How can you make a difference?

Under the guidance of the Regional Chief of Programme and Planning, the Programme & Planning Specialist will coordinate West and Central Africa Regional Office planning, monitoring and reporting processes and support quality assurance mechanisms of Country Programme planning exercises in 24 West and Central Africa countries with a broad range of functions- including policy and programmatic work- to ensure alignment of regional and country programmes with UNICEF Organizational policies and priorities.

If you are a passionate and committed professional and want to make a lasting difference for children, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you through your application.

Strategic Planning, knowledge management and capacity building
Provide technical guidance and strategic inputs to the design of key regional meetings (Regional Management Team, Deputy Representatives and Operations Managers, Social Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation network) as well as of staff trainings on UNICEF Programme, Policies and Procedures (PPP, RBM) ensuring that these learning events contribute to the development and implementation of policy and programmatic standards and priorities across UNICEF Programmes in the region.

2. Support to regional office planning, monitoring and reporting

Coordinate the development, planning and monitoring of the Regional Office Management Plan, including preparation of the Regional Office annual planning and reporting exercises, regional review of Country Office Annual Reports and preparation of the Regional Office Annual Report, as well as overall guidance for knowledge management services within the Regional Office.

Contribute to the preparation of Regional Strategic documents, including briefing documents, statements and information for the Regional Director for the Executive Board sessions and other missions as required.

3. Setting regional standards for programme performance planning

Support Country Programme Planning processes (midterm reviews, country programme preparation, Situation Analysis) with a focus on regional quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that Country Programme Planning exercises are in alignment with the latest guidance and organizational priorities.
Provide technical assistance to Country Offices and contribute to policy dialogue on key UNICEF policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards in programme design, implementation and reporting.

4. UN Coherence and inter agency collaboration

Provide guidance and support to UNICEF country offices for the development of UNDAFs and participate in inter-agency meetings and missions as required to support UN coherence initiatives, particularly as they relate to the integration of RBM into Common Country
Assessments (CCAs) and UNDAFs in line with the Sustainable Development Goals through the Regional UNDG Peer Support Group.

5. PM&E section Internal Planning and Reporting

Coordinate internal planning and reporting for the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation section.

6. Networking and partnership building

Collaborate with key relevant divisions in UNICEF Headquarters and Planning Units in the other UNICEF Regional Offices to exchange knowledge and ideas and to contribute to global and regional learning focusing on effective approaches, challenges and lessons learned in programme planning, review and reporting.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will need to have…

Advanced university degree in social sciences or other related field.
Eight (8) years progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels in social development, management, planning, monitoring and evaluation. Relevant experience/exposure to emergency is an assetPrior experience working in a UN system will be considered an asset.
Fluency in French and English are required.
For every Child, you advocate and demonstrate…

Our 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 & Concepts [ II ]
Analyzing [ III ]
Relating and Networking[ II ]
Planning and Organizing [ III ]
Persuading and Influencing [ II ]