United Nations International Children’s Emergency Latest Vacancies

Key responsibilities:

Programme development and planning

• Review and refine the analysis of the recently concluded formative research on the First 1000 Days to inform the development of a multi-channel, state of art, gender-sensitive, integrated, human-centered behavior change strategy at scale.
• Engage with stakeholders (internal and external) to support the government to develop and validate a National Social Behavior Change Strategy for Nutrition. Support UNICEF Field Offices to adapt the national strategy to state-specific strategies and plans.
• Aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026 (UNSDCF), regional strategies, as well as national priorities, plans, and competencies, formulate, design, and prepare high-quality concept notes and proposals to mobilize resources and document results for impact.

Programme management, monitoring, and delivery of results          

• Provide management oversight to Output 3 on Diets and Practices and ensure plans are developed and executed in accordance with UNICEF’s Country Programme Strategy and Partnership Framework with the Government of Nigeria.
• Establish priorities and performance measurements for the Output on Diets and Practices, particularly during the First 1000 days in both development and humanitarian contexts.
• Develop milestones to track the execution and performance of the strategy, enable mid-course corrections, and achieve results.
• Plan, monitor and enable optimal and appropriate use of resources (financial, human, administrative, and other) ensuring compliance with organizational rules, regulations, procedures, donor commitments, and standards of accountability.

Advisory services and technical support

• Engage with internal and external stakeholders on the development and execution of state of art, gender-sensitive, human-centered strategies to create a new normal for diets and practices and provide technical support as appropriate
• Provide thought leadership to translate findings of the recently concluded formative research on key child survival and nutrition practices in the First 1,000 Days of Life to an implementation strategy in both development and humanitarian contexts
• Serve as the gender focal point for the section and build the capacity of the section on gender transformative strategies

Advocacy, networking, and partnership building

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders through active networking, advocacy, and effective communication.
• Participate in strategic Programme discussions, contribute to policy discussions and agendas, especially in the areas of gender, emergency preparedness and maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition.
• Build capacity, exchange knowledge and expertise, and/or promote cooperation and alliances to achieve Programme goals on maternal and child rights and social justice and equity.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Promote critical thinking and innovative approaches for sustainable social and behavioral practices that influence diets and practices
• Keep abreast of research and implement state of art practices in the social and behavioral science that influence diets and practices. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.
• Organize, plan and/or implement capacity-building initiatives to enhance internal and external competencies in state of art social and behavioral practices that influence diets and practices.
• Prepare policy papers, reports, briefs and other strategic documents for management use, donor and government reporting, social media and/or publication.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

• A minimum of Master’s in Nutrition, Social Science, Anthropology, Sociology, etc.

Experience:

• At least ten years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national or international level on gender-transformative, human-centered, nutrition diets and practices in the First 1,000 Days of Life.
• Proven experience in leading multi-stakeholder engagement with Government and partners
• Understanding both development and humanitarian contexts is an advantage.
• Experience working on marketing strategies is an advantage.
• Experience in health/nutrition Programme/ project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

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Key responsibilities:

Support to programme development and planning

While prioritizing prevention, and treatment where prevention fails, the Nutrition Officer will:

• Contribute to the development of multi-sectoral nutrition programming in the context of emergencies, particularly for those in the First 1000 Days of Life.
• Ensure gender-sensitive, rights, and results-based planning and Programme development
• Ensure alignment of Programme design with national and sub-national priorities as well as UNICEF and UN policies and strategies

Programme management, monitoring, and delivery of results.

• Provide technical input and oversight to the implementation of programmes along the humanitarian-development nexus
• Ensure availability of near-real-time data and conduct analysis, including budget and financial, to inform decision-making, enable mid-course corrections, facilitate Programme reviews with internal and external stakeholders, and unlock resources
• Be accountable for and manage internal and external resources, effectively and efficiently

Provide technical and operational support to Programme implementation

• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews, and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and provide technical support. Take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks, and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners, and other stakeholders on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes, and best practices on nutrition-related issues to support Programme implementation, operations, and delivery of results.

Advocacy, networking, and partnership building

• Build and sustain partnerships (internal and external) and work closely and collaboratively with stakeholders (internal and external) to ensure the achievement of sustainable results for nutrition at scale
• Advocate for and support the government to increase financing and coverage of services for nutrition interventions at both national and sub-national levels.
• Prepare high-quality evidence-informed advocacy products for internal and external use

Innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building

• Introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Keep abreast of and share state-of-the-art research and implement best and cutting-edge practices in nutrition programming, especially in the context of emergencies.
• Organize, plan, and/or implement capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders to promote transformative and sustainable results on /nutrition-related programmes/projects

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

• A master’s degree in one of the following fields is required:  nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health, and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience.
• Experience in implementing nutrition programming in an emergency context
• Knowledge of the UN rules, procedures, and regulations and/or working experience for the UN or other international development organization would be an asset
• Good knowledge and hands-on experience in analytical, research methodology, and statistical skills are an added advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English (both written and spoken) and the local working language of the duty station are required.

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Key responsibilities:

 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 effects 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 the most marginalized.  Identifies, generates, and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners.
• Promotes 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.
• 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.
• 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 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

• 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

• 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 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.

The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of social policy programs/projects and the achievement of sustainable results, contributes to achievement of goals and objectives to create a protective environment for children and thus ensure their survival, development, and well-being in society. Achievements in social policy programs and projects in turn contribute to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide program services for mothers and children that promotes greater social equality in the country.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of relevant professional work 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

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.

Deadline: Not specified

How to Apply: Use the links below to apply: