Social Policy Officer – Local Governance (NOB) (Only Argentinean Nationals)

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, advocacy

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the Social Policy officer – Local governance 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. In particular, the focus of the Officer will be in supporting actions refer to implementing the MUNA initiative. 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, B4R and communication.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Act as manager of the MUNA initiative in support to the Social Inclusion and Child Rights Monitoring Specialist

• Coordinate, under the supervision of the Social Inclusion and Child Rights Monitoring Specialist, effective implementation of the MUNA initiative in nine prioritized provinces and provide timely technical inputs and assistance to identify lessons learned and needed adjustments.

• Provide technical assistance and inputs to the Social Inclusion and Child Rights Monitoring Specialist to contribute in reaching the political and technical agreements needed with provincial and local level counterparts for the implementation of MUNA and in the identification of potential implementing partners from civil society and key actors from the private sector.

• Support the articulation with other areas from the CO (health, child protection, education, Communication, B4R) in the implementation of the MUNA initiative and lead the Central MUNA team.

• Collaborate in and supervise the elaboration of guidelines, practical tools and documents for the implementation of the capacity building activities with local and provincial counterparts.

• Provide technical assistance to local authorities to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation, and accountability processes to assure the definition of local action plans and reports timely submitted as part of the MUNA initiative requirements.

• Collaborate 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.

• Support the definition of a community of practice between local governments as part of the MUNA initiative.

• Support the monitoring of the MUNA initiative implementation, including the definition of indicators and the review of progress reports.

2. 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.

• Help supervisor maintain effective relationships with member states, UN agencies, NGOs, host government and other partners, in order to keep them informed on important, strategic operational UNICEF issues.

• Work closely with PSE to promote the inclusion of programmatic priorities in partnerships with private sector, particularly regarding MUNA-related activities.

3. UNICEF Programme Management

• Helps manage and coordinate technical support around MUNA, 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…

Education:  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.  Master’s degree on these areas is considered a strong asset.

Experience: A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience is required, including at least two years of relevant professional experience working with subnational governments on social policies.  Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset.

Language Requirements:
Fluency in Spanish and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is considered as 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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

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 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, 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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

Remarks:

This post is pending to approval. Any Offer of Employment will be also subject to this approval.

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

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also 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 cancelled.

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.

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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.