Social Policy Officer (Public Finance), NOB, Chisinau Moldova, TA (364 days)

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, a hero...

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, The Social Policy Specialist NO-C, the Social Policy Officer (Public Finance) is accountable for providing technical support and assistance in all stages of social policy programming and related advocacy, from strategic planning and formulation to the delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) PFM across multiple layers of government’s institutional architecture (b) Building institutional capacity and ensuring financial sustainability (c) promotion the use of data and evidence to inform strategic policy decisions; (d) transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; (e) public policies to reduce child poverty. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on health, child protection, emergency and gender.

How can you make a difference?

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Improving data on child poverty & vulnerability for increased use for policy and programme action

• Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of data on multidimensional and monetary child poverty, including strengthening national capacity to collect routinely, report and use data for policy decision-making.
• 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.
• 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

2. Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children

• Supports the development of social protection policies, legislation and programmes with attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention the most marginalized. Identifies, generates and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners.
• Supports strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design of cash transfers and child grants and improve linkages with other social protection interventions such as health insurance, public works and social care services as well as complementary services and intervention related to nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, child protection and HIV.
• Supports improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes, and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results.

3. Strengthening PF4C coverage and impact for children

• Contribute to the development of PF4C policies, legislation and programmes with attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention the most marginalized. Identifies, generates and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners
• Collaborate and/or consult with internal and external partners mainly the government counterparts to provide operational and technical support to implementation of social protection and public finance for children related activities
• Undertake improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes, and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results
• Undertake 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
• Build 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. Strengthening capacity of local authorities to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services

• Collaborate with National Government and Local authorities to address PF4C through improved policies, planning, budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions and child-focused service delivery more closely respond to the needs of local communities
• Collaborate with the National Government and Local authorities to strengthen capacity on quality data collection, analysis for policy development, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of essential social protection and social services, with emphasis on community participation and accountability
• In collaboration with the UNICEF Country Team and in partnership with other stakeholders, work close with national and local authorities in areas such as: joint programme activities such as advocacy for implementation of budget thematic briefs, improving local authorities capacity on own source revenue with intention to enhance the resources towards social expenditure that benefits the children and vulnerable groups/communities Public Finance Management systems for monitoring allocation of social protection expenditure for children, etc.
• Capacity building of country governments in improving the descriptions of the budget programme structures accurate use of the economic classifications to describe social protection budgets in budget documents, and in the recording of expenditures on social protection for children.

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

• Contribute to capacity building and uptake of PF4C commitments through use of data and evidence on situation of children and coverage, and its impact on child focused services – in support of the social policy programme and the country programme overall
• Establish effective partnerships with the Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, civil society and local leaders, the private sector, and other UN agencies to influence policy formulation, review and monitoring of the medium-term plans, sector plans etc. to ensure PF4C priorities are articulated and reflected
• Keep track of, and analyze the government’s socio-economic policies, strategies, and programs with a bearing on PF4C to inform programming and advocacy by UNICEF and its partners.

6. UNICEF Programme Management

• Helps manage and coordinate technical support around child poverty, social protection, public finance and governance ensuring it is well planned, monitored, and implemented in a timely fashion so as to adequately support scale-up 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.
• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme. Ensures that the social planning project 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.

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

• A university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Finance, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in areas such as public finance, public policy, development, programme management, government relations and advocacy.
• Experience providing and/or managing technical assistance on public financial management to a social sector authorities is a strong asset. Demonstrated experience in analyses and advocacy on Public Finance (especially for the social sectors) would be considered an advantage. Work experience in Moldova and/or with the national government stakeholders is considered an asset.
• Fluency in Romanian and working knowledge in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) 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 Core competencies required for this post are…

• 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)
• Drive 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 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. 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.

Remarks:

Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

UNICEF is committed to promote 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. Appointments are also 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.

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