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For every child, the right to life
Turkmenistan is a State Party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which commits it to respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the rights of children as defined under the Convention. This includes civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. As a signatory, Turkmenistan is obligated to periodically report on progress in implementing these rights and to respond to recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee). These periodic reviews are a key mechanism for monitoring compliance with international standards and providing guidance on remaining gaps and challenges.
In 2024, the CRC Committee adopted its Concluding Observations on Turkmenistan’s combined fifth and sixth periodic reports (CRC/C/TKM/CO/5‑6). While the Committee acknowledged the submission of the report and the constructive dialogue with the Turkmen delegation, it highlighted several areas of concern. The recommendations for improvements included the areas of healthcare, education, child rights monitoring, social protection and participation. These observations underscore that while progress has been made, challenges remain in fully realizing children’s rights in line with international standards. To address the CRC Recommendation, Turkmenistan developed a Roadmap with practical actions across thematic areas of healthcare, education, legislation, child rights protection, social support and others.
In this regard, there is a need to strengthen oversight of Roadmap implementation, enhance coordination among key stakeholders, and reinforce the visibility and engagement of the Ombudsman’s Office. Efforts should also focus on building the Ombudsman Office’s technical capacity to monitor child rights, increasing awareness of child rights among children and caregivers, and promoting public understanding of child rights and the roles of the Ombudsman and other state institutions through outreach, the website, and other communication channels.
The consultancy will also provide technical support to UNICEF’s CP/Child Justice priorities, which includes supporting coordination and evidence-informed inputs related to (i) strengthening CP system coordination and referral mechanisms, (ii) improving gatekeeping and statutory referral bodies, (iii) advancing family-based care, and (iv) strengthening measures for children in contact with the law, including diversion and restorative justice modelling, in line with CRC recommendations and national priorities.
How can you make a difference?
1. CRC Concluding observations Roadmap: Develop monitoring calendar for the Ombudsman Office and facilitate regular meetings with national stakeholders to implement the Roadmap for 2024 CRC Concluding observations (10 days).
2. Technical support for strengthening the institutional capacities of the Child Rights Monitoring Unit within the Ombudsman’s Office by on-site training sessions (12 days).3. Summer camp sessions with children: Participate in and facilitate meetings with children, including sessions in children’s summer camps in Ashgabat and velayats. Support child-friendly sessions to increase children’s knowledge of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by developing child-friendly presentations and informative materials, developing and arranging mini-surveys among children on their rights, facilitating the interactive communication and games. Travel to at least 2 velayats is envisaged under this consultancy (17 days).
4. Coordination: Coordinate the engagement and inputs of Mejlis, Ombudsman Office, Ministry of Education in organizing the summer camp sessions. Ensure their presentations and materials are child-friendly and informative (7 days)
5. Website: Support regular updates of the Ombudsman’s Office and UNICEF website with accurate, accessible information on children’s rights, draft relevant articles, PRs, and social media messages (12 days).
6. Capacity building for stakeholders: Support the design and delivery of seminars, trainings, and workshops for staff of the Mejlis, and other stakeholders on child rights and the role of the institutions (12 days).
7. Best practices repository: Develop practical summaries of international best practices and learning events on the promotion of child rights for the Ombudsman’s Office. Establish a repository of these materials for use by Ombudsman staff in their engagement with children, as well as in activities aimed at raising awareness of child rights among children, caregivers, and state and public organizations (5 days).
8. Child Protection/Child Justice: Provide targeted inputs on CP/child justice priorities linked to CRC Concluding observations follow-up (referrals, gatekeeping/family care, diversion/RJ as applicable), integrated within Tasks 1–7 deliverables.
9. Consultancy report with recommendations: Provide consultancy report with the outline of key results and recommendations for the next level of engagement with the Ombudsman Office and relevant stakeholders (2 days).
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
ToR_NC_Child Rights_vacancy.pdf
Submission of applications:
The technical proposal should include
- A cover letter and CV, including P11 form
- Comments and suggestions on the ToR and proposed workplan and deliverables
Financial Proposal: Candidates need to submit a financial proposal (All-inclusive consultancy fee) as a separate attachment in pdf file to complete the entire assignment based on the terms of reference. Template Financial Proposal.docx
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
Education: A higher education degree is required in law, human rights, social sciences, management, or another related technical field
Work Experience:
- At least 5 years of proven experience in the field of child rights, human rights, social protection, or legal protection.
- Proven experience working with government institutions, independent oversight bodies, or international organizations.
- Proven experience in capacity building, training, and awareness-raising.
Skills:
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills in one or more languages are required.
- Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and to build harmonious and effective relationships both within and outside the organization, particularly with the Ombudsman’s Office.
Language Requirements: Excellent command of Russian and Turkmen languages. Knowledge of English is desirable.
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
[add the 8th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role].
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 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.
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 may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.
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 female candidates 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.
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.
