Child Survival & Development Specialist, NOC, Parakou/Benin

Contract

This is a NO-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-3 contracts.

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, [insert tagline]

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Field Office in Parakou with technical guidance from the CSD team in Cotonou, the CSD Specialist is responsible for the development, coordination, management, planning and implementation of the health, nutrition and WASH services. The post will provide strategic leadership in delivery of technical assistance of the programme, innovation and knowledge sharing in the sector to effectively respond to developmental needs of children and women in the north of the country. Accountable for effective technical and programme support to facilitate the evidence-generation, policy works and scaling up evidence-based interventions for vaccine-preventable diseases and malaria control programme with government partners and other stakeholders; making sure that all will be aligned with UNICEF regional priorities (KRC), Country Programme Action Plan, and national programme priorities, including the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent will provide support and supervision to CSD team in UNICEF BENIN’s Field Office of Parakou.

1. Timely sectoral analysis, input and support contribute to the Situation Analysis and its periodic update for effective programme planning, development and management.

Contributes to the preparation of the Situation Analysis by compiling, analysing and evaluating information and providing the technical input and support to child survival & development (CSD) interventions and its periodic update. Prepares sectoral input to the Country Programme Document and all related documents (e.g., Country Programme Recommendation, Plans of Action, and Country Programme Summary Sheet). Contributes to the consultation and coordination with key partners at all levels.

2. Quality contributions are made to the development of policy advice and integrated CSD strategies and approaches through participation and collaboration with internal and external partnership.

Works with other UNICEF sectors, particularly Nutrition, HIV/AIDS, WASH, Education, Protection, and programme communication to ensure integration of the health, nutrition and WASH programmes with other sectors. Contributes to build on intersectoral experience and establish partnerships to promote innovative approaches in addressing system bottlenecks around determinants of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent services, recognizing that child survival & development outcomes are not the results of action in the health sector alone.

Participates with UNICEF, Government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other partners in the development of strategies and approaches relating to health, WASH, nutrition and HIV services and system strengthening of programmes. Monitors status to ensure achievement of strategic results in line with agreed Annual and Country Programme outcomes and adopts corrective action to meet programme outputs.

Contributes to the identification and introduction of new approaches, methods and practices in government-led programme management for improving service delivery with emphasis on bottleneck removal strategies, scale-up and sustainability of interventions and community participation.

3. Work plan and output(s) are strategically established, implementation support is effectively provided, and planned results are timely delivered through application of technical expertise.

As functional leader and manager of the Child Survival & Development team, exercises technical and programme management leadership for the development and implementation of the results-based sectoral work plan and output(s) as well as for administration and monitoring of key innovative and modelling activities, consistent with the defined programme strategic priorities and approaches.

Ensures Outputs and targets are timely achieved, through full coordination between activities and collaboration with implementing partners, by providing guidance and support to staff of CSD.

4. Innovations and demonstration modelling in health, nutrition, HIV and WASH are monitored and evaluated for adjustment, acceleration and improvement of programme delivery and sustainability.

Undertakes field visits to monitor programmes, as well as participates in periodic programme reviews with government counterparts and other partners. Identifies necessary action for programme adjustments. Provides technical advice and support to government officials and implementing partners in the planning and management of the health systems particularly in maternal, newborn, child health services and disease prevention & control programmes and ensures their sustainability. Support maintenance of information system for monitoring equity through geographical and sex aggregated data.

5. Technical assistance is provided to government and NGOs and all other partners at various stages of sub national-led programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation, including capacity building of government’s and NGO personnel.

Provides technical support to sub-national governments and NGOs in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation stages of the health and nutrition programmes/projects.

Identifies training needs; designs and conducts training and orientation activities for government personnel and beneficiaries and other relevant partners, for the purpose of capacity development, scaling up, sustainability of programme/projects and replication of services.

6. The capacities of Zone Offices staff are strengthened through effective capacity building support in the development, implementation and management of the child survival & development programmes.

