Social Policy Officer

Job Description

Job no: 540345
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Level: NO-2
Location: Nepal
Categories: Social and Economic Policy

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, results

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the Social Policy officer 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. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) the social protection system to make it child sensitive, resilient (shock responsive) and inclusive ensuring better coverage and impact on children (b); the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; and (c) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services. 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, water and sanitation, and HIV.

How can you make a difference?

1. Improving the social protection system making it child sensitive, resilient (shock responsive) and inclusive ensuring better coverage and impact on children

• Supports the development of social protection policies, legislation and programmes for province and local governments with attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention the most marginalized. Identifies, generates and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners.
• Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of data on social protection coverage and impact on children, including strengthening national capacity to collect routinely, report and use data for policy decision-making.
• Supports project implementation, monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results. Provides timely, regular data-driven analysis for effective prioritization, planning, and development; facilitates results-based management for planning, adjusting, and scaling-up specific social policy initiatives to reduce child poverty.
• Support province and local governments to strengthen shock-responsive social protection system through design and implementation of social protection programmes including emergency cash transfers linking with child grants and other social protection schemes for most vulnerable and most-at-risk population;
• Provides technical support to partners to improve the design of cash transfers and child grants and improve linkages with other social protection interventions such as health insurance, public works and social care services as well as complementary services related to nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, child protection and HIV.

2. Analysing the macroeconomic context and its impact on social development

• Analyses the macroeconomic context and its impact on social development, emerging issues and social policy concerns, as well as implications for children, and proposes and promotes appropriate responses in respect of such issues and concerns, including government resource allocation policies and the effect of social welfare policies on the rights of children.

3. Improving use of public financial resources for children

• Undertakes budget analysis of province and local governments to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Finance, National Planning Commission, Province Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, Province Planning Commissions and other relevant ministries to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children.  
• Works with sector colleagues to build capacity to undertake investment cases and cost effectiveness analysis on priority interventions to help inform policy decisions on child-focused investments.
• Develops advocacy strategies for sectoral colleagues for creating fiscal space within province and local government sectoral planning and budgeting process to maximize resource leveraging on results for children;
• Supports the identification of policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions.

4. Strengthening capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services.

• In the context of federalization and decentralization of planning processes, coordinates and collaborates with federal, provincial and local level governments to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions and child-focused service delivery more closely respond to the needs of local communities.
• Undertakes and builds capacity of partners for improved monitoring and tracking of public expenditure to support transparency, accountability and effective financial flows for essential service delivery, including through support to district level planning, budgeting and public financial management as well as facilitating community participation.
• Collaborates with the federal, provincial and local governments 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.

5.  Strengthening 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.

6. UNICEF Programme Management

• Helps manage and coordinate technical support around child poverty, social protection, public finance and governance 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.
• Supports strengthening knowledge management system including data management, reporting and documentation for periodic and thematic reports as well as drawing lessons learned and good practices.

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

• Advanced university (Master’s) degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field.

• A minimum of two years of relevant professional experience is in the area  of child rights, social protection , child development is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset.
• Background and/or familiarity with emergency is considered as a strong asset.
• Fluency in English is required. 

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

Job Specification

Core Competencies

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

Functional Competencies

• Analyzing (2)
• Applying Technical Expertise (2)
• Learning & Researching (2)
• Planning & Organizing (2)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Apply Instructions

All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.  

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

Advertised: 10 May 2021 Nepal Standard Time
Deadline: 25 May 2021 Nepal Standard Time

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