Vacancies at United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

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United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (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.

We are recruiting to fill the positions of:

 

 

Job Title: Communication Specialist, P-3

Job No: 545457
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Contract Type: Temporary Appointment
Level: P-3
Categories: Health

How Can You Make a Difference?

• Under the guidance of the Health Manager Systems Strengthening, provide technical leadership and support towards PHC systems strengthening with a focus on the uptake of integrated Primary Health Care services to improve access and equitable coverage of key interventions in health program, including in the context of emergency and outbreaks linking with development programming.
• There is critical need given Nigeria’s maternal and child survival indicators and the current COVID 19 health emergency response to support stronger community engagement/mobilization with a functioning PHC platform and its referral levels of service delivery, including the community health platforms.

Main Responsibilities and Tasks
The Specialist will carry out the following activities related to the child survival and well-being program with a focus on improving uptake of PHC services among individuals, families and communities under the overarching framework of the health systems strengthening component of the health portfolio in Nigeria:

• Design an integrated PHC service uptake strategy to improve access and equitable coverage of key interventions for individuals, families and communities in the child survival and well-being program, including innovative programming towards fast tracking results.
• Provide technical and strategic support to all health system strengthening projects with a focus on improving uptake of PHC services and community engagement/mobilization.
• Work closely with the FMOH, NPHCDA, NCDC and partners at federal and State levels towards supporting the scale up of lessons learned towards improving uptake of PHC services in challenging situations including emergency and outbreak responses.
• Serve as the focal point for coordination and collation and understanding of the progress of uptake of PHC services to improve health practices and health-seeking behaviours.
• Support the field towards building a body of evidence on improving uptake of PHC services and community engagement/mobilization.
• Participate in technical meetings, coordination platforms at federal and sub national levels on community engagement/mobilization for PHC including humanitarian programs and other forums as needed.
• Support finalization of reports and proposals towards improving uptake of PHC services including in the context of emergency and outbreaks working closely with different clusters in the program and other sections internally as well as partners and stakeholders.
• Lead and provide support towards documenting and producing programme documentation briefs on key projects and priority areas on PHC and HSS.
• Support development of policy and program briefs.
• Other activities and support towards health systems strengthening activities as needed.

To Qualify as an Advocate for Every Child You Will Have

• An advanced University Degree in Social / Behavioural Sciences with emphasis on Strategic Communication, Planning for Behavioural Development, Social Mobilization, Participatory Communication, and Research, or equivalent is required for this position.
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in public health and social development programs. Experience in the application of communication planning processes to specific programmes is an asset.
• Relevant experience in health development and management in any UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

For Every Child, you Demonstrate

• UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:
Core Competencies:

• Communication (II)
• Working with people (II)
• Drive for results (II)

Functional Competencies:

• Leading and supervising (I)
• Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
• Analysing (III)
• Relating and networking (II)
• Deciding and Initiating action (II)
• Applying technical expertise (III)

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

 

 

 

 

Job Title: Social Policy Officer

Job No: 545309
Location: Enugu
Contract Type: Fixed Term Appointment
Level: NO-2
Categories: Social and Economic Policy

Key Responsibilities

• Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be assigned the primarily, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results.

Social Policy Dialogue, Technical Advice, and Programme Development:

• Provides professional assistance in UNICEF’s engagement in social policy dialogue, technical advice, and development with the Government, maintains constructive dialogue and partnerships between international and local stakeholders to support the development of social policies and programmes contributing to the progressive realization of children’s rights and strengthening of implementation and monitoring mechanisms at all levels of society, and ensures that the services reach out in innovative, effective ways to those most excluded pockets of children and families that have been previously left out.

Monitoring State Budget Resources:

• Monitors and updates current information on state budgeting and spending patterns for social programmes on an on-going basis to support advocacy for more efficient, more equitable, and sufficient public resources and budget allocation for social development, the prioritization of resource allocation for children, and universal coverage of essential services for children and social protection, in order to ensure that they reflect the best interest of children, promote equality, and contribute to social inclusion.

Sustainable Development and Capacity Building:

• Collaborates with the central and local authorities to strengthen community-based capacity on quality data collection, analysis for state policy development, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of social policy and programmes, gender equality, and promoting convergence across sectors.
• Provides professional assistance in the development programme plans of action for children at provincial and district/municipality levels; supports to strengthen coordination between sectors and between different levels of government structures for policy implementation.

Data Collection, Analysis and Results-based Approach:

• Collects quantitative and qualitative data for the sound and up-to-date assessment of the situation of children and women to provide the base-lines for result-based decisions on interventions and evaluations.
• Provides technical support for the development of information systems for monitoring child rights indicators, with emphasis on community and child participation.
• 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.
• Support maintenance of information system for monitoring gender/sex, geographic, and socio-economic disaggregated data.
• Contributes to the analysis of the macroeconomic context of social policy programmes 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.

Advocacy and Communication:

• Promotes and raises awareness on children’s rights with both the general public and with policy makers, effective information dissemination, mass media campaign, special events, and other means, to ensure local buy-in, commitment, and continued relevance of UNICEF programming.

Partnerships:

• Contributes to the establishment and enhancement 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 and the World Fit for Children (WFFC) agenda.
• Identifies other critical partners, promotes awareness and builds capacity of partners, and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.

UNICEF Programme Management:

• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme.

Requirements
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:
Education:

• University Degree, preferably advanced University Degree or equivalent background, in Social Sciences, Economics, International Relations, Political Science, International Finance, or other relevant disciplines.

Experience:

• Two years of relevant professional work experience. Field work experience (for NO). Background/familiarity with Emergency.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and local working language of the duty station.

For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies listed below:

Core Competencies:

• Communication [ II ]
• Working with People [ I ]
• Drive for Results [ I ]

The functional competencies required for this post are:

• Formulating Strategies and Concepts [ I ]
• Analyzing [ II]
• Applying Technical Expertise [ II ]
• Learning and Researching [ II]
•  Planning and Organizing [ II ]

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

 

 

 

 

Job Title: National Individual Contractor - Gender Equality

Job No: 545242
Location: Bauchi, Nigeria
Contract Type: Consultancy
Level: Consultancy
Categories: Gender Equality

For every child, Good Health

• Nigeria’s rates of maternal, infant, and under-five mortality and morbidity are among the highest in the world, with poorer health indicators in the northern states. According to the 2018 NDHS, the MMR is estimated at 512 per 100,000 live births, the IMR and U5MR were 67 and 132 per 1,000 live births, respectively, although 2019 data using the inter-agency model found the U5MR to be 1171.
• Within the country, U5MR ranges from 187 per 1,000 live births in North West Nigeria to 134 in North East and 95 for North Central, compared to rates for South East, South South and South West of 75, 73, and 62 respectively.
• About 858,000 children under the age of five die each year in Nigeria, second only to India.
• Some 270,000 of these deaths are estimated to occur in the newborn period, which is the second highest globally and about 11 per cent of the total global burden of neonatal mortality.
• Bauchi State, located in North-East Nigeria, ranks amongst the ten poorest performing states in reducing under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) in Nigeria.
• The State has a population of 7,194,512 people, who live in sparsely populated settlements spread over a landmass of 49,119 square kilometers.
• The State has a predominantly young population with over 50 per cent estimated below the age of 15. According to the 2018 National Demographic Health Survey, the U5MR is 147 deaths per 1000 live births, much higher than the national average of 132 deaths per 1000 live births. Bauchi ranked 7th in under-five deaths in Nigeria in 2018, contributing 4.5 per cent (41,072) of the 913,140 projected under-five deaths that year.
• Twenty-five per cent of all under-five deaths in Bauchi occur in the first 28 days of life.

How Can You Make a Difference?

• The Gender equality individual contractor will ensure the successful mainstreaming of gender equality into Bauchi primary health care systems, programs and results for women and children through ongoing analyses, review, recommendation, redesign, and implementation of appropriate interventions and approaches.
• He/she will lead the introduction of gender equality results, activities, operations, and mechanisms within Bauchi PHC MOU workplans, state agencies (BSPHCDA), health facility and community health programs for equitable health and survival of children in Bauchi State.

