Social Policy Specialist, P-4, Nairobi, Kenya (Eastern & Southern Africa Regional Office), Fixed Term, #99277

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, protection!

The overall purpose of this position is to provide thought leadership, quality analytical input, oversight, quality assurance and technical support to the Public Financing for Children (PF4C) analysis and advocacy carried out by UNICEF Country Offices, the regional office, and globally. It aims to support efforts to leverage greater, more effective, and equitable domestic public investments in children and ensure results for multidimensional child wellbeing. This role will provide staff capacity development, technical, knowledge management, and strategic partnership support to UNICEF engagements in ESAR related to budgets and public financial management, to improve the enabling environment and address causes and barriers to achieving results for children.

How can you make a difference?

This position is under the supervision of the Regional Adviser for Social Policy. The post routinely liaises with social policy and sectoral staff in country offices and globally, as well as networking with subject experts externally (e.g., the World Bank, donors, and think tanks).

Key function, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks

• Provide technical leadership for the scaling up of UNICEF’s public finance work in the region in line with the strategic direction of the regional Social Policy programme. Provide specific technical support, quality assurance and oversight to assure high quality in activities conducted by Country Offices and the Regional Office. This includes the provision of guidance to COs on the development of analysis as well as advocacy plans to bring about positive change.
• Serve as regional focal point of technical expertise in the area of PF4C. Monitor developments in the technical area, as well as political and social developments, at the national and regional levels. Contribute to the regional Social Policy knowledge management by analyzing and disseminating available national budget data, information systems, and trends to evaluate cost and impact on SDGs, capturing determinants of the trends and their implications for country programming.  Expertise needed relates to the full spectrum of financing for development, including revenue, debt management as well as expenditure policy.
• Build and maintain a regional PF4C analysis based on priorities as well as a database with key PF4C indicators, maintain regular economic analysis to feed into regional planning and strategizing.
• Review and deliver a regional programme/support to develop the capacity of key counterpart staff, as well as UNICEF Regional and Country Office staff, in the area of PF4C.
• Lead UNICEF’s regional technical external role and voice on public finance, by forging internal and external partnerships and through representation in regional/national fora with partners and stakeholders.
• Develop innovative strategies for advocacy and increasing social accountability for national budgets across the region for greater investments in children.
• Build strategic alliances with various international and regional partners, civil society, and academic partners, active in the area of PFM/PF4C. Bring Africa think tanks voices into common UNICEF PF4C advocacy plans. Contribute to a better integration of donors into consultative processes and networking.
• Share, promote, and create learning on PF4C across the region, with other regions and HQ and externally to showcase genuine impact for children.

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

• Advanced university degree in Economics, Public Finance, Social Policy, and/or Public Administration is preferred.
• Minimum of eight years of progressive, professional work experience in public financial management, and sector financing, in applied, national settings is required.
• Experience in different country contexts, especially in Africa, is desirable.
• Hands-on experience and proven results in using public financial management evidence to concretely generate change at the national level is required.
• Experience in budget analysis, costing and developing investment cases, PERs and PETS in key sectors for children such as health, education, water and sanitation, social protection, nutrition an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language 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…

(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:

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.

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

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.