Organization: UN Children's Fund
Country: Somalia
Closing date:
12 Jun 2018UNICEF 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. And we never give up.
For every child, a champion
UNICEF Somalia played a key role in making sure that child-focused data, with attention to gender and minorities, was included in the country’s first national development plan in 30 years. We have been tackling issues such as child mortality, better access to health services, severe malnutrition, and stronger child rights. We are working with partners to address the alarming food insecurity and malnutrition levels in Somalia. We are supporting community based reintegration programs for children released from armed groups, and are working on developing a social protection policy. We are also conducting robust HACT implementation.
Join our team and help us make sure every child has a champion.
How can you make a difference?
The Chief of Social Policy reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction, and is responsible for managing and supervising all stages of social policy programming and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) social protection coverage and impact on children; (c) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; and (d) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services. 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 HIV.
This is a critical position within the UNICEF Somalia Country Management Team, and is being recruited at a time of transition in both the country office and in Somalia itself. Under the leadership of the new government, federal and state governments and their development partners (including UNICEF) are embarking on ambitious programmes which are designed to respond to recurrent crises (security, climactic, political) whilst putting in place robust systems and programmes to address the root causes of poverty, vulnerability, and insecurity in Somalia. This transitional period opens up new opportunities in the area of social policy in Somalia. The selected candidate for this position will have the opportunity to shape UNICEF’s social policy vision and engagement, in close cooperation with governmental and development partners. The ideal candidate thus combines experience in fragile and transition states with strong managerial/team building skills and an expertise in social policy.
Managerial leadership
Provide a clear and implementable vision for social policy work in Somalia in a critical transitional period, in partnership with government and humanitarian and development partners.Establish the Section’s annual work plan with the social policy team; set priorities/targets and performance measurement. Monitor work progress and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance to enable the team to perform their duties responsibly and efficiently. Plan and ensure timely performance management and assessment of the Team.Supervise team members by providing them with clear objectives and goals, direction and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.Improving the collection and use of data on child poverty & vulnerability for policy and programme action
Oversees the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of data on multidimensional and monetary child poverty, including strengthening national capacity to routinely collect, 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 effect of social welfare policies on the rights of children.Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children
Provides technical and strategic leadership to support the transition from humanitarian cash responses to effective national social safety nets for mitigation of and responses to recurrent shocks.Supports the government to develop a national social protection policy and framework, with clear and achievable impacts on the welfare of children and other vulnerable populations. Generates evidence and effectively advocates to support the roll-out of national social protection programmes.Promotes linkages between cash transfer programming and complementary interventions which benefit children and youth, including services related to nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, child protection and HIV.Undertakes improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes, and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results.Improving use of public financial resources for children
Undertakes budget analysis to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Finance, planning commissions 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.Identifies policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions. Builds a case for the cost-effectiveness of social protection to build household resilience and decrease reliance on humanitarian support for recurrent shocks and stresses.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 state level planning, budgeting and public financial management as well as facilitating community participationStrengthening capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services.
Where the national decentralization processes are taking place, collaborates with central and local authorities to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions are child-focused and service delivery more closely 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.Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy
Oversees the 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.UNICEF Programme Management
Manages and coordinates technical support around child poverty, social protection, public finance and governance ensuring it 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.Ensures effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme. Ensures that the social policy programme enhances policy dialogue, planning, supervision, technical advice, 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.To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education:Advanced university degree in Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or other relevant disciplines.Work Experience:Minimum of ten years of relevant professional work experience is required. Supervisory experience is highly desirable. Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered a strong asset.Language Proficiency: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an assetFor every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
Functional Competencies:
Leading and supervising (II)Formulating strategies and concepts (II)Analyzing (III)Relating and networking (III)Persuading & Influencing (II)Planning & Organizing (III)Deciding & Initiating Action (III)View our competency framework at
http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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Remarks:
* Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
* Previous applicants need not apply.
* Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
* The successful candidate for this emergency recruitment MUST be available to commence work within 31 days of receivingan offer.
* Please note that this is a non-family duty station.
* Employment is conditional upon receipt of medical clearance, any clearance required, the grant of a visa, and completion of any other pre-employment criteria that UNICEF may establish. Candidates may not be further considered or offers of employment may be withdrawn if these conditions are unlikely to be met before the date for commencement of service.
How to apply:UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization. To apply, click on the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=513466