Major Tasks to be Accomplished

• Priority areas of work to be supported for the UNICEF and Global Affairs Canada contribution to the PHC MOU (Reviews, analyses, policy, advocacy, development of tools and guidelines, training, data collection tools, supportive supervision, documentation) including but not limited to the following:

MOU Partnership:

• Work with the SMOH, SPHCDA, PHC-MOU partners and related agencies to support development and implementation of gender sensitive annual MOU workplans, ensuring the review and update, integration, and delivery of gender transformative outputs in the workplans.
• Support SPHCDA, PHC- MOU partners, and related agencies on gender assessment and provision of evidence-based analyses, and policy briefs for advocacy and resource allocation for gender equality activities within PHC- MOU workplans.
• Support SPHCDA, PHC- MOU partners, and related agencies by providing technical assistance for strengthening the M&E systems plans which expound measurement framework with indicators, results and data tools that are gender responsive and monitor and track gender responsiveness in the delivery of RMNCAHN services.
• Support the articulation, documentation, and showcase of gender equality results of PHC interventions and PHC-MOU-supported programs.

State and LGAs:

• Support the strengthening of state and agency capacities for mainstreaming of gender equality into the health system, institutions, and operations, including the establishment of dedicated resources – functional GE desk, personnel, and operational funds – in SMOH and SPHCDA.
• Provide TA to SPHCDA for capacity building exercises for policy makers, and program managers for gender equality in PHC systems, including the development of capacity building plans, gender toolkits, guidelines, manuals and workplans for PHC and RMNCAH. 
• Support the articulation of strategic gender equality results within state health policies, strategies, and instruments.
• Support the synthesis and analysis of programmatic, social, and gender results at policy, institutional, health facility and community levels.
• Work with the SMOH, and SPHCDA to support planning, implementation, and review of M&E frameworks for PHC systems to include GE results, indicators, tracking and reporting mechanisms.
• Contribute to the maintenance and update of state dashboards and visual data platforms for tracking social and gender determinants of health in Bauchi.
• Support gender proofing exercises through ongoing assessment of gender relevance and gender impact assessments of policies, planning and service delivery in Bauchi State.
• Support knowledge sharing/dissemination exercises for gender results in SRH and RMNCAH services.
• Support state to write timely projects reports.

Health Facilities:

• Support the design and implementation of activities designed for improvement of quality and responsiveness of health services in the HFs to meet needs of women, girl, men, and boys with the state technical units.
• Support the development of training and orientation programs of front-line health workers for the delivery of respectful services to women, adolescents and girls using standard guidelines on GE in PHC and RMNCAH.
• Support the generation and analyses of sex disaggregated MNCH service data at health facilities.
• Work with M&E Consultants and state M&E Officers to train data officers on collection analyses and reporting of sex disaggregated data.

Communities:

• Support the improve women’s knowledge of SRH, RMNCAH, risks, available interventions, and services.
• Support communities in documentation and review of norms, practices and behaviors that hinder full enjoyment of health (including reproductive health, MNCH), and rights by women and adolescent girls.
• Support the strengthening, establishment, and coordination of community structures (WDCs, VDCs, women support groups, religious and traditional bodies etc.) for effective demand and uptake of health services in focal wards and settlements of Bauchi.
• Support the mobilization of communities and households for improved utilization of SRH and RMNCAH services.
• Strengthen women’s participation in decision making in households and in public on issues pertaining to their own health, and health services.
• Support knowledge building exercises on addressing gender equality and PHC, including the conduct of social research exercises and implementation research interventions in communities.
• Support documentation of learnings from supported interventions in the communities.

To Qualify as an Advocate for Every Child You Will Have

• A First University Degree in Social Science, Community Development, Gender Studies /or related technical field.
• Post graduate qualification in Gender Studies is an advantage.
• Five years’ experience working on Gender equality, health, and community development projects
• Demonstrated experience in working on gender and social development programs in Northern Nigeria.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships, both within and outside the organization.
• Knowledge of and ability to conduct social research interventions.
• Knowledge of community health systems.
• Ability to understand and analyze health data
• Ability to make timely and quality judgements and decisions and a very good training skill.
• Computer skills, including internet navigation and various office applications.
• Willingness to travel to remote regions of the country.
• Initiative, passion and commitment to UNICEF’s mission and professional values
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset.

For Every Child, you Demonstrate

• UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

 

 

Remarks

• 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.
• To view our competency framework, please visit here.
• Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Application Deadline  1st November, 2021; W. Central Africa Standard Time.

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