Chief Social Policy Job at UNICEF Nigeria

[Jobrib]

Job Title: Chief Social Policy, P-5  

Vacancy No: E-VN-2013-000301

Duty Station: Abuja, Nigeria

Organisations: United Nations Children's Fund – UNICEF Nigeria

Region: WCARO   

Job Level: P-5

Position#: 00063621

Contract Type: Long-term Staff (FT)

Purpose of the Position:

Under the overall direction of the Representative serves as policy specialist to the Nigeria Country Office in the areas of social and economic policy development and analysis to ensure that children and women are at the centre of the national development agenda, and that the impact of national and sub-national policies on children's rights is assessed.

Key Expected Results:

1. Provides and continuously updates the Situation Analysis of the socio-economic policy development trends within Nigeria and related political developments, with a particular analysis of their impact on children and women.  Ensures issues of children are included in the national economic analysis leading to development of medium term expenditure frameworks, annual budgets and tracking of budget execution for increased national investment on children.  Provides orientation and briefings to the Country Management Team (CMT) and Programme Staff on linkages between social and macro-economic developments and human rights.

2. Supports advocacy for and monitoring of the National Development Plan targets for Children and for Women, World Fit for Children goals and the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by supporting, assisting or developing adequate information and indicator systems and a research programme for the Country Office.  Supports and advises the Country Office on the use of data for social policy development and advocacy within the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

3. Reviews research and studies undertaken as part of the Country Programme (CP), analysing and synthesizing their findings and proposing dissemination mechanisms, especially as advocacy for social policy change.  Develops networks and contacts with relevant social and economic policy research institutions to identify national research capacity.  Supports field offices in developing systems for tracking impact of social policies on children and women.

4. Represents the Country Office at meetings with high level government officials and with multilateral, bilateral agencies and civil society organizations; interacts, negotiates and advocates programme goals and strategies, identifies strategic advocacy alliances, and helps ensure that the CP strategies influence national and sub-national policy development.

5. Leads UNICEF's participation in the Common Country Assessment (CCA)/ Country analysis process to ensure it adequately reflects an analysis of the impediments to the realization of rights of children and women.

6. Contributes to the understanding of policies driving donor allocations and collaboration, especially those donors in and to Nigeria. On the basis of economic and policy research contributes to the Country Office's overall fundraising strategy, including with the private sector, in Nigeria.  Supports the inclusion of key issues of children in the country support strategies of other development partners and contributes to harmonisation and coordination of development aid in Nigeria in the context of the Paris Declaration.

7. Identifies, organizes and maintains networks with major financial institutions and UN sister agencies present in Nigeria, academic institutions, civil society organizations, experts and regional and global UNICEF focal points in the area of social and economic policy.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate:

•   Advanced university degree in Economics, Social Sciences, preferably specialized in an international development related area.

•   At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional level experience in economic/social policy research/analysis, preferably in international development.  Knowledge of economic/social and political history and trends in Nigeria and Africa is an asset.

•   Fluency in English and another UN language.  Knowledge of the local working language of the duty station is an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate:

•   Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking

•   Creates and encourages a climate of team-working and collaboration in a multi-cultural environment

•   Consistently achieves high-level results, managing and delivering projects on-time and on-budget

•   Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear

•   Analyzes and integrates diverse and complex quantitative and qualitative data from a wide range of sources

•   Identifies urgent and potentially risky decisions and acts on them promptly; initiates and generates organization-wide activities

•   Sets, develops and revises organizational strategy and develops clear visions of the organization's future potential

•   Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups; maintains an effective network of  individuals across organizational departments

•   Negotiates effectively by exploring a range of possibilities

Application Close: 27-Feb-13.

About UNICEF:

For 60 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

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