Social Policy Specialist , P3, Temporary Appointment, UNICEF, MENA Regional Office #129804

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, hope.

Social Protection is one of the five priority acceleration areas for UNICEF in the MENA region. UNICEF has worked closely with governments across the region to strengthen and extend social protection coverage to the most vulnerable families with children to mitigate the socio-economic risks face by them. However, social protection systems in MENA face challenges and weaknesses that need sustained technical assistance and support to move towards the principles of UNICEF’s Global Social Protection Programme Framework (2019), the relevant Strategic Plan indicators, as well as the SDG commitments around expanding Social Protection Floors. UNICEF Country Offices across MENA are working on i) strenghtening national social protection systems, including to make them more inclusive, integrated, and shock-responsive; and ii) advocate and credibly push for (progressively) universal coverage of social protection for children in MENA countries.

The demand for technical support from Country Offices on social protection frameworks, training of government counterparts, documentation and knowledge management, and advocacy work has increased significantly especially post-COVID. As part of the Social Policy and Social Protection team, this role will be critical in providing technical assistance on social protection systems strenghtening

How can you make a difference? 

1. Technical support to country offices on social protection

• Supports country offices with the development of social protection policies, frameworks, and programmes with a focus on increasing coverage of and impact on children as well as promoting inclusive social protection approaches that are disability and gender sensitive. Identifies, generates, and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners.
• Supports countries with the promoting strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design of cash transfers and child grants and improve linkages with other complementary services and interventions related to nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, and child protection. 
• Provide support to UNICEF county offices in MENA as needed on systems strengthening and knowledge generation on social protection.

2. Support knowledge management on social protection

• Contribute to regional tools and guidance development on social protection systems strengthening, particularly engagement with other sectors at different tiers (HQ, RO, CO).
• Facilitate knowledge sharing, developing tools and mechanisms to collect, synthesize and disseminate knowledge and best practices to inform country programmes and policies on social protection system including shock responsive, disability sensitive and gender sensitive social protection.
• Support Regional Social Protection Advisor on coordination and facilitation of Issue-Based Coalition on Social Protection in Arab Region.
• Coordinate TRANSFORM Arab Region Initiative jointly with ILO including development and management of work plan, coordination with countries for conducting trainings, organization of Advisory Group meetings, review training curriculum and accreditation of trainers. 
• Facilitate organization of quarterly regional social protection network calls for facilitating knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning.

3.  Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social protection

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

4. UNICEF Programme Management and Reporting

• Supports annual reporting processes including SMQs, Donor Reporting on regional initiatives, and RAM for social policy and social protection.
• Coordinates technical review by the Regional SP team of Country Office RAM and SMQ inputs.

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education:  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.
• Experience:
  • A minimum of five years of experience at the national/and or at international level in the area of social protection, programme design and implementation is required. 
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrated ability to work as part of a team in a multicultural environment is also required.
  • Experience working at the national level either as part of or directly with governments on social protection programmes is an asset. As is working at the international level, including with development partners.
  • Experience in emergency settings is beneficial, but not required.
  • Strong analytical and communication skills are essential.
• Language Requirements:  Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language especially Arabic and French is an advantage.

D

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

The 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 

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role]. 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

[Remove the following paragraph if not a child safeguarding elevated risk role] This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

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 measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as 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 [Insert candidates from targeted underrepresented groups] 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.

[Applicable to HQEI positions, remove the below text if not applicable]

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

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

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[CO/ HQ specific: visa residence requirements: i.e.: UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.]

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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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.