Programme Specialist (Local Governance)-NOC, FT, Mogadishu Central-South Region (Somali nationals only)

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, hope

How can you make a difference?

Strategic Programme Context

UNICEF is one of five United Nations partners implementing the Joint Programme on Local Governance and Decentralized Service Delivery (JPLG); other partners are ILO, UNCDF, UNDP, and UN-HABITAT. The first phase of JPLG commenced in April 2008 and ended in December 2012, and the second phase from 2013 to 2017. The third phase of the programme was launched in January 2018. JPLG is aligned to the National Development Frameworks, the Somali Stabilization Strategy, the Somali government's Wadajir Framework for Local Governance and the UN's Strategic Framework for Somalia. JPLG is implemented in partnership with the Federal Government of Somalia, the Federal Member States of Somalia and the Government of Somaliland with an average annual budget of USD 25-35 million. JPLG pursues a comprehensive capacity development approach aimed at local authorities, state and federal administrations and communities. It builds on existing capacities and focuses on design and development of policies and systems, capacity-building and institution strengthening, civic education, district planning and budgeting, public and private sector participation in service delivery and local economic development. In so doing, the JPLG supports top-down process covering policy development for local governance and decentralization and bottom-up empowerment of communities to demand and participate in local governance and economic development.

UNICEF's main focus of interventions is supporting participatory governance approaches, including civic education, participatory planning and social accountability mechanisms and systems, and supporting decentralized service delivery in health, education, social protection and water management. Strong systems building and capacity building efforts are aiming to support the establishment of functioning administration at state and district level able to plan monitor and deliver social services to its constituents.

Considering the recent political and security developments and opportunities in the Federal Member States south of Puntland, JPLG is expanding its support towards strengthening of newly established states and district administrations including Benadir Regional Administration (BRA). The JPLG approach aims at placing the relevant government institutions in the driving seat for policy, capacity development and service delivery, with a focus on local government institutions and in line with established policies, procedures and systems.

How can you make a difference?

Purpose for the job:

The Programme Specialist (Local Governance) will provide strategic project planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring and reporting support to achieve the targeted results of JPLG, including communication and visibility. In addition, the incumbent will support the overall implementation of the UNICEF component of this joint programme across all Somalia and will be responsible for implementation of activities and work plans with Federal Ministries and in all new Federal Member States plus Mogadishu. For this, the incumbent will coordinate internally with other UN JPLG agencies (UNDP, UNCDF, UN-Habitat, and ILO), external partners such as Ministries of Interior and Federal Affairs, Federal Member States, BRA and Local Authorities and also UNICEF sections.

Under the general guidance of the Chief of Social Policy, Equity and Gender and the technical supervision of the Program Specialist (Local Governance), the Programme (Local Governance) Specialist works at the Country Office and 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) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services; and (c) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, health, nutrition, child protection, and water and sanitation.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy

• Provides technical support for the development of information systems for monitoring child rights indicators, with emphasis on community and child participation.
• 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.
• Establishes effective partnerships with the Government, at federal state ministries, and local government entities/authorities 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.
• Provides professional assistance in UNICEF's engagement in social policy dialogue and community driven development with the Government, maintains constructive dialogue and partnerships between international and local stakeholders to support the development of social policies and programmes contributing to the progressive realization of children's and women's rights and strengthening of implementation and monitoring mechanisms at all levels of society, and ensures that the services reach out in innovative, effective ways to those most vulnerable pockets of children and families that have been previously left out.
• In collaboration with UNICEF, UN agencies and government programme officers, designs and manages the implementation of UN Joint Program on Local Governance( JPLG) plans of action aiming at: (a) increased community participation in development programmes which include children, women and marginalized groups; and (b) social mobilization of communities and civil society organizations to advocate for increased equitable service delivery and strengthened coordination between sectors and national/sub-national plans.

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

• Where national decentralization processes are taking place, collaborates with central and local authorities 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.
• Provides on-going support to facilitate decentralization process where the national decentralization process is taking place, collaborates with the central and local authorities to assist in planning, policy discussion and service delivery closely responding to the needs of local communities.
• Collaborates with the central and local authorities 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.
• Provides technical supervision, stewardship, and guidance to the technical decentralization consultants at sector ministries (health, water, and education) as well as the Vice President's office under the (JPLG-Phase III).

3. Improving use of public financial resources for children

• Undertakes budget analysis to inform UNICEF's advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Finance, planning commissions and social sector ministries to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children.
• Works with sector colleagues to build capacity to undertake costing and cost effectiveness analysis on priority interventions to help inform policy decisions on child-focused investments.
• Supports the identification of policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions.
• 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.

4. UNICEF Programme Management

• Helps manage and coordinate technical support around child poverty, public finance and local governance ensuring it is well planned, monitored, and implemented in a timely fashion so as to adequately support scaleup 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.
• Manages UNICEF's inputs in the JPLG program for the MOIFAR,FMS and BRA specifically the local governance and civic engagement, community development aspects of the programme; participates in joint programme review meetings and monitoring of local partners. This includes managing (DCT, budget review, and preparation, etc.) and tracking progress as per the deliverables in the agreements/contracts and the joint work plan, undertaking field visits to review jointly with the communities, progress as far as implementation is concerned and documenting achievements as well as constraints, recommending possible steps for addressing identified constraints in implementation.
• Participates in planning at the zonal level with partners UN Agencies (UN Joint Program on Local Governance -JPLG meetings), Ministries and local NGOs. This includes ensuring that responsibilities assigned to UNICEF under the joint work plan corresponds to UNICEF's mandate and resources (human and financial), ensuring that lessons learnt from the JPLG pilot project as far as community capacity development is concerned are adopted within the joint programme.
• Ensures that the local governance, community development programming 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. Participates in UNICEF internal key decision-making platforms such as Zonal Management Team Meetings (ZMT) and Sunday Management Meetings (SMM). Provides backstopping to the JPLG Program specialist /Manager

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or other relevant disciplines is required.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience progressively responsible managing and implementing projects in local governance, community mobilization and social development preferably in the areas of participatory planning, social mobilization and community empowerment;
• Good understanding of the decentralization, local governance and decentralized service delivery in Somalia;
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is a must and willingness to spend time in the field.
• Proven experience in project management and coordination managing grants, delivering on results, monitoring, and reporting;
• Demonstrated experience in supporting multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder interventions targeting community and system capacity building;
• Experience coordinating with other organizations in the collation of information, analysis and development of recommendations.
• Ability to analyze, synthesize information and communicate outcomes clearly to different stakeholders, especially at the community level;
• Capacity to manage various tasks simultaneously in planning, implementing, and monitoring a complex project over an extended period;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ability to work independently and in a team, high-level report-writing skills;
• Knowledge and experience on gender, youth, child sensitive, resilience/DRR programming and planning in local governance is an added asset.
• Knowledge and working experience on PF4C Public Finance for Children at national and local level is an added asset.
• Computer skills, including internet navigation, and various office applications.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization.
• 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 values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The core competencies required for this post are...

• Builds and maintains partnerships,
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness,
• Innovates and embraces change, Drive to achieve results for impact,
• Manages ambiguity and complexity,
• Thinks and acts strategically,
• Works collaboratively with others, and
• Nurtures, leads, and manages people.

Functional competencies required for the post:

• Formulating strategies and concepts (I)
• Analyzing (II)
• Applying Technical Expertise (II)
• Learning & Researching (II)
• Planning & Organizing (II)

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. 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.

Remarks:

• UNICEF only considers Higher education qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net
• The Vacancy is open to all (Internal and external candidates).
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.