Social Policy Officer at the 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 of:

Job Title: Social Policy Officer

Job No: 545309
Location: Enugu
Contract Type: Fixed Term Appointment
Level: NO-2
Categories: Social and Economic Policy

Key Responsibilities

• Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be assigned the primarily, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results.

Social Policy Dialogue, Technical Advice, and Programme Development:

• Provides professional assistance in UNICEF’s engagement in social policy dialogue, technical advice, and development with the Government, maintains constructive dialogue and partnerships between international and local stakeholders to support the development of social policies and programmes contributing to the progressive realization of children’s rights and strengthening of implementation and monitoring mechanisms at all levels of society, and ensures that the services reach out in innovative, effective ways to those most excluded pockets of children and families that have been previously left out.

Monitoring State Budget Resources:

• Monitors and updates current information on state budgeting and spending patterns for social programmes on an on-going basis to support advocacy for more efficient, more equitable, and sufficient public resources and budget allocation for social development, the prioritization of resource allocation for children, and universal coverage of essential services for children and social protection, in order to ensure that they reflect the best interest of children, promote equality, and contribute to social inclusion.

Sustainable Development and Capacity Building:

• Collaborates with the central and local authorities to strengthen community-based capacity on quality data collection, analysis for state policy development, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of social policy and programmes, gender equality, and promoting convergence across sectors.
• Provides professional assistance in the development programme plans of action for children at provincial and district/municipality levels; supports to strengthen coordination between sectors and between different levels of government structures for policy implementation.

Data Collection, Analysis and Results-based Approach:

• Collects quantitative and qualitative data for the sound and up-to-date assessment of the situation of children and women to provide the base-lines for result-based decisions on interventions and evaluations.
• Provides technical support for the development of information systems for monitoring child rights indicators, with emphasis on community and child participation.
• 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.
• Support maintenance of information system for monitoring gender/sex, geographic, and socio-economic disaggregated data.
• Contributes to the analysis of the macroeconomic context of social policy programmes 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.

Advocacy and Communication:

• Promotes and raises awareness on children’s rights with both the general public and with policy makers, effective information dissemination, mass media campaign, special events, and other means, to ensure local buy-in, commitment, and continued relevance of UNICEF programming.

Partnerships:

• Contributes to the establishment and enhancement of 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 and the World Fit for Children (WFFC) agenda.
• Identifies other critical partners, promotes awareness and builds capacity of partners, and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.

UNICEF Programme Management:

• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme.

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

• University Degree, preferably advanced University Degree or equivalent background, in Social Sciences, Economics, International Relations, Political Science, International Finance, or other relevant disciplines.

Experience:

• Two years of relevant professional work experience. Field work experience (for NO). Background/familiarity with Emergency.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and local working language of the duty station.

For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies listed below:

Core Competencies:

• Communication [ II ]
• Working with People [ I ]
• Drive for Results [ I ]

The functional competencies required for this post are:

• Formulating Strategies and Concepts [ I ]
• Analyzing [ II]
• Applying Technical Expertise [ II ]
• Learning and Researching [ II]
•  Planning and Organizing [ II ]

Application Closing Date
25th October, 2021; W. Central Africa Standard Time.