Temporary Appointment – Advocacy and Policy Specialist, P4

Under the overall guidance of the Chief, Advocacy, the incumbent provides UNICEF National Committees with support and guidance on evidence-based and results-focused advocacy, with emphasis on strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, and technical support on UNICEF’s overall global advocacy priorities.

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world.

For every child, Hope..

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does—in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life—in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions—her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens—addressing inequity—not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

The incumbent is responsible for nurturing the global advocacy agenda with information regarding the work and situation in high-income countries with a National Committee presence, while at the same time keeping the National Committees informed about any policy or strategic development in the concerned areas.
  
1.Policy guidance:  Provide policy guidance to National Committees on the content and modalities of their advocacy work, and on specific child rights and child protection issues in line with UNICEF global advocacy priorities.

2.Advocacy strategy development:  Devise and formulate, in close consultation with UNICEF National Committees and relevant UNICEF Divisions, strategies for strengthening the modalities and content of UNICEF’s engagement on agreed priority child rights concerns, with particular emphasis on the strategic nature of policy advocacy by National Committees.

3.Support to strategic planning:  In close coordination with the National Committee Relations teams, support National Committees in joint strategic planning (JSP), monitoring and evaluation of their advocacy and support alignment of National Committee JSP objectives with UNICEF’s global priorities.

4.Network support:  Coordinate the representational bodies of the National Committee networks for advocacy to determine priorities for cooperation, identify support requirements, and organize meetings and workshops of the networks.

5.Capacity building in advocacy strategy:  Develop new and strengthen existing tools for planning, monitoring and evaluation of results focused child rights advocacy work in industrialized countries; build the capacity of National Committees to apply them.

6.Social policy analysis: Analyse the impact on children in National Committee countries of social policy developments and trends in UNICEF priority advocacy areas, and of measures to ensure protection for the most vulnerable. Provide guidance to National Committees on the content and modalities of their advocacy work on specific child rights and social policy issues.

7.Reporting and representation:  Prepare documentation, reports and analyses on advocacy and child rights in industrialized countries. Represent UNICEF in various meetings and fora and bring a child rights perspective to the discussions.

Reporting:
The incumbent will be based in Geneva and will report to the Chief of Advocacy, who will provide overall direction and guidance.

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

•Advanced university degree in social sciences, law or other relevant field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

•Strong background in advocacy, child rights, and human rights and solid experience in conceptualizing and implementing advocacy and campaigning work in industrialized countries.

•Eight years of progressively responsible professional experience at national or international level in the development, implementation and management of advocacy and campaigning work, of which a significant part in the industrialized world. Focus on advocacy on behalf of children and human rights advocacy an asset.

•Fluency in English; knowledge of French, Spanish or other major European language an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate:
The following competencies are required (LI, LII and LIII indicate the level required on a three point scale, LIII being the highest):

UNICEF Core Values
◦Commitment
◦Diversity and inclusion
◦Integrity

UNICEF Core Competencies
◦Communication (III)
◦Working with People (III)
◦Drive for Results (III)

UNICEF Functional Competencies                  
◦Leading and Supervising (II)
◦Formulating Strategies and Concepts (III)
◦Relating and Networking (II)
◦Applying Technical Expertise (II)