Mission and objectives
UNICEF is an international humanitarian agency for children established by the United Nations Charter in 1946. The organization is present in more than 192 countries and works in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation, child protection, HIV and AIDS, nutrition, policy, and social protection. UNICEF operates in both humanitarian and development contexts, addressing the needs of children and women—particularly girls and the most vulnerable. UNICEF has been present in Cameroon since 1975. The organization works in the areas of education, water and sanitation, child protection, and HIV and AIDS. Meanwhile, its upstream efforts focus on advocacy and lobbying for budgetary conditions that benefit children and women, as well as on formulating policies to promote their growth and development. At the operational level, UNICEF Cameroon focuses on strengthening the capacity of stakeholders, service delivery, and building partnerships to improve services for children and women. The Child Protection Program aims, overall, to ensure that children—particularly adolescent girls in vulnerable areas—are better protected against violence, exploitation, and harmful practices, including in the context of humanitarian emergencies. The program thus contributes to strengthening government and community child protection systems in order to identify and combat violations of children’s rights more effectively. Particular attention is given to birth registration, the prevention of and response to physical and sexual violence, and the elimination of child marriage, based on evidence.
Context
Cameroon faces a learning crisis due to quality, equity, and funding issues. Although primary education is officially free, families still pay for uniforms, materials, fees, and transport, limiting access for poorer households. Over 90% of children enrol in primary school, but only about 75% complete it, and 17% of lower‑secondary‑age children are out of school. Learning poverty stands at 72%, with most 10‑year‑olds unable to read simple text. Problems include teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, limited textbooks, and uneven teacher distribution, especially in rural and crisis-affected areas. Girls are more likely to drop out due to early marriage, pregnancy, and household duties. Crises in the NWSW have had devastating effects on the education sector, hindering access for hundreds of thousands of children, undermining their right to learning and development. In some ways, this crisis has been boiled down to an educational crisis. Learning spaces were politicized and disputed. Schools, children, and teachers were attacked, resulting in one-third of schools being rendered non-operational leading to approximately 223,749 children out of schools. The crisis has disproportionately affected conflict-prone rural areas (red zones), where fear, insecurity and targeted attacks made it unsafe for children to attend school. The scarcity of trained teachers, along with widespread displacement, has harmed the quality of education. Girls and children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to abuse and exclusion in this volatile context. The collapse of the education system in these regions not only jeopardizes a generation's future, but it also erodes the social fabric, perpetuating violence, and inequality. For the eight consecutive years in the row, after the onset of the crisis, children in the NW and SW regions have been experiencing lockdown at the start of the school year to disrupt schooling processes. To address this, a programme with significant scale and scope was implemented, entitled "Strengthening Access to Education in Emergencies, including through Complementary Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) and Child Protection Interventions supported by the European Union through ECHO, targets 55,813 people (including 50,901 children and 4,912 adults) affected by the crisis in the North-West and South-West (NWSW) regions of Cameroon”. The project's strategy is based on an integrated and multisectoral approach, combining education, WASH and child protection, using education as integration entry point. In addition to learning gaps, the 2025 WASH Needs Assessment highlights severe gaps in water, sanitation, and hygiene services across schools and communities. Children continue to face severe protection risks that directly undermine their ability to access safe, inclusive, and continuous education. Years of armed conflict have exposed them to grave violations—including killing, maiming, abduction, and recruitment by armed groups. These dangers, together with widespread displacement, family separation, and insecurity, significantly hinder school attendance and retention.
