Re-advertisement : Representative, D-1, Brasilia, Brazil

Contract

This is a D-1 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 15 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 186,368 USD and 235,177 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 fulfil 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, dedication.

The Representative serves as the accredited representative of UNICEF in the country and reports to the Regional Director for general direction and oversight. The Representative is responsible for establishing dialogue with the Government to develop the framework of cooperation in the country and for working closely and collaboratively with the Government and national institutions, stakeholders and partners, to develop the Government-UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation in active support of efforts to advance children’s rights as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other international treaties/frameworks, the SDGs, and UN intergovernmental bodies.

As head of the Country Office, the Representative is responsible for providing leadership and vision to the UNICEF Country Office team in managing and leveraging resources for the achievement of results and realization of the rights of children. The Representative leads and oversees the various programme sectors and operations teams ensuring delivery of quality results in accordance with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework, ethics and integrity. The Representative is accountable for upholding UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability, and ensuring the establishment and maintenance of a non-discriminatory, inclusive and nurturing working environment for all staff and personnel, to enable them to effectively and efficiently deliver high-quality results for children.

Given the significant private sector fundraising activities led by the CO, the Representative has an essential role to play leading the mobilization of resources from the private sector towards funding the Country Programme and to mobilize resources for the organization globally.

How can you make a difference?

The Representative’s key functions and accountabilities include:

• Developing and planning the Country Program
• Leading and managing the CO, including driving cross-functional collaboration between programme, communication, fundraising and operations teams, with aligned objectives.
• Leading complex humanitarian emergencies at CO-wide level, including Migrant Response & Covid-19
• Monitoring and quality control of the Country Program
• Representation and external relations at global/national level
• Support to the Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team
• Leading private sector fundraising and partnerships
• Cultivating relationships with private sector partners and donors
• Leading innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
• Safety, security and well-being of staff, programmes and organisational assets

Person Profile:

• Proven experience as Representative or other similar senior positions, preferably managing large and complex operations, with a strong policy, humanitarian, and advocacy record.
• Experience in inter-governmental affairs, downstream and upstream social policy in a middle-income country.
• Capacity to drive results in complex humanitarian and changing environments.
• Strong negotiation and communication skills, maturity, and sensitivity to handle difficult situations including staff security.
• Political savvy with strong analytical skills and ability to distill complex and sensitive issues.
• Proven ability in resource mobilization through the private sector for UNICEF.
• Strong knowledge and hands-on experience in both humanitarian and programme development including emergency/security issues, emergency preparedness and response.
• Strong dynamism and proven capacity to lead and motivate a large team of international and national professionals in unstable/insecure and complex environments
• Well-developed skills in building relationships with and influencing external partners and donors at a senior level (ministerial level in the public sector, C-suite level in the private sector)
• Ability to motivate and communicate with diverse people to work collaboratively at a variety of levels in a country office, in a wider UNICEF team and working with partners and stakeholders outside the organization. The incumbent must be able to ensure both the quality of team results and team morale.
• Proven ability to successfully work in close partnership, cooperation, and complementarity within the UNCT, including key partnerships with Private Sector, Donors, Civil Societies and NGOs.
• Availability for frequent travel.

Country Typology:

