Public Finance for Children Officer (TA/NOB, 8.5 months, ), Bishkek. This vacancy is open to Nationals of Kyrgyzstan only

Contract

This is a NO-2 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-2 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, financing

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and 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 favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — their rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential and 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.

Job organizational context:

The PFM Officer is responsible for providing support to the supervisors and colleagues in the programme sections by administering and executing a variety of professional and technical deliverables and processes related to public finance for children in social sectors, applying theoretical skills and thorough knowledge of organizational goals, objectives, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures to complete the assigned tasks.

When working with programme staff, the PFM Officer will be responsible for planning and guiding work in progress, reviewing work completed by programme sections, and initiating new deliverables relevant to strategic public financing priorities in the country office related to maximizing public administration and financing for children. The PFM Officer will have a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of public financing mechanisms, structures and procedures within the Government and how this relates to UNICEF programmes, policies, procedures, guidelines, standards of accountability, and ethics.

The PFM Officer will support programmes aimed at improving (a) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) social protection coverage that have an impact on children; (c) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; and (d) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase the quality, equity and coverage of social services. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners and support to UNICEF teams working on education, health, child protection, water and sanitation, social policy.

Specifically, the following 4 deliverables will form the core of the assignment of the PFM officer:

1. Out-of-pocket expenditure analysis in Primary Health Care (PHC)

2. Innovative PHC financing solutions

3. Child-focused budget analysis and systematic monitoring of social sector budget with the view to inform UNICEF programme and advocacy

4. Support to the development of a PFM engagement strategy for the new UNICEF country programme

How can you make a difference?

1. Support to public financing for children and how it relates to UNICEF planning and management to reach equity goals within UNICEF CPD

• Contributes to positioning PF4C as an over-arching programme framework and strategy for the new Country Programme

• Helps manage and coordinate technical support around child poverty, public finance and governance, ensuring it is well planned, monitored, and implemented in a timely fashion to support scale-up and delivery adequately.

• Ensures risk analysis and risk mitigation are embedded into the overall management of the support, in close consultation with UNICEF programme sections, cooperating partners, and governments.

• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme.

▪ Provides timely, regular data-driven analysis for effective prioritization, planning, and development; supports results-based management for planning, adjusting, and scaling-up specific social policy initiatives.

2. Knowledge and capacity building of UNICEF staff, Government Officials and Civil Society Organizations on improved public financing for children▪ Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of financial/budgetary data on public expenditures, including strengthening national capacity to collect routinely, report and use public finance data for policy decision-making.

▪ Analyzes the macroeconomic context and its impact on social development, emerging issues and social policy concerns, as well as implications for children, and proposes and promotes appropriate responses in respect of such issues and concerns, including government resource allocation policies and the effect of social welfare policies on the rights of children.

▪ Supports the development of regional or sub-regional initiatives of capacity building, either for UNICEF staff or partners.

▪ Undertakes and builds the 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 local level planning, budgeting and public financial management, and facilitating community participation (as appropriate).

3. Research, assessment and engagement in the national planning and budgeting processes, current public financing systems and processes in the social sectors with a focus on Health, Education, Child Protection and Social Protection• Develop financing briefs related to PFM and public spending;

• 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 public service interventions.

• Strengthen the opportunity to secure a partnership with central planning and finance institutions (i.e Ministries), as a key entry point to develop a PF4C agenda

• Contribute to advocate and engage on increased transparency, participation and oversight on public policies and expenditure.

4. Advocacy and influencing key decision-makers on optimal public funding for adequate social spending

• Undertakes policies and budget analyses to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Economy and Finance, , and social sector ministries, parliament and local government to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children.

• Establishes effective partnerships with the Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, civil society and local leaders 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.

• Identifies other critical partners, promotes awareness, builds the capacity of partners, and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.

Impact of Results:

The efficient and effective technical support provided to the development and implementation of strategic advocacy and planning and formulation of public financing for children programmes/projects and the achievement of sustainable results contributes to the achievement of goals and objectives to create a protective environment for children and thus ensure their survival, development and well-being in society. Achievements in public financing for children programmes and projects contribute to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide programme services for mothers and children that promote greater social equality in the country.

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

• Education: A university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field.
• Experience: A minimum of two years of relevant professional experience is required. Experience working in a developing country is considered a vital asset. Background and/or familiarity with emergencies is considered a strong asset. Previous experience as an economist is a strong advantage.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered 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 UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

Core Competencies

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)

• Works Collaboratively with others (2)

• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)

• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)

• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)

• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)

• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Functional Competencies

• Analyzing (1)

• Applying technical expertise (2)

• Planning and organizing (2)

• Following instructions and procedures (2)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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:

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.