UNICEF recruits 01 Social Policy Specialist (Public Finance), (P-4)
Social Policy Specialist (Public Finance), (P-4), ESARO, Nairobi, Kenya #99277
Job Number: 523261 | Vacancy Link
Locations: Africa: Kenya
Work Type : Fixed Term Appointment
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.
And we never give up.
For every child, life and wealth.
How can you make a difference?
The overall purpose of this position is to provide oversight, quality assurance and technical support to the Public Finance for Children (PF4C) work carried out by UNICEF Country Offices and support their efforts to leverage greater, more effective, and equitable domestic public investments in children and ensure results in the areas of health, education, HIV, nutrition, child protection, social inclusion, and WASH.
This role will provide staff capacity development, technical, knowledge management, and strategic partnership support to UNICEF engagements in ESAR related to budgets and public financial management, in order to improve the enabling environment and remove Public Finance Management (PFM) related causes and barriers to achieving results for children.
In addition, the position will contribute to generate regional level knowledge on PF4C for advocacy purposes with a wide range of partners, including with the Africa Union, and develop and expand regional partnerships in the area of PF4C.
Summary of results-based key functions/accountabilities:
Advisory services and technical support
Knowledge generation and management
Capacity Building
Communication, Networking and Partnership
1- Advisory services and technical support
Result: Regional and Country Offices expand, lead and deliver high quality standard programmes in the area of PF4C due to strong technical leadership
– Provide technical leadership for the scaling up of UNICEF’s PF4C work in the region in line with the strategic direction of the regional Social Policy programme. Provide specific technical support, quality assurance and oversight to assure high quality in all aspects of PF4C programme activities conducted by Country Offices and the Regional Office in Eastern and Southern Africa. In particular, this includes the provision of guidance to COs on the development of budget briefs, engagement on budget transparency, assessing and improving the impact of spending, and increasing investments in child-focused services, as required.
– Provide specialized technical expertise to national partners in the area of PFM, with a particular focus on strengthening PFM systems for the monitoring of allocation and expenditures in key sectors for children (health, education, HIV, nutrition, child protection, social inclusion, and WASH).
– Support country programme development, monitoring and evaluation in the area of PF4C.
– Provide country offices with documentation and research related to PF4C. Develop how-to information sheets and manuals on applying existing tools and frameworks to support equity-based sector programming, including contributing to sector guidance on enabling budgetary environment in key sectors for children.
– Support sectors costing their plans and developing investment cases
2- Knowledge generation and management
Result: Up-to-date technical expertise is maintained, expanded, and disseminated throughout the Organization, and shared with regional/national institutions/partners.
– Serve a regional focal point of technical expertise in the area of PF4C. Monitor developments in technical area, as well as political and social developments, at the national and regional levels. Contribute to the regional Social Policy knowledge management by analyzing and disseminating available national budget data, information systems, and trends to evaluate cost and impact on SDGs, capturing determinants of the trends and their implications for country programming.
– Build and maintain a regional database with key PF4C indicators.
– Synthesize best practices in PF4C from ongoing programmes/projects and disseminate through print, electronic media and through facilitation of exchange visits, study tours, workshops, and training. Document investment cases for leveraging resources for PF4C.
– Compile evidence on the investments of countries in the region in key sectors for children and develop relevant knowledge products for advocacy use by the Regional Office.
– Monitor the implementation of Financing for Development (FfD) commitments in the region.
3- Capacity Building
Result: Country Offices, Regional Office staff and national partners lead PF4C regional programme development, implementation and management processes due to continual, effective capacity building.
– Design a regional programme with Regional and HQ Advisors to upgrade the capacity of key counterpart staff, as well as UNICEF Regional and Country Office staff, in the area of PF4C.
– Provide technical inputs for capacity development efforts of UNICEF staff in country offices and, upon Country Offices’ request, of their partners, in the in the area of PF4C and FFD. Provide technical guidance on the design, content and delivery of staff training courses or workshop in the area of PF4C.
4- Communication, Networking and Partnership
Result: Effective communication, partnerships, representation and networking are forged to develop harmonized programme interventions and expand programmes and networks
– As the credible voice of the Region for the PF4C area, enhance UNICEF’s regional technical leadership role by forging internal and external partnerships in the development of harmonized programme interventions, through representation in regional fora with partners and stakeholders.
– Develop and maintain collaboration with the Communication and C4D Advisors to develop innovative strategies for increasing social accountability and demand of citizens across the region for greater investments in children.
– Build strategic alliances with various international and regional partners, national associations, entrepreneurs, academics, religious organizations and NGOs active in the area of PFM/PF4C. Contribute to a better integration of donors into consultative processes and networking.
– Strengthen strategic partnerships for PF4C work in support of the Social Policy agenda of the region. Establish institutional links with UN agencies and other relevant entities to improve the financing and implementation of Social Policy.
Impacts of Results
The key results from this position have the following impacts:
Sector staff capacity on identifying and addressing budget/PFM challenges/opportunities being strengthened and utilized at the country level
Organizational knowledge updated on effective PF4C interventions in different contexts, including specific attentions to sector programming,
Internal and external availability of data and evidence improved;
Increased visibility and recognition to UNICEF as a credible partner in helping government better mobilizing and utilizing public financial resources for realizing child rights in countries and globally.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education
Advanced university degree in Economics and/or Public Finance is preferred. Advanced university degree in Public Policy and/or Administration or other relevant discipline will be considered.
Experience
Minimum of eight years of progressive, professional work experience in applications and advisory related to budgeting, public financial management, and sector financing, in the applied, national and international social development settings
Specialized experience
Hands-on experience with PFM issues required.
Experience in budget analysis, costing and developing investment cases in key sectors for children such as health, education, water and sanitation, social protection, nutrition an asset.
Experience in designing and implementing Public Expenditure Review and Pubic Expenditure Tracking Survey an asset.
Language Requirements
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
For 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.
The competencies required for this post are….
Core Values
Commitment
Diversity and inclusion
Integrity
Core competencies
Communication (II)
Working with people (II)
Drive for results (II)
Functional Competencies:
Leading and supervising (II)
Formulating strategies/concepts (II)
Analyzing (III)
Relating and networking (II)
Deciding and initiating action (II)
Applying Technical Expertise (III)
View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
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.
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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks:
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Closing Date Fri Jul 05 2019 21:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)