Programme & Planning Specialist, P4, Fixed Term, UNICEF, MENA Regional Office (#72254)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Results

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the Organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give more children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region presents a complex landscape for UNICEF operations, characterized by diverse socio-economic conditions, ongoing conflicts, and humanitarian crises. The economic diversity of the countries in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, ranging from low to high income, results in some countries experiencing growth while others facing challenges; economic downturns may exacerbate internal crises and displacement, and increase the risk of natural disasters. Progress has been made in social indicators over the past decades, the region however continues to grapple with deep-rooted issues. In addition to these, the region has faced several major chocks in the past years following manmade and natural disasters; the MENA region hosts one of the largest populations of refugees and internally displaced persons globally.

Within this complex and volatile context, the Middle East, and North Africa Regional Office (MENARO) planning, monitoring and research section is supporting countries/COs in advancing equity-focused policies, programs, and interventions for children in the region.

Special attention is given to strengthening risk informed, conflict sensitive, equity-focused programming and developing inclusive policies and programmes towards greater social cohesion and resilience of systems and communities. Our capacity to accelerate progress for children will also depend on our capacity to seize the opportunities of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to influence government and partners to strengthen national policies programmes and results for children. In this regard, strengthening UN inter-agency collaboration through the Regional Collaborative Platforms and the Delivering as One (DaO) approach is essential to support United Nations Country Teams (UNCT) in operationalizing quality and sustainable programmes.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:  

Under the guidance of the Regional Chief of Programme and Planning, the purpose of the post is to coordinate Middle East and North Africa Regional Office planning and reporting processes and support quality assurance mechanisms of Country Programme planning exercises in 16 COs and 20 countries in MENA with a broad range of functions- including policy and programmatic work- to ensure alignment of regional and country programmes with UNICEF Organizational policies and priorities.

Strategic Planning, knowledge management and capacity building

• Provide technical guidance and strategic inputs to the design of key regional meetings (Regional Management Team, Deputy Representatives programme and Operations, Social Policy, Planning, Monitoring network) as well as of staff trainings on UNICEF Programme, Policies and Procedures (CPP, RBM etc.) ensuring that these learning events contribute to the development and implementation of policy and programmatic standards and priorities across UNICEF Programmes in the region.

Support to regional office planning, monitoring and reporting

• Coordinate the development, planning and monitoring of the Regional Office Management Plan, including preparation of the Regional Office annual planning and reporting exercises, regional review of Country Office Annual Reports and preparation of the Regional Office Annual Report, as well as overall guidance for knowledge management services within the Regional Office.
• Contribute to the preparation of Regional Strategic documents, including briefing documents, statements and information for the Regional Director for the Executive Board sessions and other missions as required.

Setting regional standards for programme performance planning

• Support Country Programme Planning processes (midterm reviews, Strategic Moments of Reflection, country programme preparation, Situation Analysis etc.) with a focus on regional quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that Country Programme Planning exercises are in alignment with the latest guidance and organizational priorities.
• Provide technical assistance to Country Offices and contribute to policy dialogue on key UNICEF policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards in programme design, implementation and reporting.

UN Coherence and inter agency collaboration.

• Provide guidance and support to UNICEF country offices for the development of UNSDCFs and participate in inter-agency meetings and missions as required to support UN coherence initiatives, particularly as they relate to the integration of RBM into Common Country Analysis (CCAs) and UNSDCFs in line with the Sustainable Development Goals through the Regional UNDG Peer Support Group.

Planning, Monitoring and Research section Internal Planning and Reporting

• Coordinate internal planning and reporting for the Planning, Monitoring and Research section.

Networking and partnership building

• Collaborate with key relevant divisions in UNICEF Headquarters and Planning Units in the other UNICEF Regional Offices to exchange knowledge and ideas and to contribute to global and regional learning focusing on effective approaches, challenges and lessons learned in programme planning, review and reporting.

Impact of Results

Technical and administrative decisions are regularly made to ensure timely and appropriate support to country offices on programme planning, including quality assurance issues through coordination and consolidation of regional office inputs to key Country Programme planning documents so as to ensure that these meet quality standards and that they are aligned to organizational policies and priorities. Judgement, analytical capacities, and drafting skills are required to prepare high quality documents for presentation to the Executive Board; to ensure Regional Office oversight to Country Office Annual Reports; to prepare the Regional Office Annual Reports and other strategic documents of relevance to the region.

Recommendation is made on the quality of official documents such as CPDs, UNSDCFs, UNSDCFs Work Plans, CCAs, Situations Analysis, Country Office Annual reports. Such recommendations have a direct impact on the effectiveness of resources. Collaboration with Regional Institutions, design and support for regional and subregional initiatives involve regular decisions which are directly linked to the use of UNICEF resources including staff time.

Misinterpretation of country situation and trends can lead to wrong direction of the country programme resulting in country objectives not being met and a significant proportion of UNICEF resources being misspent. Ineffective coordination and interaction with regional advisors, country offices and regional partners, UN and other, will negatively affect the credibility and acceptability of UNICEF interventions. Ineffective support of capacity building and training activities can adversely affect UNICEF capacity for programme planning and implementation.

Supervision is limited to guidance on overall regional framework and organizational policy and priorities from the Regional Programme and Planning Chief. Within these limits, the incumbent is expected to perform independently and consults with supervisor when major decisions and actions must be undertaken.

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

Education: Advanced university degree in social sciences or another related field.  

Experience: Eight years progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels in social development, management, planning, monitoring and evaluation. Relevant experience/exposure to emergency is an asset.

Language: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, French) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF Competencies required for this post are:

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable from donor are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.