Title: GBV Tech & Innovation Consultant, Programme Group, Child Protection Team, Remote - Req 590900 Location: United States - Work Type: Remote Job no: 590900 Job Description: About UNICEF If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries. BACKGROUND Purpose of Activity/ Assignment: The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does - in programs, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop, and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life - in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions - her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens - addressing inequity - not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations. Related to this mission, UNICEF is directly involved in addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in some of the world’s most intense and complex conflicts and disasters. GBV in its various forms constitutes a global crisis which undermines social and economic progress; as one of the world’s greatest human rights violations, GBV must be addressed to ensure universal rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity of human beings. Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in emergencies (GBViE) is recognized as a life-saving measure and an essential component of humanitarian action. UNICEF has made GBViE (prevention, risk mitigation and response) one of its targeted priorities in its Strategic and Gender Action Plans (GAP) 2022-2025, as well as in the Child Protection Strategy. GBViE contributes to the results under Goal Area 3 and is a cross-cutting priority across the Strategic Plan, making GBV risk mitigation one of UNICEF’s change strategies and a key contributor across all Goal Areas. GBViE risk mitigation cuts across all sectors and areas of work in UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children. Currently, traditional, static GBViE programming is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver in many humanitarian settings due to complex access constraints, conflict, and funding cuts. In some humanitarian contexts – including areas of Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Myanmar, Haiti, Palestine, Yemen, and DRC – remote, digital service provision modalities have become the only lifeline available to women and girls to access life-saving information and support. To meet this urgent need, UNICEF has developed Laaha, a Virtual Safe Space (VSS) platform co-designed with adolescent girls. Laaha offers contextualized information on GBV, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and mental health and psychosocial support. Following successful pilots in Iraq, Lebanon, Ecuador and others, Laaha is now in various stages of rollout in several high-risk countries. The platform is a flagship intervention on its own, as well as increasingly contributing to other components of the GBViE portfolio. Laaha has captured global attention, including from the private sector and other potential allies who are helping unlock new, non-traditional funding and positioning UNICEF at the forefront of ethical, girl-centered digital innovation The success of Laaha and broader GBViE/Tech initiatives hinges on availability of the right skillsets. This will help UNICEF’s global GBViE programme to: • Ensure sustained technical support to country offices leading Laaha rollouts. • Maintain and grow donor partnerships tied to Laaha and other GBV tech tools. • Drive forward ethical, safe, and survivor-centered digital GBV programming