Stretch Assignment: Child Protection Specialist, P-3, On-site, Lilongwe, Malawi. (3 months)

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent, and devastating human rights violations in Malawi. It is a major obstacle to the fulfillment of women’s and girls’ human rights and development and therefore a threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, Malawi continues to face one of the highest child marriage rates globally, with drivers rooted in poverty, harmful social norms, limited access to services, and weak case-management systems. Despite national progress, the scale and persistence of child marriage requires a targeted, system-strengthening approach that enhances detection, accelerates case resolution, and expands community-level prevention.

While there have been efforts to address and eliminate sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and harmful practices, progress has remained slow and uneven. It is increasingly clear that the elimination of all forms of SGBV and harmful practices is intrinsically connected to transformation of gender and socio-cultural norms, tackling the root causes of violence and child marriages, and strengthening the system that enhances detection, accelerates case resolution, and expands community-level prevention.

UNICEF Malawi requires extra support to coordinate and implement a number of programmes. The Child Protection Specialist will fill a critical gap during the stretch assignment, providing programme guidance, coordination and grant management functions, thus ensuring the office is able to meet its partnership commitments while at the same time providing a structured experiential learning opportunity for a staff member.

This stretch assignment offers an exciting and unique opportunity for professional growth and development. It is designed for a motivated, adaptable and forward-thinking candidate seeking to expand their existing professional skill set within a different cultural and contextual setting, gain hands-on experience in a new context, and enhance their career prospects through this enriching opportunity and building your professional network.

Under the close supervision and guidance of the Chief Child Protection and working in a collaborative and inclusive environment, you will play a key role in providing technical guidance, grant management and coordination support. This role is tailored to offer a balance between contributing to meaningful work and enabling you to acquire new skills and perspectives.

Key expected results

Your responsibilities during the stretch assignment will be structured to ensure realistic and achievable outcomes while fostering your learning and professional development. It will include but are not limited to:

1. Quality assurance across all districts and implementing partners, including safeguarding and survivor-centred standards;
2. Support grant management, working alongside the partnerships, communications, M&E, supply and budget teams, to have ongoing implementation status and provide timely and quality feedback on actions needed for implementation to remain on track and/or for completion of grant.
3. Support and/or lead partner engagement and reporting, including for annual/final reports, monthly and quarterly performance narratives, and weekly updates.
4. Support the review of key grant and/or technical documents including terms of reference, advocacy materials etc.
5. Provide technical inputs and guidance for related programmes.
6. Undertake monitoring visits to project sites and identify areas which may need further attention.
7. Support coordination within the Child Protection section as well as coordinating and strengthening linkages with Social Protection, Education, ECD, and SBC teams.
8. Coordinate with other UN and development partners to mitigate risks of duplication and/or overlap.
9. Contribute to resource mobilization activities, report writing, ToR development, advocacy materials and other relevant deliverables.

Duration
This stretch assignment will be for a period of three (3) months.

Minimum Qualifications and Competencies

• • An advanced university degree is required in one of the following fields: International development, social science, human rights, psychology, law or another relevant field

• • A minimum of five years of professional experience in child protection is required.
  • At least 3 years of proven experience in coordinating and managing large grants is required.
  • Experience in implementation of Ending Child Marriage and GBV programming at national and district level is highly desirable .
  • Experience in coordinating with various stakeholders from Government, CSOs and UN is required.
  • Experience working in low-income countries is an asset.
  • Experience in emergencies is an asset.

• • Strong analytical and report writing skills are required.
  • Strong grant management skills are required.
  • Strong communication and teamwork competencies are required

• • Proficiency in English, with sound verbal and written skills, are required.

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 14 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.

Advertised: 04 Sep 2026 South Africa Standard Time
Applications close: 12 Sep 2026 South Africa Standard Time

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