Child Protection Officer

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.

UNICEF Mexico’s Child Protection Programme aims to strengthen national and subnational child protection systems so that more children and adolescents can live free from violence, abuse, exploitation, and harmful practices by 2031. Through a systems-strengthening approach, UNICEF supports the Government of Mexico in building a more resilient protection system by enhancing legal frameworks, institutional capacities, coordination mechanisms, information systems, financing, and workforce professionalization.

The Child Protection Officer (Systems Strengthening) will contribute to UNICEF Mexico’s 2026–2031 agenda by driving systemic improvements that strengthen the capacity, coordination, and sustainability of child protection institutions nationwide. The role supports the scale-up of innovative case management and child-centered justice solutions, working closely with government counterparts and strategic partners to strengthen Child Protection Authorities and expand access to quality protection services for vulnerable children and adolescents.

For more information related to the work of our office in Mexico, please visit our website: UNICEF Mexico, our commitments for a six‑year term for children: A good six-year term for children: Un buen sexenio para la niñez or read our Annual Report 2024 - UNICEF México.

To learn more about UNICEF Mexico’s Child Protection Programme and its strategic priorities, explore our Child Protection Programme Brief CPD 2026-2031.pdf.

How can you make a difference?

In this role, your main responsibilities will include:

• Support to programme development and planning.
• Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.
• Technical and operational support to programme implementation.
• Networking and partnership building.
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: ToR_CP Officer_NO2 TA.pdf.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Completed first level university degree (Bachelor’s) in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, social work, development studies or another relevant social science field.
• Work Experience: Two years of experience working in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of key interventions related to Child Protection is required. Experience working with child protection strategies for system strengthening is required
• Language Requirements: Proficiency in Spanish and English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French or Russian) is an asset.
• Experience working on specialized justice systems for children is also an asset.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered an asset.
• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts 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.

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
• (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

Familiarize yourself with our competency fra