Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) Officer, Port Moresby

## Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) Officer, Port Moresby - Organization:UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund - Country:Papua New Guinea - Office:UNICEF Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Description of assignment title:Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) Officer Assignment country:Papua New Guinea Duty stations:Port Moresby Work location:On UN premises Expected start date:10/05/2026 Duration:12 months(with possibility of extension)Long-term benefits and allowances Sustainable Development Goal:3. Good health and well-being Host entity:UNICEF Papua New Guinea Volunteer category:Specialist UCoS from Apr2026 Work schedule:Full-time Number of Assignments:1 Mission and objectives: - The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. - Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations. - Child Protection is the prevention of, and response to, exploitation, abuse, neglect, harmful practices and violence against children. It is embedded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – the most widely ratified international human rights treaty in history – and is the moral minimum for any society. Child Protection is universal: it is for all children everywhere, from low- to high-income countries, in all regions and settings. The consequences of inaction are catastrophic: profound, enduring and often deadly; with economic costs of violence against children estimated at $7 trillion per year. But this harm is evitable: progress can be made through political will for the fulfilment of children’s rights, societal change, and an emerging science of prevention and response strategies. - This UNV assignment is part of UNICEF’s Child Protection section in UNICEF PNG Country Programme 2024-2028. - The Child Protection Outcome seeks to ensure children and adolescents, including the most vulnerable social groups and those affected by humanitarian situations and climate change, are protected from violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and harmful social norms and benefit from a functioning child protection system that includes prevention and response services that are equity-focused and gender-responsive at national and sub-national levels. - The outcome is aligned with the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly related to SDG 5 (gender equality) and SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions). It supports Goal Area 3 within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, which seeks to ensure that every girl and boy is protected from violence and exploitation in both humanitarian and development contexts. This includes all forms of violence, including gender-based violence (GBV), trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse. - Since June 2026, PNG has been experiencing an El Niño event that models predict will be strong and may continue into early 2027. By August 2026 the National Capital District, Gulf, Madang and East Sepik were at drought critical status, most other provinces at drought alert, and frost had affected high-altitude gardens in Enga, Western Highlands, Southern Highlands and Central. Lessons from the 2015-16 El Niño, when 2-2.7 million people were affected, show that drought and food insecurity heighten child protection risks: family separation, child labour, child marriage, sexual exploitation and abuse around relief distributions, school drop-out, sorcery accusation-related violence and psychosocial distress. The Government has established an ENSO Task Force with provinces and districts as first responders, and the UN Disaster Management Team has agreed that the immediate focus is preparedness and anticipatory action: rapid provincial assessments, information management, sector coordination, 5W reporting and risk communication. - UNICEF PNG co-leads the Child Protection Sub-Sector with the National Office for Child and Family Services (NOCFS) and has developed a Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) response plan for the drought, anchored in the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015, the national Child Protection Case Management (CPCM) SOP and the national Child-Friendly Space Toolkit, and structured around coordination and evidence, safe identification and referral of at-risk children, MHPSS through Child-Friendly Spaces, prevention of family separation, PSEA and child-safe relief distribution, and CPiE messaging within risk communication and community engagement. - The National UN Volunteer CPiE Officer will provide dedicated, field-based technical and operational support to the CPiE drought response, with a particular focus on leading child protection assessments in the priority provinces, strengthening referral mechanisms, and supporting the capacity building of provincial and district child protection actors. - Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Chief Child Protection or her designated mandated representative(s) (Child Protection Specialist, CPiE focal point), the UNV CPiE Officer will: - Child protection assessment and monitoring in priority provinces - • Lead the roll-out of the CP-focused El Niño-induced Drought and Food Security Needs Assessment and Monitoring Tool in the priority provinces (NCD, Gulf, Central, Western Highlands, Southern Highlands, Enga, and drought-critical Madang, Morobe and East Sepik), working with Provincial Offices for Child and Family Services (POCFS), District Child Protection Officers, Family and Sexual Violence Units, Family Support Centers, church and NGO partners. - • Brief and support provincial enumerators and CP focal points on the tool; undertake field missions to verify findings and observe protection risks at relief distribution points, water collection points, markets and care centers. - • Consolidate, clean and analyze assessment returns; prepare provincial CP situation summaries and inputs to the Disaster Management Team / UNHAT multisectoral needs assessment and the Child Protection Sub-Sector 5W. - • Establish and maintain a monthly CP monitoring cycle for the priority provinces, tracking protection risks, children without caregivers, referrals made and service continuity, and reporting critical incidents immediately. - Capacity building and referral mechanism strengthening - • Support the design, organization and co-facilitation of regional CPiE trainings in Port Moresby, Mt Hagen, Morobe, Madang and East Sepik, the provinces where drought impact is greatest - on child protection risks in drought, safe identification and referral under the CPCM SOP, Psychological First Aid, positive parenting, PSEA and child-safe and GBV prevention distribution, and the Child Friendly Spaces Toolkit. - • Provide follow-up coaching and remote support to trained POCFS and District CP Officers, CFS supervisors and facilitators and partner staff and relief distribution focal points on PSEA and child safeguarding, including cascade orientation on child protection referral pathways