Social Policy Specialist

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Description

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• Strategic planning, policy influencing and monitoring and evaluation activities for Child Protection, early childhood development (ECD), Disability and Social Protection financing interventions with the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare (MoGCDSW) and other relevant Line Ministries
• Leading the strengthening of social protection financing, focusing on evidence generation, policy dialogue and advocacy, and strengthening social protection financing mechanisms, their sustainability, and responsiveness.
• Identifying and implementing system strengthening activities in the area of upstream PFM at national and sub-national level
• Supporting effective collaboration with Government, including the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA), National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC), the National Planning Commission (NPC) social sector ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), Local Government Authorities (LGAs), Parliamentary Committees, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), international financial institutions (IFIs), Donors, other UN Agencies and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as well as UNICEF programme staff.
• Advocating for more efficient, effective and sustainable financing for social sector service delivery with Government, Parliament and other relevant stakeholders

• 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. 
• A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 7 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of            an advanced university degree)

• A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience is required.
• Proven experience in upstream Public Finance Management is required, more specifically having worked in planning and budget preparation within line ministries (in the social sectors), Ministry of Finance or Public Sector.
• Proven experience in working within a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)/Programme-Based Budget (PBB) system (selection and monitoring of inputs, outputs and outcomes) is required.
• Proven experience in the preparation of costing models, investment cases, public expenditure reviews or tracking surveys, or other evidence generation activities to support improved investments in Social Protection and other Social Sectors is required.
• Proven knowledge of the Social Cash Transfer Programme and of other social protection interventions within Malawi’s National Social Protection framework is required.
• Experience working on programme or project evaluation is considered as a strong asset.
• Experience in management of consultants is considered a strong asset.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset.
• Background and/or familiarity with emergency is considered as an asset.

• Knowledge of Public Finance Management procedures, processes and standards is required, specifically for upstream PFM (planning and budgeting) in MTEF/PBB settings.
• Knowledge of Social Protection (as well as other social sector), programmes and interventions in Malawi is required.
• Knowledge of Government sectoral financing and management processes and procedures is required.
• Knowledge of STATA or other statistical analysis programmes is required.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills are required, particularly in the area of macroeconomics, public finance management and financing of social sectors.
• Strong drafting skills are required. The person will be requested to draft clearly and concisely to support the production of UNICEF’s own products (Budget briefs, etc.) as well to support quality assurance and improvements to reports produced for UNICEF or with UNICEF’s financial support.
• The capacity to work in an international team, with different profiles and in a multi-cultural setting is required.

• Fluency in English, both strong verbal and written skills, is essential.
• Fluency in Chichewa is a strong asset.

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