Programme Specialist, P-4, TA, Migration and Displacement Hub, Child Protection Section, Programme Group, New York HQ

Overview

Support UNICEF programs focusing on children in migration and displacement situations.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in social sciences, international development, or a related field. A law degree is an advantage.
• At least 8 years of progressively responsible professional work experience at national and/or international levels.
• Proven expertise on migration and displacement issues is a requirement.
• Experience working on youth engagement is a requirement.
• Outstanding writing and editing skills in English are a requirement.
• Experience managing flagship reports is a strong advantage.
• Fluency in English (Verbal and Written), professional knowledge of another UN language is an asset.
• Specific technical knowledge of rights- and results-based programming in UNICEF is strongly preferred.

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 159,743 USD and 205,956 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, a hope…

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, 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. 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. A child’s decision to leave their home is a legitimate coping and adaptation strategy to build a better future. By making children’s migration journeys safe we can protect lives, empower children and transform communities.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF’s Migration and Displacement Hub (the Hub) within Programme Group works with other sectors (notably Education, Child Protection, Health, Social Policy), other cross-cutting areas, Regional and Country Offices to protect migrant and displaced children from harmful policies and practices; include them in national systems; and empower them to influence the decisions that shape their lives. The Hub does this through several programming approaches:

• Fostering strategic ​partnerships and multi-stakeholder​ coordination​
• Strengthening the ​participation and ​empowerment of young people ​on the move​
• Advocating​ to influence government ​policies and investments
• Strengthening ​data and evidence on children on the move​; and
• Building ​Capacity ​and Managing​ Knowledge.

The Hub supports UNICEF to minimize the risk of child and youth displacement due to climate impacts; ensure safe migration is an option for families and youth at greatest risk; equip children and youth on the move (or at risk of mobility) with the education and skills to thrive; and empower children and youth on the move as partners in developing solutions and shaping programmes and policies that impact their lives.

In 2023, the Hub is leading on the development of UNICEF’s IDP Action Plan, designed to map out comprehensive solutions for internally displaced children at country and global level. The Hub also supports UNICEF’s participation in a newly established interagency Steering Group, advising the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Solutions, and supporting a UN-wide push behind the Secretary General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, focusing on 16 priority countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.[1]

Once adopted, the Hub will support prioritised regional and country offices, working in partnership with PGLT and relevant HQ teams, in the operationalisation of UNICEF’s Institutional Action Plan to prevent and minimize risk of future displacement, reduce vulnerabilities related to a child’s internal displacement status, strengthen the inclusion of displaced children in plans, budgets and data systems and contribute to child sensitive solutions at scale. This will be done through an integrated package of technical assistance, targeted multi-sectoral capacity building support and data and evidence strengthening actions.

Solutions to internal displacement imply that a child is either no longer displaced because she has sustainably reintegrated at her place of origin (“return”), has locally integrated where she has taken refuge (“local integration”) or sustainably integrated in another part of the country (“settlement elsewhere in the country”).

Displacement triggers are diverse. While conflict-related internal displacement continues to affect children in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and parts of Asia and the Americas, disaster-related internal displacement was recorded in over 130 countries in 2021 (IDCM global data base). As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify, children will likely be displaced from their homes due to weather-related events including floods, storms, droughts and wildfires, at an even greater and more severe rate. Making UNICEF fit for purpose means ensuring there is coherence, consistency and predictability in our role and operational engagement in internal displacement contexts – from prevention, to humanitarian action, to solutions – for children and families displaced within their country.

The Hub also launched a ground breaking new Youth on the Move Fellowship Programme designed to provide paid fellowships and a concrete opportunity to learn and earn for talented young refugees, migrant and IDPs and strengthen UNICEF programming from within. New global partnerships with youth-led organizations, such as the Global Refugee Youth Network and with a network of young climate mobility fellows, are also changing the ways we work with young people on the move on refugee inclusion, participation and climate displacement.

Summary of results-based key functions/accountabilities:

The Programme Specialist will support UNICEF program teams and sectors at global, regional and country level to support the realization of UNICEF's organizational priorities as set out in the Agenda for Action for Children on the Move, the Global Compact for Migration, the Global Compact for Refugees, the SG Action Agenda on Internal Displacement and relevant climate displacement frameworks.

The incumbent will lead two newly emerging organizational priorities: action agendas on internal displacement and climate mobility. In these areas, the Programme Specialist will steer global positioning, support UNICEF thought leadership, knowledge generation, youth-led advocacy, capacity building and technical support with UNICEF regional and country offices, across sectors, and with interagency and civil society partners and coalitions.

1. Support the development and operationalization of UNICEF’s institutional action plan on solutions for internal displacement

• Support the finalization of the IDP Action Plan for UNICEF, in collaboration with PGLT and a multi-sectoral reference group across UNICEF divisions and regions
• Ground truth in the action plan through issue and region specific consultations (interagency and across UNICEF) and shore up institutional commitment and funding to support its implementation.
• Convene thematic deep dives to strengthen UNICEF’s program offer on IDP solutions (including on climate action and urban programming) and support follow up actions
• Convene a community of practices on IDP solutions to foster best practice exchanges and program excellence
• Design and support a phased roll-out plan for implementation in 16 priority countries
• Support PG-wide coordination to develop and roll out integrated packages of targeted multi-sectoral actions (across education, health, child protection, WASH + climate, social protection) to identify and remove barriers and reduce vulnerabilities related to a child’s displacement status and strengthen the inclusion of displaced children in plans, budgets and data systems.
• Support effective and systematic collaboration across teams – in particular EMOPS, DAPM and GCA- leveraging existing coordination processes and focal point structures (HAFP, nexus working group, Migration and Displacement Task Team)
• Actively support UNICEF’s participation on the interagency SG Steering Group and other UN-wide IDP focused initiatives by preparing and participation in relevant meetings and forums, developing briefing notes, talking points, etc
• Design and deliver tailored capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners working in IDP contexts and provide on-demand support to priority countries on solution strategy development and implementation
• Support the adaptation and where necessary development of (additional) specific tools and guidance, for assessing internal and climate displacement risks in various country contexts.

