Title: Child Rights Education Specialist
Functional area of work: Programme
Functional Level: NOB/P2/NOC/P3
Location/duty station: Yaoundé, Cameroon with travels across Cameroon
Duration: 6 months
Expected Start and end dates: October 6, 2025 – April 5, 2025
Reporting to: Representative, UNICEF CCO
Eligibility: All Fixed-Term, Permanent or continuing appointment UNICEF staff members currently working in UNICEF worldwide.
UNICEF’s fundamental mission is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in all aspects of its work—whether in programs, advocacy, or operations. The equity strategy, which prioritizes the most disadvantaged and marginalized children and families, translates this commitment into concrete actions. For UNICEF, equity means that all children must have the opportunity to survive, develop, and reach their full potential without discrimination or favouritism. When a child faces inequalities in social, political, economic, civic, or cultural aspects of life, their rights are violated, and this has lasting consequences on national development and social stability. Evidence shows that investing in the health, education, and protection of the most vulnerable children not only ensures equal opportunities for all but also contributes to sustainable economic growth, social cohesion, and national stability. This is why focusing on equity is crucial: it accelerates progress toward the realization of children’s rights, as outlined in UNICEF’s universal mandate through the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), while also fostering equitable national development.
UNICEF has been present in Cameroon for several decades, supporting the government in implementing policies and programs aimed at improving the situation of children and adolescents, particularly in health, education, child protection, nutrition, and social inclusion. The country ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1993 and its three Optional Protocols on the involvement of children in armed conflict, on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography, and on a communications procedure. Despite these commitments, gaps persist in the full implementation of child rights in Cameroon, particularly in the dissemination and awareness of the CRC and its Optional Protocols, the lack of systematic training on children’s rights for professionals across key sectors, the insufficient integration of child rights education into national curricula, and the limited availability and use of child-focused research and data for policy formulation.
Within the framework of the 2022-2026 UNICEF-Government of Cameroon Country Programme, and following recommendations from the mid-term review conducted in 2024, the establishment of Child Rights Centres in universities has emerged as a strategic approach to institutionalizing and sustaining efforts to promote and protect children’s rights in Cameroon. Recognizing the critical role of academia in advancing child rights, UNICEF, in partnership with several public universities, is supporting the establishment of these centres as knowledge hubs within higher education institutions. These centres aim to promote and integrate child rights into Cameroonian society by fostering awareness and advocacy, generating research and evidence-based knowledge on child-related issues, and ensuring the integration of child rights education into university curricula. Through these centres, academic institutions will play a leading role in strengthening child rights education, building the capacities of future professionals, and contributing to policy dialogue and decision-making on children’s issues.
The first Child Rights Centre was established in 2024, and several others are currently being developed in different regions of the country. The long-term vision is to institutionalize these centres across major public universities in Cameroon, ensuring national coverage and contributing to the effective implementation of children’s rights through academic research, training, and community engagement. By embedding child rights into university systems, Cameroon is making a significant step toward strengthening the institutional framework for child rights education and establishing a sustainable mechanism for capacity building, advocacy, and evidence generation to inform policies and programs that promote and protect the rights of every child.
Purpose of Assignment & Justification:
The integration of child rights education in Cameroonian universities remains limited, fragmented, and largely confined to optional legal courses within specific disciplines such as law, education, and social sciences. This narrow and piecemeal approach fails to present child rights as a multidimensional and cross-cutting issue, leaving graduates across vital sectors—such as education, health, and governance—without the comprehensive knowledge or skills necessary to effectively advocate for or implement children’s rights in their professional roles. The current situation underscores the urgent need to adopt a systematic, interdisciplinary framework that reflects the evolving nature of child rights as a distinct academic and practical field.
To address this gap, the proposed assignment aims to support the institutionalization of child rights education through the Child Rights Centers initiative, in partnership with universities. The objective is to embed child rights into academic curricula as a structured, interdisciplinary subject, enabling the development of customized, contextually relevant syllabi across various faculties. This initiative will help produce a new generation of professionals who are equipped to promote and apply child rights principles in alignment with national priorities, international standards, and Cameroon’s broader development objectives.
Main responsibilities and tasks:
The selected staff member under the overall supervision of the Representative and in close collaboration with Sectoral and Cross-Sectoral Specialists and Officers will be responsible for the:
- The capacity building of university professors on child rights through the facilitation of the two days consultation workshops for 4 universities (a two-day workshop for each university)
- Provision of scientific support for the international conference on “the role of Academia in promoting child rights” planned for November 6th and 7th, 2025 in Yaoundé.
- Initiation of professional capacity building/ development programme for University Professors on child rights including the development of contents, identification of key speakers and facilitators.
- Initiate the development of a syllabus on child rights to be integrated into university curricula in specific universities having established a Child Rights Centre that reflects the modern interdisciplinary approach of child rights.
- Provision of technical academic support to the University of Patras and the University of the Peloponnese to build up on their agreement with UNICEF to closely cooperate on advanced studies in children’s rights.
Minimum Qualifications and Competencies
Education: A Minimum of master’s degree in one of the following fields is required: education, social sciences, humanities, sociology, anthropology, law, or another relevant academic field.
Experience: A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required:
- developing curricula on child rights education and promoting teaching of child rights in the academic settings.
- designing and delivering capacity building programmes preferably in the context of academic settings.
- Teaching experience at university level.
Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.
Duration: This stretch assignment will be for a period of six (6) months.
Stretch Assignment_Programme Support Hub Specialist.docx
Funding arrangement
This is a temporary development opportunity and there will be no changes to the staff member’s status (position number, level, etc.).
The Office will cover the ticket for economy class travel and 100% of the UN DSA rate during the first 30 days, and 50% DSA for the remaining time.
Interested UNICEF staff should discuss this opportunity with their supervisor and seek the approval of their management before applying.
Candidates considered potentially well-matched for the stretch assignment will be contacted for an informal interview. Supervisors may also be contacted for references.
