Social Policy Officer, NO-2, Lome - Togo

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, opportunity

UNICEF Togo will begin its next Contry Program 2024 – 2026 which is structured around five components (Child Survival, Education, Child Protection, Social Policies, Program Effectiveness). The Social Policies component will help the country reduce the number of children living in monetary and multidimensional poverty based on the principle of leaving no child behind, including during crises. The component will strengthen the capacity of local governance structures to plan and budget to provide effective child-friendly social services. This objective will be achieved by strengthening the social protection system and supporting public finances (financing and execution of social sector budgets).

How can you make a difference?

Key accountabilities:

• Improving data on child poverty & vulnerability for increased use for policy and programme action (Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of data, Utilize collected data to initiate and support analyses on the macroeconomic context and evaluate its impact and implications for children...)

• Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children ( Supports the development of social protection policies, legislation and programmes, Supports technical partners and internally strengthening of integrated social protection systems, Collaborates to initiatives aiming at improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes...)

• Improving use of public financial resources for children ( Initiates and supports budget analysis to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Finance, planning commissions and social sector ministries, 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...)

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

• Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy (Supports correct and compelling use of data and evidence on the situation of children and coverage and impact of child focused services, Collaborate to the establishment of effective partnerships with the Government, 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...)

• UNICEF Programme Management (Helps manage and coordinate technical support around child poverty, social protection, public finance and governance, Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme...)

For more details, please download the complete job description here GJP Social Policy Officer Level 2 rev.docx

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

• A University Degree in Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field
• A minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience is required
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in French and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language 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: UNICEF Values

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.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

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). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will 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.

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.

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