• Country Income Level: Brazil is an Upper Middle-Income country, with a population of 211.7 million and a GDP per capita of USD 15,600 in 2017.
• Duty Station: Brasilia, Brazil is a Family duty station. Brasilia, Brazil is an “A” Duty Station. (Source: International Civil Service Commission, effective 01/Jan/2019)
• Office Size: Approx. 145 positions. UNICEF Brazil’s office structure has a main office in Brasilia and 9 Zone Offices in state capitals around the country.
• Overall Annual Budget: 2021 Allotment: $29.6M
• Good for 1st time Rep: No
• Schooling: Education in Brazil is regulated by the Federal Council of Education through the Ministry of Education. Education is divided into three levels, with several grades in each level. Fundamental education (the first education level, including fundamental education I and II) is free for everyone (including adults), and mandatory for children between the ages of 6-14. Middle education (the second education level) is also free, but it is not mandatory. Higher education (including graduate degrees) is free at public universities. Core curriculum consists of Portuguese language, history, geography, science, mathematics, arts, and physical education with a similar set-up to the British school system. In later years, (grades 6, 7, 8 and 9), one or two foreign languages are also compulsory (usually English and Spanish). Most expat families in Brazil choose private, international schools because public schools usually only operate in Portuguese. Schools usually follow a curriculum model from the US, UK, France, Canada, or Australia/New Zealand, although Brazil's international schools usually only have American teachers. Primary instruction may be any language (and multiple languages are usually taught), but it is usually in English, French, Spanish, German, or Japanese. American, British, Swiss, French, and other international schooling options are available.

Country Context:

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, with 201.5 million people, including 59.7 million children. The Country is a Federal Republic formed by the union of 26 States, the Federal District and 5,570 Municipalities (“called federative pact”). Each one of these levels of government has executive and legislative branches. The Federal, State and municipality bodies are responsible for different policies – sometimes not complementary – that are stipulated in the Brazilian Constitution. The federative pact in Brazil operates in a framework of decentralization of policies and services with multiple tiers from federal to state to municipal level. Capacities across these various subnational levels vary greatly, with significant inequalities between municipalities and macro-regions. Over one-half of all children are Afro-descendants and children account for more than one third of the country’s 821,000 indigenous people. Brazil is an Upper Middle Income Country (UMIC) and according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it is the 9th largest economy in the world. While Brazil is a forerunner in the provision of public services to its citizens, and despite impressive gains having been made in advancing child rights in recent years, certain groups of children and women have not yet benefited from these gains. Despite over 26 million people being lifted out of poverty from 2003 to 2013, 25.9 per cent of children remain poor, and 15.8 per cent extremely poor. Also, 74.2 per cent of children in rural areas live with deprivations of one or more rights guaranteed by the CRC.

After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020, Brazil rapidly became one of the most affected countries globally. Until mid-January 2021, some 8.1 million cases had been confirmed and 203,580 people died of the disease, the second highest number of coronavirus related deaths, as reported by WHO. The country’s modest economic recovery since 2017 following years of crisis came to a halt with an estimated decrease for 2020 of 4.4 per cent against 2019. The second quarter registered a 10.9 per cent GDP contraction compared to the first quarter mainly due to the pandemic. The unemployment rates stood 14.6 per cent at the end of 2020, the highest since 2012. Because of COVID-19, most schools have been closed since mid-March with a strong impact on learning, mental health, access to nutrition and protection from violence. A survey ran by the Senate in July revealed that only 59 per cent (28.7 million) students enrolled in basic education had access to some form of distance learning putting millions of children at risk of school drop-out. Brazil is currently hosting 261,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants. The influx has been interrupted since March when the border was closed. The Federal Government continued to lead the “Operação Acolhida” with the support of UN Agencies and other actors. The operation has been running 22 shelters hosting approximately 15,000 people. While the pace of voluntary internal relocation was slowed down due to COVID-19, a total of 19,389 individuals were reallocated in 2020 bringing the total since April 2018 to 46,589 Venezuelans resettled to some 600 municipalities across other States.

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

• An Advanced University Degree in social sciences, international relations, government and public relations, public or social policy, sociology, social or community development or other related fields, is required.

• A minimum of 13 years professional development experience that combines intellectual and managerial leadership in development cooperation at the international level, some of which served in developing countries is required. Relevant professional experience in any UN system agency or organization is an asset.

• Fluency in English as well as oral and written proficiency in Portuguese, are required. This proficiency in Portuguese is required as the position requires frequent meetings with high level government (federal, state and municipality) and parliament authorities who are usually not familiar with English.

• Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

Competencies

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

This position is classified as “rotational” which means the incumbent is expected to rotate to another duty station upon completion of their tour of duty.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.