles and practices on the subject matter.        

30 June 2026

- Support UNICEF participation to conferences on counter-terrorism to inform discussion through a child rights lens            

Technical inputs, BN, TPs, follow up actions     

30 September 2025

- Support UNICEF coordination with the ICRC on issues related to Third Country Nationals in Al-Hol, Al-Roj and places of detention in northeast Syria  

Up to 4 written contributions made for technical inputs, BN, TPs, follow up actions, for meetings with ICRC     

30 June 2026

- Co-lead the development and co-facilitate a webinar to present the “Key Considerations on AGDTO” to the Alliance members         

PPT Presentation materials for the webinar are developed; one PPT for each of the two

2 webinars will be developed    

30 June 2026

Qualifications

(1) Education

(Master’s) in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.

Language Proficiency:

English

Knowledge of French would be an asset

(2) Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

- A minimum of 8 years’ experience in child protection, law, humanitarian programme management, human rights, and or security / counterterrorism; experience in operations in the field and advantage

- Demonstrated ability to work in matrixed organization across various unites

- Demonstrated ability to communicate with senior leadership on highly sensitive materials

- Experience with leading coalitions and with relationship management

- Strong communication skills, organizational, inter-personal and leadership skills

- Ability to be flexible and work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment, with complex projects and deadlines from different stakeholders

- Demonstrable ability to awork independently, take initiative, and identify new opportunities and approaches

- Strong English language skills

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

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 

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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.

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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 all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, are encourage to apply 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. 

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