UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to protection

Belize has made important strides in strengthening its child protection system; however, significant challenges remain. These include the need to advance child care reform, strengthen coordination and capacity across the social service workforce, and address ongoing risks related to violence, abuse, neglect, and gender-based violence.

UNICEF Belize works in close partnership with the Government of Belize and key stakeholders to strengthen prevention and response systems, advance the Ending Violence Against Children (EVAC) agenda, and promote safeguarding, PSEA, and GBV prevention and response across sectors. These efforts are anchored in a commitment to family- and community-based care, gender-responsive programming, and sustainable system-level reforms that deliver measurable results for children.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF Belize is seeking a National Child Protection Consultant to provide technical and coordination support across priority child protection initiatives from January to November 2026. Working under the supervision of the Child Protection Officer, the consultant will collaborate closely with government counterparts, civil society organizations, and multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms to support the implementation of national child protection priorities.

Key areas of contribution include:

• Supporting the development and implementation of the National Child Care Reform Roadmap, including policy, coordination, and reform actions aligned with family- and community-based care.

• Strengthening the Social Service Workforce, including support to coordination platforms, capacity-building initiatives, and the rollout of competency frameworks.

• Coordinating and supporting safeguarding, PSEA, and GBV system-strengthening and capacity-building efforts across sectors.

• Supporting the implementation, monitoring, and coordination of the End Violence Against Children (EVAC) Action Plan, including engagement with multi-sectoral stakeholders.

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If you would like to know more about this opportunity, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: [ Child Protection Intl Consultant_TOR__AdvertiseFIN.pdf]

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

Minimum Requirements

Education
A bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Social Sciences, Public Administration, Public Policy, or a related field is required.

Work Experience
A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in child protection, social development, programme coordination, or closely related areas, preferably within government, UN agencies, or civil society organizations.

Skills and Competencies

• Demonstrated understanding of child protection systems, including child care reform and multi-sectoral prevention and response mechanisms.

• Proven experience supporting coordination among multiple stakeholders, including government institutions and civil society partners.

• Strong analytical, writing, and organizational skills, with the ability to synthesize information and present clear, evidence-based outputs.

• Experience preparing high-quality technical reports, guidance notes, or coordination documents.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and virtual collaboration tools.

Language Requirements
Fluency in English (oral and written) is required.

Desirable Assets

• Experience supporting Ending Violence Against Children (EVAC), GBV prevention and response, safeguarding, or PSEA initiatives.

• Familiarity with child care reform, family- and community-based care models, or social service workforce strengthening.

• Experience working with government counterparts, UN agencies, or civil society organizations in a coordination or technical support role.

• Knowledge of the Caribbean and/or Latin America context is an asset.

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 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

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 [Insert candidates from targeted underrepresented groups] 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.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

 

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.