Social Policy Officer UNICEF

Job no: 555423
Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment
Level: NO-1
Location: Zambia
Categories: Social Policy

This is a Generic Vacancy Announcement: Social Policy Officer, NO1, Lusaka, Zambia, NO1 Talent Group.

Talent Groups at UNICEF are exclusive lists of pre-vetted, highly qualified candidates intended to fast-track recruitment processes as positions become available. After a rigorous selection process, successful candidates will be placed in the Social Policy officer (NO1) Talent Group for UNICEF Lusaka, Zambia for a period of 36 months. While placement in the Talent Group does not guarantee a position, it is an important resource for filling vacancies. Candidates placed into the Talent Group will be reviewed when a relevant position becomes available at and if found suitable, are offered placements through a direct selection process.

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,… Social Policy……

The UNICEF Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) is designed to address and mitigate the threat of poverty the country’s children face, while responding to the needs with interventions addressing the multiple causative factors.

To find out more about UNICEF’s work in Zambia, please visit https://UNICEF.sharepoint.com/sites/ZMB/SitePages/About-us(1).aspx

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the Social Policy officer is accountable for providing technical support and assistance in 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.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Improving data 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 effect of social welfare policies on the rights of children
Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children

Supports the development of social protection policies, legislation and programmes with attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention on the most marginalized. Identifies, generates and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners.
Supports strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design of cash transfers and child grants and improve linkages with other social protection interventions such as health insurance, public works and social care services as well as complementary services and intervention related to nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, child protection and HIV.
Supports 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.
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 and child-focused service delivery more closely responds 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

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.
UNICEF Programme Management

Helps manage and coordinate 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.
Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme. Ensures that the social planning project 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…

A 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 one year of relevant professional 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.
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 (CRITA) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: uni.cf/UNICEFValues

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Builds and maintains partnerships level 1
Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness level 1
Drive to achieve results for impact level 1
Innovates and embraces change level 1
Manages ambiguity and complexity level 1
Thinks and acts strategically level 1
Works collaboratively with others level 1
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 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.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
The GVA is open to all (internal and external candidates)
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
Placement in the Talent Group does not guarantee a position and does not translate into an offer of employment