Designs and implement a staff training/development programme to upgrade the capacity of the Country Office staff with regard to competencies for technical requirements as well as for the programme development, implementation and management of CSD programmes. Conducts relevant orientation, workshop, training and staff learning/development activities, including relying on technical support from country office and partnership with collaborating agencies to provide state-of-the-art -technical information to staff.

7. UNICEF and Government accountability is ensured for supply and non-supply assistance and disbursement of programme funds for Child Survival & Development.

Coordinating with country office staff on supply and non-supply assistance activities, ensures UNICEF, Government partners and all implementing partners’ accountability. Certifies disbursements of funds, ensuring those activities are within established plans of action and programme budget allotments; and to orientate and train Government and UNICEF implementing partners in UNICEF supply and non-supply policies and procedures. Monitors the overall allocation and disbursement of programme funds, making sure that funds are properly coordinated, monitored and liquidated. Submits financial status reports to management in compliance with the regulations and guidelines.

8. Effective working relationships with internal and external counterparts are kept maintained for advocacy, technical coordination, information sharing and knowledge networking.

Coordinates activities and exchanges information and knowledge with other programmes to contribute to achievement of overall country programme objectives. Builds up effective monitoring, knowledge database/network and reporting systems to ensure the availability of current and accurate programme information/data, and contributes to the development of communication materials and strategies to support advocacy and community participation for health, WASH and nutrition; and to widen partnership with all stakeholder at national, regional, commune, community and household levels as well as with funding partners including the private sector in order to fulfil national programme priorities, including the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

Facilitates partnership and collaboration with external counterparts, including those of the UN and sub-national partners, in order to improve the ability to collect and disseminate relevant data, and to exchange information on programme/project development and implementation. Facilitates exchange of knowledge, information, experience and lessons learned.

9. Relevant and strategic information is kept available to support the child survival & development programme by the effective implementation of an integrated monitoring system.

In collaboration with monitoring and evaluation and communication colleagues, conducts accurate and timely monitoring and data collection, and supports an integrated monitoring system, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

Coordinates with partners to ensure that monitoring systems are properly designed, and that data collection and analysis from field visits are coordinated and standardised across programmes to feed into to programme performance monitoring.

Provides assistance for evaluation exercises, programme mid-term review, annual sector review and preview meetings with Government counterparts and all other relevant partners. Analyses and evaluates monitoring data, ensures achievement of objectives and proposes corrective measures as appropriate.

10. Required programme/project reports are timely prepared in compliance with the established guidelines and procedures.

Contributes to the timely preparation of annual sector status reports and shares information with relevant partners as required in compliance with the established guidelines and procedures. Participates in the preparation of all programme reports for management, Board, donors, budget reviews, programme analysis, and annual reports.

11. Emergency preparedness is maintained, and in emergencies, emergency responses with effective coordination are provided.

Supports emergency preparedness plan relating to Health, Nutrition and WASH. In case of emergency, assists in monitoring and assessing the nature and extent of the emergency in the assigned area, as required. Provides assistance to the Country Office in identifying where support is required. In line with the Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) in Humanitarian Action, strengthens partnerships with the Health humanitarian actors within the Inter-Agency Standing Committee.

12. Day to day coordination of health, WASH, nutrition programme in Parakou field office and other assigned duties and responsibilities are effectively accomplished.

Coordinate, supervise and manage health and nutrition staff in Parakou field office. Assumes any other duties and responsibilities assigned as appropriate to the purpose of this post, and delivers the results as required.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health/nutrition, pediatric health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, environmental health sciences, biostatistics, socio-medical, health education, epidemiology, or another relevant technical field. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public health/nutrition planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care, or health emergency/humanitarian preparedness.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in French and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN 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.

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

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. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

[Remove below text if not a child safeguarding elevated risk role]

[If applicable] This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is:a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

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

[If Applicable] 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). 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.