Social Policy Specialist, HCT, P-3, Colombo Sri Lanka

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 110,406 USD and 144,568 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, How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the incumbent is responsible for supporting the effective, sound and timely implementation of the cash transfer programme, with a view to also ensuring that this emergency response contributes to strengthening the existing national social protection system and increasing its future shock-responsiveness. The incumbent will need to provide technical support throughout the design, planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the programme, and collaborate closely with other programme and operations sections in SLCO, national partners, and development partners. The incumbent will also provide technical support to strengthen the shock-responsiveness of the national social protection systems, primarily via the enhancement of system and operational preparedness.

Activities and Tasks:

Leading the management of all aspects of the on-going nutrition-sensitive cash transfer pilot in Colombo, ensuring the continued registration of beneficiaries, the timely delivery of the payments in September and October, payment verification and post-distribution monitoring, and contributes to a summary of lessons learnt.

Preparing the launch of the scale up, including

• Ensures adequate human resources are in place to implement and manage the programme (in particular beneficiary data manager and grievance/redressal mechanism officer) and supervises;
• Leads the preparation of the deployment of Humanitarian Cash Operations and Programme Ecosystem (HOPE) as a preparedness measure for the SLCO, in close coordination with UNICEF Headquarters, and coordinating with operational and programme sections in SLCO;
• Finds and partners with appropriate implementing partners (IPs) for (1) the registration of beneficiaries (in collaboration with national authorities) and the post-distribution monitoring and (2) payment verification/managing grievance and redressal mechanisms; with a view to leveraging synergies with other partners;
• Develops, reviews and addresses any concerns (duplications/omissions) in work plans for key activities/partners, and ensures the development of standard operating procedures;
• Develops and supports implementation of a sound monitoring and implementation framework;
• Ensures that Accountability to Affected Population (AAP) is streamlined across the programme implementation cycle, with attention to information sharing with beneficiaries, community inclusion in implementation, complaints and response mechanism and continuous learning; in coordination with Emergency Officer and C4D (Communication for Development) Officer as required.

Managing all aspects of the implementation and monitoring and implementation of the cash transfer programme, including

• Day-to-day monitoring of the programme and the work plans/key activities of IPs/FSPs (Financial Service Providers), with regular field visits to monitor progress and ensures quality and anticipate and address concerns and decide on corrective actions (such as design improvements, technical support and additional trainings) timely and effectively;
• Organises regular coordination meetings with all key partners (IPs, FSP, and so on);
• Conducts regular risk assessments and proposing risk mitigation measures, taking into account assessments of other partners (such as market assessments);
• Provides guidance and oversight to the data manager and grievance/redressal mechanism officer and ensure that all grievances are addressed.

Supporting the close engagement with other partners and identification of strategic partnerships, including national partners, other UN agencies and IFIs (International Financial Institutions), to ensure that the programme contributes to national systems strengthening and is well-aligned with other programmes. This includes active participation and information sharing in the Cash Working Group, as well as leveraging synergies (such as joint market assessments).

Preparing regular reports on activities for the SLCO, donors and other partners as required.

Supporting the exploration of new funding opportunities to further expand the programme and, if required, support the preparation of proposals, and ensure alignment with ongoing programming etc.

Support****ing the preparation of a final documentation of lessons learnt, aiming to:

• Provide recommendations on how to strengthen the national social protection system and its ability to respond to shocks based on the lessons learned from the pilot;
• Inform UNICEF on how to further strengthen its capacity in the area of humanitarian cash transfers and increase preparedness.

1. Building on the above, supporting assessments, technical support and inputs to increase the shock-responsiveness of the national social protection system, primarily via the enhancement of system and operational preparedness, in line with UNICEF’s Programme Guidance on Strengthening Shock Responsive Social Protection Systems, across all components of the social protection system, namely

• Evidence and analysis; including better understanding risk, and further incorporating risk and vulnerability into child poverty analysis, costing exercises and so on, building on on-going work in the country office;

• Policy and institutional setting; including technical support to strengthen policies/strategies/legislation and strengthen coordination mechanism;

• Mix of programmes and their design features; including reviewing and strengthening social protection design features to address risks, shocks and stressor that the country typically faces;

• Administration and delivery systems; including reviewing and strengthening routine programme delivery system.

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

Education:

An advanced university degree in international development, social sciences, public policy, public health, or another relevant field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience of working in emergency contexts, with familiarity with UNICEF programmes and guidelines in emergency contexts, is required;
• Three years of relevant professional work experience in designing, implementing and managing humanitarian cash transfers;
• Experience in strengthening national social protection systems is considered as a strong asset;
• Proven experience in technical cooperation with UN agencies, government partners and civils society organisations and multi-stakeholder co-ordination and facilitation;
• Basic expertise in data analysis and information management;
• Ability to work independently and respond to feedback in a timely and professional manner.

Language:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset.

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

Core competencies skills

• Nurtures, Leads, and Manages People (2)
• 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

• Applying Technical Expertise (2)
• Analyzing (2)
• Persuading and Influencing (2)
• Adapting and Responding to Change (2)
• Coping with Pressure and Setbacks (2)
• Planning and Organizing (2)

Duration : 364 days (expected start date: September 15, 2022)

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:

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

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.

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 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.

If you think this position might be for you, please take the time to review our Country Office Mutual Agreements before you apply.

If you believe you can team member that can uphold these everyday, then we look forward to receiving and reviewing your application.