The Programme Specialist, P3, will work under the overall supervision and guidance of the Representative and in coordination with the Executive Officer, NOB, manages the efficient operation of the Representative’s Office, focusing on the programme part of the mandate implementation and supporting the Deputy Representative, including administrative and management; planning and coordination within the various sections/units of the Pakistan Country Office, other parts of UNICEF and all key stakeholders (Government, political entities, donors, civil society organizations, research and academic community, national and international NGOs, etc.). The Programme Specialist, P3, will contribute and support senior management in monitoring governance related issues to programme specifically and coordination with state offices and with all other UN agencies operating in Pakistan.
Accountabilities and related duties/tasks:
Planning, Monitoring and Coordination:
Maintain routine collaboration with the various levels of the County Office to facilitate key coordination endeavors between senior management of the CO, Regional Office, Headquarters, and other country offices to ensure effective and accelerated program delivery and support the Representative in the follow up and actions required for UNICEF led areas with expected actions and results.
Follow-up on policies and instructions presented by the Representative. Keep the Representative aware of developments in UNICEF’s major world-wide operations and of policy issues related directly to UNICEF or to humanitarian issues under the broader UN system.
Assist the Representative in drafting regular information notes to the Executive Director that provide briefings on areas of concern to UNICEF and that propose areas where action by the Executive Office would further the objectives of the Office and contribute to coordinating drafts of position papers and other documents relevant to the activities of the office.
Support the Representative by ensuring and maintaining efficient and smooth liaison with the UN Country and Humanitarian Teams (UNCT & UNHCT), the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office and other UN agencies when needed and keep the Representative timely informed of issues under his/her responsibilities as UNICEF Representative and when acting in charge.
Coordinate the Representative’s office in all critical aspects of work in close collaboration with the Deputy Representative, the Deputy Representative Operations and Chief of Polio Section.
Support Country Office, in close coordination with the Operations Manager/Internal Controls, the follow ups on risk and control self-assessment, quality assurance on operational and programmatic issues with a structured and systematic process for the assessment of risks to the achievement of an office’s objectives and planned results, and the incorporation of actions to manage those risks into workplans and work processes;
Develop, introduce, and maintain workflows and tools to streamline the high volume of work of the representative’s office and to enable proactive and strategic identification of priority actions. Priorities issues for the representative including planning, coordination, and quality assurance.
Undertake special assignments (including coordination of high-level missions), as directed by the Representative in close collaboration with the Deputy Representatives Programme and Operations, Chief of Field Operations and Chief Communication.
Support the contribution of the Representative to the regional coordination mechanisms established by the Regional Office. Act as focal point in the Office of the Representative for the interaction with the RC/HC Office and the OHCHR team.
Support the Representative in the review, oversight and support towards the implementation of UNICEF overall programmes, advocacy and outreach.
Support the Representative in ensuring within the office an immediate and effective follow-up of the Internal and External Audit recommendations.
High-level Advocacy and Resource Mobilization:
Working closely with the Partnership Team, support the high-level advocacy engagement of the Representative and translate his/her policy reform intents, direction, and actions on influencing the humanitarian space and fostering management priorities within the emergency-related benchmarks.
Ensure that adequate and context-sensitive actions are taken into account to inform the advocacy strategy of the Representative (UNICEF’s core mandate, strengthening of humanitarian space, effective humanitarian diplomacy and resources mobilization)
Contribute to the analysis of country level socio-political-economic trends (including fore sighting) and produce early warning briefs on program impacts
Prepare, participate and report on the advocacy activities of the Representative
In close collaboration with Resource Mobilization team, support Rep engagement with major donors, including reviewing briefing notes, talking points, presentations, and advocacy briefs, as well as supporting organization of donor field visits.
As needed, assist the Resource Mobilization and Private Sector Partnership team in translating the strategic directions and reporting asks of the Representative in regular/or ad-hoc performance monitoring reports
Administrative and Management Support:
Establish and maintain effective procedures to manage and coordinate the Office of the Representative.
Assist in the preparation, conduct and reporting of governance mechanisms of PCO (SMT, CMT, EMT)
As needed, draft strategic correspondence, perform data analysis, and compile documentation and reference data as required by the strategic priorities set forth by the Representative
Manage in consultation with the Executive Officer the schedule and calendar of the Representative. Arrange and prepare meetings and invitations involving the Representative with senior leadership of the UN, the Government, civil society, NGO partners, and public/private donors
Undertake field visits with the Representative as needed and follow up on corrective or adjustment measures decided by the Representative.
Contribute to CO compliance with internal policies and processes, including the preparation to audit exercise in close collaboration with Operations unit. Support the Annual Risk Assessment (ARA) exercise of the CO as per guideline, as well as the annual review process of the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Programme Criticality (PC).
Carry out special assignments including networking initiatives, cluster management, oversight of special high-impact projects of the Representative and background research on selected topics
Identify opportunities for strategic engagement that may enhance the core results of the Representative and PCO as a whole.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
An advanced university degree is required in International Relations, Political Science, Public Administration, or another relevant technical field.
A first University Degree (bachelor's) in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
A minimum of five years of relevant professional work experience in external relations, public affairs or international development cooperation, preferably within the UN, or in a government institution, NGO
Prior experience of working in coordination, planning, or in an executive office will be an asset as well as experience in the ROSA region and one of the core programmatic areas of UNICEF (Education, Child Protection, Health & Nutrition, WASH or Social Policy)
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.