Task Description
Within the delegated authority and under the direct supervision of the Chief Field Office, in close coordination with the Education, Child Protection, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) officers or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Programme Coordinator will: Key tasks and responsibilities 1. Programme monitoring and reporting. • Monitor UNICEF partners in the Northwest region with a structured monitoring plan, ensuring that planned results are achieved. • Meet on a regular basis (e.g., monthly) with all implementing partners to review project implementation. • Review partner reports together with the Buea team and develop regular reports for specific interventions in the Northwest region across the three key sectors – Education, Child Protection, and WASH – highlighting challenges and potential solutions to be discussed with the Buea team. • Work with UNICEF partners in the Northwest region on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative, and other assets)and support the assurance plan, especially on programmatic visits and support needed on spot checks, micro-assessments, audits, and Direct Cash Transfers (DCTs ) liquidation. • Coordinate and work closely with UNICEF Programme Officers in the Buea Office and partners to collect, analyse, and share information on implementation issues in the Northwest region. • Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews, and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow-up action by Programme Officers and other stakeholders. • Contribute analytical inputs for periodic reports, particularly donor, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO ) interim and final reports. 2. Support to programme development and planning • Ensure accurate programme planning, especially of the ECHO project, and strict adherence of partner documents to the outlined results in the proposal. • Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentation, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based management (RBM) , and monitoring and evaluation of results. • Support preparation of technical reports and provide inputs for programme preparation and documentation, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and relevancy of information. • Prepare required documentation and materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process for the region. 3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation • Support Programme Officers/Specialists in undertaking field visits and share detailed information with them to assess progress and refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks, and potential problems for timely action to achieve results. • Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, and UN system partners in the Northwest region on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes, and best practices on issues to support programme implementation, operations, and delivery of results. 4. Coordination and Networking • Represent UNICEF at all inter-agency and coordination forums in Bamenda, Northwest region, addressing diverse matters with an emphasis on issues pertaining to the ECHO project, emergency response, and participation in newly established coordination forums under humanitarian reset initiatives. • Establish and maintain robust working relationships with governmental bodies, implementing partners, sector and cluster coordinators, UN sister agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of UNICEF programmes and sustained presence, with specific reference to the ECHO-funded project focusing on inclusive education for out-of-school children (OOSC), child protection concerns, and WASH service provision. • Work closely with Programme Officers in Buea and ensure effective communication, reporting, engagement, and coordination, notably on ECHO project-related issues and concerns. • In collaboration with and support from Programme Officers/Specialists, Communication Officers, and interns in UNICEF Buea Office, draft communication and information materials specifically for Northwest programme advocacy to promote awareness and establish partnerships and alliances for UNICEF programmes. 5. Innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building • Provide support in identifying, capturing, synthesizing, and sharing lessons learned for knowledge development and capacity building of stakeholders. • Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results for the Northwest Region. • Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the capacity of implementing partners and stakeholders in the Northwest region on UNICEF systems and other related issues. • Any other related tasks may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UN Volunteers (UNV ) and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance, in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end-of-assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible. Results/expected outputs: • As an active [insert name Host Agency] team member, provide efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in accomplishing her/his functions, including: [Results/Outputs can be modified as appropriate; should not entirely mirror the task description but serve as a basis for workplan and deliverables] • The programme management and oversight function ensures progress toward the targets and results agreed upon for ECHO projects implemented by partners. • Strengthened networking and coordination among all relevant stakeholders, including implementing partners, government counterparts, and inter-agency groups, resulting in more effective delivery of the ECHO project in the Northwest and Southwest (NWSW ) regions. • Implementation of the assurance plan led to improved compliance with key project components, including programmatic visits, spot check audits, and effective management of DCTs, thereby strengthening the delivery of the ECHO-funded project in the NWSW region. • Consistent reporting and comprehensive documentation ensured compliance with both internal requirements and donor expectations, contributing to transparent and accountable project implementation. • Capacity building for partners and stakeholders improved understanding of key processes, UNICEF systems, program quality, and community participation, leading to better implementation and results for the ECHO project in the NWSW regions. • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated, and documented in all activities throughout the assignment. • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in, and capacities developed.
Competencies and values
• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNICEF; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNICEF procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; • Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNICEF in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. • Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; • Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary; • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNICEF’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.
Living conditions and remarks
Bamenda is regional head quarter of the North-West region with active conflict and ongoing protracted crises for almost a decade. Bamenda is none- family workstation station per UN categorization with acceptable living conditions and availability of daily provision. Overall security situation is managed through inter-agency ASMT framework with SOPs for field mission and movement and curfew hours and daily radio check and adherence to humanitarian principle of independence, impartiality and neutrality. Well established communication infrastructure and reasonable level of public and private health and education system. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.
This position is no longer open.