2. Strengthen UNICEF’s capacity to effectively prepare and respond to emerging risks related to internal displacement – with a focus on climate displacement - and harness opportunities for children and young people to adapt through climate mobility

• Work with partners, including the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, to generate and strengthen data on hotspots for climate-related displacement of children in order to predict and prepare, so that services are shock responsive and able to reach the most vulnerable before, during and after disaster strikes
• Strengthen collaboration between PG, EMOPS and DAPM to better leverage data and risk-foresight capabilities to analyze potential displacement patterns (including through risk- and conflict analyses, and EPP updates)
• Support region-specific climate displacement analyses and program take-up of climate displacement forecasting data
• Work with EMOPS and relevant teams to embed the prevention/minimizing risk of internal displacement as an integral priority across all preparedness work
• In collaboration with the Global Lead, Migration and Displacement, contribute to the development and roll out of UNICEF’s agenda on Climate Migration and Displacement.

3. Strengthen the meaningful participation of young people in IDP solution and climate mobility/displacement decision making and support Learning to Earning Pathways for Green Upskilling

• Drive forward the meaningful engagement of internally displaced children and youth to ensure their voices are heard at global level, and systematically inform policy dialogue, including in the follow-up actions to help implement the UN Secretary General IDP Action Agenda and UNICEF’s organizational Action Plan.
• In partnership with the Major Group for Children and Youth and other refugee- and migrant- youth led organizations, ensure youth have a seat at the table in climate mobility and displacement policy making and can help shape innovative solutions.
• Ensure the team’s plans are informed by youth on the move, including by supporting a Youth on the Move mentorship program, allowing young people to gain professional experience in the PG Migration and Displacement Hub, as well as allowing the team to benefit from insights by youth on the move.
• In partnership with U-report, work toward capturing youth voices on critical issues for youth on the move, leveraging these to push for programme adjustments and policy advocacy. Manage the development of communications products to uplift voices by youth on the move.

3. Development and quality assurance of key policy analysis, programme guidance and advocacy materials on children affected by internal displacement, with a focus on climate displacement

• Development and quality assurance of key policy analysis, programme guidance and advocacy materials on internal displacement, climate displacement and emerging governance frameworks affecting children and young people
• Support UNICEF’s migration and displacement related work in the field through research, monitoring, capacity building and technical support as a focal point for climate hotspots regions (ROSA and EAPRO)
• Provide technical assistance in the development of UNICEF policy guidance, by researching and analysing developments in global, regional and national policy discussions, reviewing best practices, consulting research and data, and capturing the experience of regional and country offices.
• Support the team across the programme areas with high quality editing and quality assurance of a range of policy briefs, briefing notes and reports.
• Write and edit high quality briefs, reports, talking points, speeches, and communication and advocacy products for internal and external stakeholders.

Leverage UNICEF’s partnerships with the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) around solutions for internally displaced and climate-sensitive urbanization, in partnership with UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI).

Impact of Results

Child migration is at an unprecedented scale, with one in every 45 children in the world today on the move and an increase in child refugees by 77 per cent in the past five years. UNICEF’s global response for displaced and migrant children represents a large and growing focus of our response. Nearly one in two of the world’s refugees are children, and an even larger number of children - 25.2 million - are internally displaced. Floods, storms, droughts and wildfires have uprooted more than 26,900 children each day- exacerbating protection risks and disrupting livelihoods and access to services. Conflict and climate change are the two main drivers of child displacement - affecting children from Ukraine to Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan or Venezuela – with 95 per cent of new conflict related displacements occurring in countries also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In Ukraine alone, there are currently 5.9 million people internally displaced –with 7.9 million refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe by the end of 2022.

The work of the Programme Specialist will have significant impact on UNICEF’s ability to fulfill its policy, knowledge and programmatic commitments with regard to priority issues for children on the move. In particular, the incumbent will have a significant impact on the successful building and maintaining of partnerships to enable children to access services, to ensure the recognition of internally displaced children, and move forward UNICEF’s emerging work on climate migration.

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

• Advanced university degree in social sciences, international development, or any related field. A degree in law is an advantage.
• At least 8 years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and/or international levels:
  • Proven expertise on migration and displacement issues is a requirement. Technical expertise on Internal Displacement, Climate Change and Climate displacement is an advantage.
  • Experience working on youth engagement is a requirement.
  • Outstanding writing and editing skills in English are a requirement and writing samples are part of the recruitment process. (Please make sure to upload your writing sample as attachment in the application, or you might not be longlisted)
  • Experience in managing and contributing to flagship reports is a strong advantage.
  • Experience managing a cross-cutting issue within a sector-driven context is a strong advantage. Strong team player with proven experience in collaborative work wanted.
  • Oral communication skills and the ability to speak effectively in internal and external forum is an advantage.
• Specific technical knowledge strongly preferred of:
• Rights- and results-based approach and programming in UNICEF

• UNICEF programme policy, procedures and guidelines, including the UNICEF Global Programme Framework for Children on the Move and 6 Point Agenda for Action

• Fluency in English (Verbal and Written). Professional knowledge of another UN language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS)

Please click Here to view UNICEF's core values and Here to view our competency framework.

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

i) Core Values

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability
• Sustainability

Ii) Core competencies

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

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 including 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, 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 promoting 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.

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 may also be 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.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational 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/”

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page. If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

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

Potential interview questions