Social Policy Specialist-NOC, Dhaka (Only for Bangldeshi)

The Social Policy Specialist (Public Sector Partnerships and Engagement) reports to the Chief of Social Policy and Evaluation, Analytics and Research (SPEAR) for general guidance and direction, and is responsible for managing and supervising all stages of public finance and local governance programing and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; (b) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services; (c) establishment of collaborative mechanism with social sector ministries in consolidating and scaling up of selective best practices for increased access to services for the most vulnerable children; (d) monitoring of effective coverage of basic social services. 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, and HIV.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 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.

Purpose of the Position

The Social Policy Specialist (Public Sector Partnerships and Engagement) reports to the Chief of Social Policy and Evaluation, Analytics and Research (SPEAR) for general guidance and direction, and is responsible for managing and supervising all stages of public finance and local governance programing and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; (b) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the  quality, equity and coverage of social services; (c) establishment of collaborative mechanism with social sector ministries in consolidating and scaling up of selective best practices for increased access to services for the most vulnerable children;  (d) monitoring of  effective coverage of basic social services. 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, and HIV.

Key Expected Results

• Constructive dialogue and partnerships are established between international and local social policy stakeholders, to provide effective protective environment for the most vulnerable children, including progressive compliance of principal policy documents and legislation regarding all aspects of child rights.
• Current information on state budget and spending patterns and decentralization status of social services are monitored and updated on an on-going basis to support advocacy for decentralization and universal coverage of essential services.
• Decentralization of social services is made sustainable through adequate local support, keeping decentralized services both accessible and effective. Programme plans of action are developed for children at provincial and district/municipality levels; coordination between sectors are increased and links between different levels of government structures for policy implementation are strengthened.
• Data-driven analysis is provided for effective prioritization, planning, development, and results-based management for planning, adjusting, and scaling-up specific social policy initiatives.  Gender/sex disaggregated data and inputs provided, relevant to the Social Policy programme.
• Advocacy efforts are effectively made to raise awareness on children's rights with both the general public and with policy makers, and to ensure local buy-in and continued relevance of UNICEF programming. 
• Effective partnerships with the Government and other agencies established to enable sustained and proactive commitment to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Millennium Development Goals for continuing worldwide progress of the UNICEF mission.
• UNICEF social policy programme effectively planned, implemented and managed in support of the country programme.

Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Improving use of public financial resources for children

   Undertakes budget analysis to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministry of Finance, Planning Commissions and 11 social sector ministries to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children.  Works with sector colleagues to build capacity to undertake costing and cost effectiveness analysis on priority interventions to help inform policy decisions on child-focused investments; and does advocacy to increase the public spending for children up to 20% by 2020.  

2. Establishing collaborative mechanism with social sector ministries

   Supports Cabinet Division to steer system building, enhance analytical capacity, use evidence already generated in sharpening the science of implementation, and scaling up of selective best practices on the increased access to services for the most vulnerable children; pursues piloting of good practices taken from other countries in order to contextualize and replicate nationwide; establishes monitoring mechanism of SDG implementation relating to children including monitoring of the child component of the National Social Security Strategy of Bangladesh. 

3. Strengthening capacity of local government institutions to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services.

   Collaborates with central and local authorities to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation, accountability processes so that decisions and child-focused service delivery more closely respond to the needs of local communities; assists outlining strategy to expedite the decentralized process that will contribute in establishment of a culture of results-based management which can strengthen internal and external accountability, and transparences.

4.   Strengthening monitoring of effective coverage of social services:
5. Supports in developing national evaluation strategy; supports in using social services data in improving information of effective coverage of services; supports capacity development of officials on real time monitoring and bottleneck analysis; supports in collecting good practices or evidences on improving coverage and impact of child focused services for on-ward use of these by the relevant social sector ministries or agencies.

6.  UNICEF Programme Management :

   Manages and coordinates technical support around public finance and governance ensuring it is well planned, monitored, and implemented in a timely fashion so as to adequately support scale-up and delivery; supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

• Advanced university degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Statistics, or other relevant disciplines.

• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional work experience is required. Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with public finance, local governance and emergency is considered as strong asset.

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core Values

• Commitment
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Integrity

Core competencies

• Communication 
• Working with People 
• Drive for Results 

Functional Competencies

• Leading and Supervising 
• Formulating Strategies and Concepts 
• Analyzing 
• Relating and Networking 
• Persuading and Influencing 
• Planning and Organizing 

Technical Knowledge 

Specific Technical Knowledge Required

• Knowledge of donor country's economic and political situation.
• Expertise to leverage UNICEF's competitive advantage.
• Expertise to deploy networking and mass media for fundraising and special events.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all Bangladeshi national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.