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, a fair chance:

UNICEF Malawi Country Programme (2019-2023) is aligned with the Government of Malawi’s Growth and Development Strategy (MDGS III) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The programme supports the Government of Malawi to meet its commitment to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights in line with international conventions and standards. The country programme is guided by the principles of children’s rights, equity, gender equality, inclusion and resilience, and supports evidence-based, integrative and innovative programming. The vision is that ‘all girls and boys in Malawi, especially the most disadvantaged and deprived, realize their rights’. The programme focuses on: early childhood (parenting, high-impact social services, early stimulation and learning), middle childhood and adolescence (learning, multi-sectoral services, active citizenship), communities (decentralized services and systems, community ownership, social norms), programme effectiveness (monitoring, evaluation, HACT, Innovation, Social Protection and Social Policy and External Communication. The programme is based on ‘leaving no child behind’, realizing ‘rights for all children in Malawi’.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the Chief Education and Adolescents, the Social Policy Specialist (Public Finance) is responsible for providing technical support to the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all stages of social policy programing and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results – in particular with regard to improving the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, health, nutrition, child protection, water and sanitation.

Currently, the Malawi country office is operating under a matrix-management model, where individuals will have more than one reporting line. The Education Specialist – Adolescents/Integrated Services & Participation is the principal supervisor of the Social Policy Specialist Public Finance), however the incumbent will operate in a matrix management model, where s/he will support different programme pillars and report to different supervisors depending on the pillar s/he supports. Irrespective of the pillar the incumbent supports, s/he will always maintain a technical reporting line to the Chief Social Policy. Those who supervise the incumbent and are not the principal supervisor will be considered as the secondary supervisor.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

MOBILIZATION AND IMPROVED USE OF PUBLIC FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN

• Periodically track domestic and international resources towards the education sector and also lead UNICEF’s engagement with education sector trust funds and other financing schemes, and also provide policy advice to government and stakeholders on education financing matters.
• Undertakes budget analysis to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Finance, planning commissions and social sector ministries to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children. Works with sector colleagues to build capacity to undertake costing and cost efficiency and effectiveness analysis on priority interventions to help inform policy decisions on child-focused investments.
• Undertakes and builds capacity of partners for improved resource mobilization, allocation and utilization of education sector resources. This includes monitoring and tracking of public expenditure to support transparency, accountability and effective financial flows for essential service delivery, including through support to district level planning, budgeting and public financial management as well as facilitating community participation.

STRENGTHENING CAPACITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO PLAN, BUDGET, CONSULT ON AND MONITOR CHILD-FOCUSED SOCIAL SERVICES.

• Collaborates with central and local authorities to improve policies, planning, financing budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions and child-focused service delivery more closely respond to the needs of local communities.
• Collaborates with central and local authorities to strengthen capacity on quality data collection, analysis for policy development, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of essential social services, with emphasis on community participation and accountability.

UNICEF PERFORMANCE MONITORING

• Support management of available baseline information on national statistics and key indicators through established databases for easy access and use. Prepare country level statistical reports on the key indicators for country office performance monitoring and provide a technical support to regional and global reporting obligations.
• Coordinate within the Country Office and partners and provide assistance in their using up-to-date information in, inter alia, Situation Analysis, Common Country Assessment, Early Warning Monitoring Systems, Annual Reviews, Mid-Term Reviews, and Annual Reports or other progress reports.
• Provide technical support to ensure that the CO has information necessary for UNICEF to effectively report on and advocate for children’s rights through the appropriate channels.

UNICEF PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT

• Manages and coordinates technical support around public finance ensuring it is well planned, monitored, and implemented in a timely fashion so to adequately support scale-up and delivery. Ensures risk analysis and risk mitigation are embedded into overall management of the support, in close consultation with UNICEF programme sections, cooperating partners, and governments.
• Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme.
• Ensures that the social planning project enhances policy dialogue, planning, supervision, technical advice, management, training, research and support; and that the monitoring and evaluation component strengthens monitoring and evaluation of the social sectors and provides support to sectoral and decentralized information systems.

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

• An advanced university degree in Economics or another relevant technical field is required.
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional social policy work experience is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset.
• Background and/or familiarity with emergency is considered as a strong asset
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate:

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The functional competencies required for this post are:

• Leading and supervising (II)
• Formulating strategies/concepts (II)
• Analyzing (III)
• Relating and networking (II)
• Persuading & Influencing (II)
• Planning & Organizing (III)

Source:https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=517852