National Consultant to provide technical support for Child Rights Monitoring and Child Protection programmesNew Consultancy Recruitment & Non-Staff Workflow Individual Consultant National Position

National Consultant to provide technical support for Child Rights Monitoring and Child Protection programmesNew Consultancy Recruitment & Non-Staff Workflow

Job no: 592173

Contract type: Consultant

Duty Station: Ashkhabad

Level: Consultancy

Location: Turkmenistan

Categories: Child Protection, Social Policy

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 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 8 th 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 results

Advertised: 07 Apr 2026 West Asia Standard Time
Deadline: 17 Apr 2026 West Asia Standard Time

Tagged as: Child Protection, Consultant, Evaluation, Justice, Monitoring, Protection

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