Social Policy Specialist (Child Poverty and PFM), NO-C at United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Social Policy Specialist (Child Poverty and PFM), NO-C

Job no: 559987
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Level: NO-3
Categories: Social Policy
Contract type: Temporary Appointment – 364 days

Job Description
How can you make a difference?

• 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 favouritism.
• There is growing evidence that investing in the health, nutrition, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil 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.
• UNICEF Nigeria under the lead of its Social Policy section has reinforced interventions to support the Government of Nigeria (at federal and State level) on strategic planning and formulation to deliver concrete and sustainable results in Public Finance. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and fiscal management; and (d) governance and accountability measures to increase public participation, quality and equity in public finance management.
• To ensure key results for children, there is a need to strengthen ways in which public finance management through quantitative and qualitative improvements in public spending can enhance the wellbeing of the most disadvantaged children.
• Therefore, we seeks to recruit a Social Policy Specialist to support the UNICEF Nigeria Social Inclusion section in its implementation of Public Finance, Local Governance and Decentralization programmes.

Purpose of the Assignment

• Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the incumbent is responsible for providing technical support to the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all stages of social policy programing and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results as provided above.
• This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, health, child protection, water and sanitation, and nutrition.

Major Responsibilities
Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent would be assigned the primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results:

Improving data generation on child poverty & vulnerability for increased use for policy and programme action:

• Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of data on multidimensional and monetary child poverty, including strengthening national capacity to collect routinely, report and use data for policy decision-making.
• Provides timely, regular data-driven analysis for effective prioritization, planning, and development; facilitates results-based management for planning, adjusting, and scaling-up specific social policy initiatives to reduce child poverty.
• Analyzes the macroeconomic context and its impact on social development, emerging issues and social policy concerns, as well as implications for children, and proposes and promotes appropriate responses in respect of such issues and concerns, including government resource allocation policies and the effects of social welfare policies on the rights of children.

Improving use of public financial resources for children:

• Facilitate and undertake budget analysis to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Budget and planning, Finance, and social sector ministries to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children.
• Works with sector colleagues to build capacity to undertake costing and cost effectiveness analysis on priority interventions to help inform policy decisions on child-focused investments.
• Supports the identification of policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions.
• Undertakes and builds capacity of partners for improved monitoring and tracking of public expenditure to support transparency, accountability and effective financial flows for essential service delivery, including through support to district level planning, budgeting and public financial management as well as facilitating community participation.
• Strengthening capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services:
• Where national decentralization processes are taking place, collaborates with central and local authorities to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions on child-focused service delivery respond to the needs of local communities.
• Collaborates with the central and local authorities to strengthen capacity on quality data collection, analysis for policy development, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of essential social services, with emphasis on community participation and accountability.

Strengthening advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive public policy:

• Supports correct and compelling use of data and evidence on the situation of children and coverage and impact of child focused services – in support of the social policy programme and the country programme overall.
• Establishes effective partnerships with the Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, civil society and local leaders, the private sector, and other UN agencies to support sustained and proactive commitment to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and to achieve global UN agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Identifies other critical partners, promotes awareness and builds capacity of partners, and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.

Programme Management:

• Contribute in the management of social policy section by ensuring that technical support around child poverty, public finance and local governance is well planned, monitored, and implemented in a timely fashion so as to adequately support scale-up and delivery.
• Ensures risk analysis and risk mitigation are embedded into overall management of the support, in close consultation with UNICEF programme sections, cooperating partners, and governments.
• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme.
• Ensures that the social planning programme enhances policy dialogue and policy reforms, planning, management, training, research and support; and that the monitoring and evaluation component strengthens monitoring and evaluation of the social sectors and provides support to sectoral and decentralized information systems.

Qualifications
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

• Candidates should possess an Advanced University Degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience is required. Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset. Background and/or familiarity with emergency is considered as a strong asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

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

UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others.

Application Closing Date
26th March, 2023 West Central Africa Standard Time

Method of Application

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.
• UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children.
• The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
• We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
• UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.
• UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
• Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.