Birth Registration Officer

Volunteering

Overview

Lead program development and implementation for birth registration in Mwanza.

You have:

• A minimum of seven years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development planning and management, child protection, birth registration and education programming.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Fluency in Kiswahili and English is required.
• Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation and reporting skills.
• Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots, community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels.
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment.
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines.
• Have affinity with or interest in prevention of violence and volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

Contract

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The UNICEF programme in Tanzania prioritizes the monitoring of emerging trends and their impact on children, the country’s development landscape and use of evidence and successful pilots to leverage investments and wider coverage of quality services for children. The programme also aims to strengthen children’s and communities’ engagement in their own development. In Tanzania, UNICEF supports programmes in health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, education, child protection and water and sanitation. Cross-cutting priorities include social policy, budgeting and financing, gender, behavioral change, communication and partnerships. The assignment for the national UNV will be in the Child Protection section at UNICEF Tanzania. Since 2012, UNICEF has supported the Government of Tanzania, through Registration Insolvency Trusteeship Agency (RITA), to strengthen the civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system by making birth registration more accessible, affordable and efficient. This includes technical and financial assistance to implement the Simplified Birth Registration System (SBRS), amend the legal framework, train personnel, and raise public awareness. As a result, birth registration coverage increased from 10 per cent in 2013 to 68 per cent in 2023 across all 26 regions of Mainland Tanzania. UNICEF is now supporting the development of a fully digital and integrated CRVS system through the e-RITA platform and advancing efforts to ensure every vital event is digitally captured. Moving forward, UNICEF plans to sustain progress by addressing the large backlog of unregistered children and paper records, while supporting government efforts to link legal, school and national identities, including biometric IDs for children over six, towards the creation of a unified digital identity system under the JAMII Stack.

The Birth Registration Officer will report to the Child Protection Specialist (Justice and Civil Registration and Vital Statistics) and will be based in the local government office in Mwanza. The Birth Registration Officer will lead a variety of day-to-day technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate programme development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. Key functions/accountabilities are as follows: 1. Support the planning of the programme interventions in Mwanza 2. Provide technical support to local government authorities (LGAs ) for the rollout of the electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (eCRVS), digitization of the backlog of registers, and the development and implementation of a plan for archiving the paper records as needed 3. Liaise regularly with the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA ) and National Identification Authority (NIDA ) regional coordinators; regional, district, and ward education officials; and Prime Minister's Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PMoRALG ) coordinator to ensure that newborns 0 - 3 months, children aged 3 - 5 years, and 6 - 17 years have a birth certificate and Jamii number that links to the eCRVS and NIDA ID 4. Support RITA, NIDA, and the LGAs in developing appropriate monitoring and evaluation tools with a focus on gender and equity (including the most marginalized) 5. Visit districts to monitor implementation of the testing of the registration strategies, highlight issues that are hindering implementation, and provide technical support to address these issues 6. Visit districts to monitor implementation of the school connectivity component 7. Represent UNICEF to the local government officials 8. Work closely with the UNICEF Child Protection and Innovations Officers to draft reports, blog posts, and other knowledge products Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant United Nations Volunteers (UNV ) and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day (IVD)); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Teamwork, Adaptability, communication, ability to work in diverse communities.

A minimum of seven years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development planning and management, child protection, birth registration, and education programming. Relevant experience in programme development in child protection-related areas in a UN agency is considered an asset. • Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage. • Fluency in Kiswahili and English is required. • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, and reporting skills. • Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels. • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various Microsoft Office (MS Office ) applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment. • Self-motivated; ability to work with minimum supervision and under tight deadlines. • Have affinity with or interest in the prevention of violence and volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

This assignment is designated for two duty stations: Tanga and Mwanza. Applicants are required to select only one preferred duty station at the time of application, based on the eligibility conditions and requirements specified below.

Mwanza, located on the southern shores of Lake Victoria, is Tanzania’s second-largest city and an important commercial hub for the lake region. The city offers a range of housing, schooling, and healthcare facilities, and has good connectivity by road and air to Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and neighboring countries. Professionals can access supermarkets, restaurants, and recreational facilities, while the lakefront provides leisure opportunities. Mwanza has a warm tropical climate, with cooler evenings compared to coastal cities. The security situation is generally calm, and the cost of living is reasonable. Tanga is a coastal city in northeastern Tanzania, known for its laid-back atmosphere, Indian Ocean beaches, and proximity to the Usambara Mountains. The city has reliable access to basic services, markets, schools, and healthcare, though specialized services may require travel to larger cities such as Dar es Salaam. Housing options range from modest apartments to stand-alone houses. The climate is hot and humid, with seasonal rains. Security conditions are generally stable, and the cost of living is moderate compared to larger urban centers.

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Potential interview questions

Added 8 days ago - Updated 5 hours ago - Source: unv.org