TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT: Social Policy Specialist (Public Finance), P3, Lilongwe, Malawi # 110950

Job Number: 523925 | Vacancy Link

Locations: Africa: Malawi

Work Type : Temporary 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, help.

UNICEF Malawi Country Programme (2019-2023) is aligned with the Government of Malawi’s Growth and Development Strategy (MDGS III) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The programme supports the Government of Malawi to meet its commitment to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights in line with international conventions and standards. The country programme is guided by the principles of children’s rights, equity, gender equality, inclusion and resilience, and supports evidence-based, integrative and innovative programming. The vision is that ‘all girls and boys in Malawi, especially the most disadvantaged and deprived, realize their rights’. The programme focuses on: early childhood (parenting, high-impact social services, early stimulation and learning), middle childhood and adolescence (learning, multi-sectoral services, active citizenship), communities (decentralized services and systems, community ownership, social norms), programme effectiveness (monitoring, evaluation, HACT, Innovation, Social Protection and Social Policy and External Communication. The programme is based on ‘leaving no child behind’, realizing ‘rights for all children in Malawi’.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the Chief of Social Policy, the position will be responsible for undertaking timely and robust analysis of social and economic policies, especially government budgets, for evidence-based engagement with policy and budget makers at both national and sub-national level and capacity building of state and non-state actors on public finance management.

The ultimate objective is to influence the size, composition, equity, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending on sectors and programs aimed at improving child well-being. The job will also entail evidence generation, capacity building and policy engagement on a) fiscal policies to reduce child poverty; (b) social protection financing; (c) fiscal transparency and accountability; and (d) fiscal decentralization and public finance management at local level.

The work 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, nutrition, social protection and HIV.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Improving data on public finance for children for increased use for policy and programme action

Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of data on economic policies and government budgets.

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

2. Strengthening social protection financing systems

Supports the development of social protection financing strategies with particular attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention on the most marginalized.

Promotes strengthening of integrated social protection financing and expenditure systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design of cost-efficient payment systems for 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 financing.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policies and budgets

Establish effective partnerships with the Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, civil society and local leaders, the private sector, and other UN agencies on public finance for children.

Identifies other critical partners, promotes awareness and builds capacity of partners, and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.

6. 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.

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

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy or Social Sciences.

A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience is required, with a minimum of two years focusing on public financial management.

Experience working in a developing country, especially with Government, is considered as a strong asset.

Background and/or familiarity with emergency is considered as a strong asset.

Relevant UN or international NGO experience is an asset.

Fluency in English is required.

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 functional competencies required for this post are:

Leading and Supervising (II)

Formulating strategies and concepts (II)

Analyzing (III)

Relating and networking (II)

Persuading and Influencing (II)

Planning and Organizing (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 Tue Jul 30 2019 10:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)

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