Decentralization and Local Governance Officer

Volunteering Finance & Economy

Overview

Support UNICEF's mission in local governance and financial management

You have:

• At least 5 years of experience in decentralization, public finance and/or social accountability.
• Previous experience in public finance, social policy, or local governance roles, preferably within a governmental or international development context.
• Proven track record of working with district or sub district structures is an asset.
• Good interpersonal, networking, and communication skills.

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

This UNV assignment is part of UNICEF Zambia Country Office 2023-2027 Country Programme Outcome five aims to ensure that by 2027, more children and adolescents live in an increasingly protective environment and benefit from improved child protection services, including birth registration. To achieve this, UNICEF recognizes the important contribution that a functional child protection system that prioritizes the prevention of violence from happening and ensuring children that experience violence and any form of abuse and harm access age-appropriate services is essential in achieving the desired child protection outcomes. UNICEF is providing technical support to the Government and partners to strengthen capacity in prevention of violence against children and promote birth registration. This support includes the development of a Social Behavior Change Plan that articulates the priority S&BC activities to address gender norms and other behavioral practices that drive violence against children. Implementation of the S&BC Plan will be a priority action in further strengthening government, partners and the community capacity to prevent violence on children.

In addition to duty station specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.

Under the overall supervision of the Social Policy Specialist, Public Finance, the UN National Specialist Volunteer will be responsible for:

• Support the training of local government officials on public financial management practices, ensuring they have the skills to develop and manage budgets effectively; • Facilitate participatory budgeting processes that engage community members in identifying priorities and allocating resources based on local needs; • Contribute to the formulation of policies that promote local governance, ensuring alignment with national strategies and frameworks; • Assist in gathering and analyzing data on local financial management and public service de-livery to inform decision making and policy recommendations; • Provide technical support to local governments in developing plans, budgets, and strategies for resource mobilization; • Contribute to producing local authority budget briefs; • Engage with local communities, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to pro-mote transparency and accountability in local governance and financial management; • Advocate for increased funding and resources for local governments, emphasizing the im-portance of decentralized governance in addressing local needs; • Collaborate with national government bodies and international organizations to align local governance practices with broader public financial management goals; • Assist in building the capacity of communities and citizens to understand and track public fund usage, working with local governments to establish robust accountability mechanisms.

• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organizing • Professionalism • Self management

in decentralization, public finance and/or social accountability. • Previous experience in public finance, social policy, or local governance roles, preferably within a governmental or international development context. • Proven track record of working with district or sub district structures is an asset • Good interpersonal, networking and communication skills

Zambia is a land-linked, resource-rich country with sparsely populated land in the centre of Southern Africa. It shares its border with eight countries (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe) that serve as an expanded market for its goods. Lusaka is the capital of the Republic of Zambia. The climate is sunny and temperate, but it can be very cold during few months, with freezing temperature at times especially during the night. It is therefore advisable to bring warm clothing and foresee using heaters and other heating options when necessary. As the commercial and cultural centre of Zambia, Lusaka has seen rapid development in recent decades, with reasonable transportation connections and widely spoken English making the city highly attractive to vacationers and experts alike. Unemployment and poverty are issues in the city, and beyond. Key industries for the region and Zambia as a whole, include mining, agriculture, and tourism. Like most Southern African cities, life in Lusaka will require some adjustments for a person moving from outside the region, but the potential rewards and opportunities for experiences are well worth the effort. Lusaka hosts several international organisation and embassies/diplomatic missions, therefore there is a very large community of expatriates from around the world. Housing is most of the time readily available and of good standard options are available. Most foodstuffs, beverages, household goods, furniture, and clothing, mostly imported from South Africa, Europe, and China while some ranges of local brands are available at a competitive price to imports. Meat, fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables are reasonably priced and abundantly available.

The basic infrastructures - roads, utilities, and telecommunications are of reasonable standard, although the city experiences power outages from time to time. Medical facilities are still largely inadequate, although several private clinics and hospitals provide reasonably good routine care. Several restaurants around the city serve local or international cuisine and there are numerous social and sports facilities (fitness, tennis, swimming, riding, golf, etc.) in the major hotels or in different establishments around the city. There are no major or special security concerns within Lusaka city limits. For more information, please visit http://zambiatourism.com.

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Potential interview questions

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unv.org