Mission and objectivesSince 1964, child rights have been at the heart of the strong partnership between the Government of Malaysia and UNICEF. UNICEFโs work in Malaysia is driven by the ultimate aim of ensuring that every child, especially the most vulnerable, has a fair, equitable start in life. This means that all girls and boys โ regardless of location, migration status, family income or disability โ ought to enjoy equal access to quality services and an equal chance of developing to their full potential. The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does โ in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to childrenโs 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. Equity 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.
ContextUNICEF Malaysia is a unique country office in that it is an upper middle-income country, but with significant remaining disparities and inequalities where both advocacy and programming approaches are required. Children in the context of migration: Malaysia hosts the second largest population of migrant children (480,200 reportedly moved to Malaysia within the region in 2019) and refugee and asylum-seeking children (64,801 in October 2025) in the region. Children in the context of migration face challenges accessing essential services in Malaysia, leaving them largely excluded from accessing the child protection system. Children are held in immigration detention (1,899 in September 20246), and mechanisms to enable cross-border child protection are weak. This means that migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking children in Malaysia are at significantly higher risk of violence, abuse and exploitation, while not being adequately protected. Children in alternative care: Another group of concern are children living in institutional care (often referred to as childrenโs homes (rumah kanak-kanak), welfare institutions, orphanages, shelters or residential care centers). Global evidence is clear: children growing up in institutional care fare significantly worse across key child development indicators, including nutrition, education and psycho-social well-being, than their peers growing up in a family environment. In Malaysia, many children live in unregistered and unregulated institutional care (including private sector-run centres), with the exact number of children living in institutional care unknown, raising significant child protection concerns including risks of abuse, neglect and exploitation. In a local small-scale study, 73% of children in institutional care had a living parent who was contactable and 30% reported poverty or divorce as the reason for entering care.1 Efforts to support families at risk of separation and expand family-based care options need to be expanded so that every child can thrive in their own family or in family-based alternative care. UNICEF Malaysia works in partnership with the Government of Malaysia, focusing on quality evidence generation, evidence-based advocacy, modeling solutions and policy reform, supported by alliances of civil society, media, academia, and think tanks. Come join us to create a Malaysia where every child can dream big and reach their full potential!
Task DescriptionUnder the general supervision of the Child Protection Specialist (Migration and Alternative Care), the UNV will work across the Child Protection Team and the wider UNICEF Country Office in: โข Working closely with the Child Protection Specialist (Migration and Alternative Care) on evidence generation, advocacy, modelling solutions and policy reform in regard to child protection for children in the context of migration and alternative care. โข Playing a leading role in establishing and mobilising Malaysiaโs first care leavers network for advocacy โ empowering young people who grew up in the alternative care system to inform policy solutions and ensure they are grounded in care leaversโ lived realities. โข Conducting research and developing briefs and materials on other key areas of child protection (such as child justice, child online protection, and social service workforce strengthening), including international best practise and country case studies. โข Assisting the Child Protection Team in the conceptualisation, organization, coordination, logistics, and documentation of meetings, workshops and events as needed. โข Assisting the Child Protection Team in the monitoring of political developments as they pertain to child rights and child protection, such as monitoring parliamentary actions including parliamentary questions. โข Developing communications and advocacy materials related to child protection for internal and external purposes such as PowerPoint presentations, infographics, data visualisation, fact sheets or content for social media platforms. โข Assisting in the drafting, review and translation of documents and correspondence from Bahasa Malaysia to English (or vice versa). โข Any other related tasks as 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 a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: โข Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take an active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); โข Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; โข Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities. โข Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc. โข Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. โข 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 UNICEF Malaysia Child Protection team member, efficient, timely, responsive, and highโquality support rendered to the team and its beneficiaries in the performance of her/her functions, including: โข Support for high-quality programming and advocacy on alternative care and children in the context of migration, and other areas of child protection as needed. โข Support for the establishment of Malaysiaโs first care leavers network for advocacy. โข Documenting and sharing lessons learned and best practices. โข Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment โข The development of the UNVโs capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training.
Competencies and valuesโข 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 judgment; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, a 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; โข Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNICEF in daily activities and behaviors while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organizationโs interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behavior; does not abuse power or authority. โข Teamwork and respect for diversity: the 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; โข Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in expertise; ability to adapt to changes in the work environment. โข 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. โข Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including the 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; โข 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. โข Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, and self-reliance, and commitment towards UNICEFโs mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.
Living conditions and remarksThe position will be based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where basic living needs, including accommodation, banking facilities, medical facilities, and telecommunications/internet services are readily available. All staple foods can be found in the markets, e.g.: rice, meat, vegetables, fruit, cooking oil, salt, etc. Many imported goods are available in Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur has many good restaurants with good health standards, and most guesthouses provide food. In Kuala Lumpur, the most used means of transportation are a motorcycle, taxi or local bus. A mobile phone is the most dependable tool to be in touch with colleagues and friends. Internet service is readily available and affordable at most apartment complexes. ATMs are everywhere in Kuala Lumpur. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging her/his housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.โ Supervision, induction, and duty of care of UN Volunteers UN Volunteers should be provided the equal duty of care as extended to all host entity personnel. Host entity support to the UN Volunteer includes, but is not limited to: โข Introductory briefings about the organization and office-related context including security, emergency procedures, good cultural practice and orientation to the local environment. โข Structured guidance, mentoring and coaching by a supervisor including a clear work plan and performance appraisal. โข Access to office space at UNICEF Kuala Lumpur, equipment, IT support and any other systems and tools required to complete the objectives of the assignment including a host entity email address. โข Access to shared host entity corporate knowledge, training and learning. โข Inclusion of the volunteer in emergency procedures such as evacuations. โข Leave management. โข DSA for official travel, when applicable. โข All changes in the Description of Assignment occurring between recruitment and arrival or during the assignment need to be formalized with the United Nations Volunteer Programme.