Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) Specialist, Programme Manager, P-4, PGLT, Programme Group, NYHQ, TA

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 171,387 USD and 220,969 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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, Hope

UNICEF Programme Division, based in New York, provides strategic vision, technical guidance and coordination support to all UNICEF programming areas, with dedicated Programme Groups for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education, Health, Nutrition, Child Protection and Social Policy. Programming in UNICEF is guided by the four year planning cycles of the Strategic Plan. The current Strategic Plan (2022 to 2025) outlines a path towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, the realization of a society in which every child is included and has agency, opportunity and their rights fulfilled, includes recovery from the impact of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic and outlines opportunities for UNICEF programmes to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and extreme events.

To support the development of the Strategic Plan, compliance with key donor requirements and to ensure that risks have been properly identified and mitigating actions identified, implemented and monitored, UNICEF is in the process of finalising its Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) which are aligned with the UN Model Approach and those of key development stakeholders. The finalisation of the ESS system, and the associated risk screening, development of tools and ESS instruments, present an enormous opportunity for UNICEF programmes. This position will be situated with the Programme Group Leadership Team (PGLT) and report to the Deputy Director (Programmes).

How can you make a difference?

Key accountabilities for this TA are summarized as:

Coordination across key Programme Groups:

• obtain feedback on key ESS instruments including (but not limited to) ESS Procedure, Policy, Standards, Screening Mechanisms and Implementation guidance
• contribute to discussions on Information Disclosure and Grievance mechanisms and reporting, aligning with progress made within PG on other key Risk Management initiatives
• share feedback with the DAPM team leading on ESS, acting as the PG ESS Focal
• support the development of support mechanisms e.g. Helpdesk facilities, community of practice, rosters and long term arrangements for ESS support
• provide regular updates (at least monthly) to the PGLT on the status of ESS documentation and system finalisation

Technical support on ESS:

• Provide technical advice to country and regional offices on the integration of ESS into country programmes and proposals where requested
• Review key draft ESS instruments and templates
• Review key existing ESS templates and/or contribute to their development
• Support different Programme Groups to adopt existing materials to their programming context
• Support the development of Sectoral Guidance for the key sectors in consultation with the respective Programme Group (Health, Education, Nutrition) using the WASH Sectoral Guidance as a basis

Capacity building:

• Support the development and delivery of capacity building measures, including (but not limited to) webinars, presentations and online training courses, using the WASH capacity building materials as a basis.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in in Water, Sanitation, Engineering, Development, Economics, Sociology, Law or other related 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 8 years of relevant professional experience in the design and implementation of UNICEF programmes or programming contexts, of which at least three are in emergency/humanitarian contexts
• At least two years of direct programme management experience of UNICEF projects in excess of US$1 million
• Demonstrated experience in the development of key ESS instruments e.g. Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, Environmental and Social Management Plans
• Experience implementing cross-sectoral programmes will be considered a strong advantage
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local 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: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

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.

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 either: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with child, is a safeguarding response role or has been assessed as an elevated risk role for child safeguarding. 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.

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

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

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.