Social Policy Specialist (Child Poverty) - – 364 days, Office of Research - Innocenti

Contract

This is a P-3 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 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 74,649 USD and 97,747 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, Research

Organizational context:

The Office of Research-Innocenti (OoR) is the dedicated research office of UNICEF. It undertakes and commissions research on emerging or current issues of relevance for children to inform the strategic directions, policies and programs of UNICEF and its partners. The Office explores emerging issues, identifies research gaps, brings together existing researchers, and supports or undertakes research and data collection to address critical questions to inform global debates.

Purpose of the post:

OoR’s Social and Economic Policy Team (SEP) has played a key role in global research on child poverty, including the development of a methodology to measure multidimensional child poverty and research on the impacts of economic shocks on child poverty. This work stream is being redeveloped to take account of the new UNICEF strategic priority on poverty and social protection. This includes:

1. Ongoing work (research and technical assistance) with regional and country offices on improving the measurement of monetary and non-monetary child poverty in line with Targets 1.1. and 1.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals. 2. Research on the impact of the COVID-19, conflicts and climate change on child poverty. 3. The development of a new research programme (MAPS) on area-based child deprivations. 4. A longer-term strategy to develop a global child poverty research hub to fill key evidence gaps in relation to child poverty.

As a member of OoR’s Social and Economic Policy team, the incumbent will be responsible for managing and undertaking child poverty research, including supporting the management of day-to-day operations of research projects, establishing and maintaining partnerships (internal/external), and communicating and disseminating research evidence to various stakeholders and the public. Specifically, the incumbent will work on points 1 to 3 above. The incumbent will also contribute to point 4 to support the development of new lines of child poverty research including the possible development of a global child poverty research hub.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

Under the supervision of the Social & Economic Policy Manager, the staff member will be responsible for the following activities:

Child poverty research workstreams In relation to: 1. Work with regional and country offices on monetary and non-monetary child poverty measurement. 2. Research on the impact of the COVID-19, conflicts and climate on child poverty. 3. Development of research stream on area-based poverty. 4. Other child poverty research workstreams that are developed.

The staff member will: • Respond to requests for technical assistance from regional and country offices. • Develop collaborative work with regional and country offices. • Design, undertake and manage single- and multi-country research studies on child poverty definitions and measurement. • Manage field work and data collection for the above. • Coordinate research implemented by teams and partners and assure quality of outputs produced. • Conduct and support the implementation of data analysis and write-up of research findings, in collaboration with partners on the research programmes. • Supporting in the preparation and writing of high-quality publications for peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, working papers, policy reports and briefs, web stories, blogs and other media. • Make major analytical contributions to research reports, briefs, working papers and other peer reviewed publications.

Management and co-ordination • Day-to-day management of research operations, project design, planning, development and implementation. • Monitor work plans, timelines, budgets, milestones and deliverables. • Support the identification, recruitment, and management of consultants (in-country and international) who will support research. • Working closely across teams within OoR (Social and Economic Policy, Child Rights and Protection, Research in Education and Development, Research Facilitation and Knowledge Management, Finance, HR, Communications, Operations, Convening) and across offices (HQ, Regional, Country Offices) to ensure that research objectives are met.

Support the development of new lines of research and maintain collaborative relationships with external/internal partners • Contribute to the development of new lines of research on child poverty. • Contribute to grant seeking proposals for child poverty research. • Initiate new forward-looking research that could strengthen OoR’s research profile, including developing Working and Discussion Papers. • Contribute to other ongoing work in the Office; • Carry out other tasks as requested.

Reporting, dissemination and advocacy • Lead and support results reporting to donors and internally within UNICEF, through meetings and preparation of progress reports. • Represent OoR and support the communication of research findings including through presentations and lectures, policy briefs, blogs and other social media outlets. • Serve on advisory groups for related research and contribute to peer review in appropriate situations.

Recruitment qualifications

Education:

• Advanced university degree in public policy, economics, social science, or related fields, with specialization in advanced statistics/econometrics, quantitative methods, and/or data analysis. A relevant PhD is desirable.

Experience:

• At least five years of professional and progressively responsible experience in economic research and analysis. • Substantial professional experience of research on the conceptualisation and measurement of child poverty. • Experience with writing for – and verbal presentation to – varied audiences, including both specialists and policy makers. • A good record of professional publications in relevant academic and policy areas. • Excellent knowledge of advanced statistical software (Stata, R). • Experience of qualitative and mixed-methods research. • Experience of research with low- and middle-income countries.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English required. • Fluency in another official UN language other than English (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

Competencies:

• Strong research and analytical skills. • Strong planning and organisational skills. • Strong skills in econometrics. • Excellent writing and verbal communication skills. • Ability to work well as part of a team and in a multi-cultural environment. • Aims to achieve high standards for quality of work. • Good leadership and management skills. • Innovative thinker and problem solver.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability (CRITA) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

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 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.

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 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:

You are please asked to provide in your application a supporting letter which includes details of your previous research on child poverty conceptualization and measurement, with a list of your publications on this topic.

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

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.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.