Social Policy Specialist (Child Survival), NO-C, Chennai, India - (This vacancy is for Indian Nationals only)

The position entails supporting the State child survival policy, strategy development, monitoring, data analysis and planning. The incumbent will support health system strengthening efforts aiming at Girls and boys, especially those that are marginalized to have access to high-impact Health, Nutrition, HIV and ECD interventions from pregnancy to adolescence, enabling them to survive and thrive. The position supports social policy efforts to reach universal health coverage and to enhance public health insurance schemes. The position will work on the direct application of the social policy work (public financing for children, decentralization and social protection) to the child survival area. The incumbent will be part of the office wide effort of building a social protection system, of which health policies and systems is an important pillar. Two major streams of work will be the integration of gender and overall equity dimensions in the health outcomes. This of special importance to the child survival pillar.

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 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. And we never give up!

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For Every Child, AN ADVOCATE:

In an effort to measurably improve UNICEF's ability to deliver better results for children, 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 fulfill 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. 

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job:

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 favoritism. 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 fulfill 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.

UNICEF recently developed a new Strategic Plan 2018-21 in which one of the pillars is focusing on Child Survival – Every Child Survives and Thrives to operationalize UNICEF’s equity focus and so ensure that the most disadvantaged communities have access to life-saving maternal and child interventions. The Child Survival (Health/Nutrition/Early Childhood Development) approach promotes multi-sectoral action to address the multiple deprivations common to children in resource constrained settings. Its main priorities include gender and equity dimensions  in health, national health policies, strategies, plans and budgets; building sub-national capacity for scaling up implementation, and strengthening community-based systems to accelerate scale up towards universal health coverage, paving the way towards the relevant Sustainable Development Goal 3 targets.

Job organizational context:

The position entails supporting the State child survival policy, strategy development, monitoring, data analysis and planning. The incumbent will support health system strengthening efforts aiming at Girls and boys, especially those that are marginalized to have access to high-impact Health, Nutrition, HIV and Early Childhood Development interventions from pregnancy to adolescence, enabling them to survive and thrive.

The position supports social policy efforts to reach universal health coverage and to enhance public health insurance schemes. The position will work on the direct application of the social policy work (public financing for children, decentralization and social protection) to the child survival area. The incumbent will be part of the office wide effort of building a social protection system, of which health policies and systems is an important pillar. Two major streams of work will be the integration of gender and overall equity dimensions in the health outcomes. This of special importance to the child survival pillar. 

The incumbent will work with a wide range of partners linked to State and District governments, renowned national and state institutions, academia, civil society network and private sector.  

Purpose for the job:

Under the guidance of the Chief Social Policy, NO-D, and in close collaboration with the Health, Nutrition and WASH outcome leads based in Delhi, as well as other relevant senior staff in India Country Office (ICO), the incumbent will provide policy, technical and programme guidance and support for the design, operationalization and monitoring of evidence-based Child Survival strategies that accelerate and sustain health and nutrition outcomes for children and women. This will include developing, piloting and documenting approaches, methods and tools for Child Survival, health/nutrition systems capacity development within and outside UNICEF, and raising the profile of convergent Child Survival approaches within ICO. The incumbent will maintain regular interactions with other programmes and technical clusters within Chennai Office and ICO. This includes the Inclusive Social Policy, Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships (CAP), Education, Child Survival, Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as the Deputy Representative and team. 

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Management:

• Under guidance of Chief Social Policy, NO-D, promote and operationalize the UNICEF Child Survival aimed at providing access to high-impact Health, Nutrition, and Early Childhood Development interventions from pregnancy to adolescence, enabling them to survive and thrive.
• As part of the Chennai Team, collaborate with Health/Nutrition/WASH/Social Policy outcome leads and other sections in ICO to build cross-sectoral linkages for accelerated scale up. 
• Provide strategic direction, guidance, planning and management oversight for the Child Survival activities in TN and Kerala; in line with UNICEF Country Progamme 2018-22 and regional targets.
• Assist in managing programmes and budgets and submit periodic progress reports to the supervisor and senior management.

 Policy and Programme Guidance:

• Provide technical guidance to the State Governments on public policies and vision on Child Survival especially concerning the gender and overall equity dimensions and operationalize the development and dissemination of related policies, strategies and programme guidance; serve as UNICEF’s technical/knowledge focal point for Child Survival related social policy in Chennai Office.
• Follow and guide on the development and quality assurance of methods, approaches and tools on equity and bottleneck analysis, strategy prioritization, evidence-based planning and budgeting, and routine performance monitoring and capacity development to accelerate the scale up of high impact reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health and nutrition interventions.
• Provide technical input to adapt and successfully apply Child Survival, approaches and tools during emergencies, in line with UNICEF EPP guidance and Core Commitment for Children.    
• Provide input to generate evidence and to strengthen data and knowledge management on Child Survival through modeling of innovative approaches, documentation of best practices, operational research and evaluation.  

Partnerships and fundraising and resources:

• Establish / strengthen strategic partnerships with key partners to support the implementation of child survival and development to accelerate progress in line with the UNICEF Strategic Plan and ICO Country Programme.
• Identify opportunities to leverage resources for the development and implementation of Child Survival interventions, methods, approaches, and tools. This can include plans for resource mobilization in collaboration with Public Private Sector Engagement teams and other appropriate units in UNICEF;

Monitoring and reporting:

• In close collaboration with the Health and Nutrition outcome leads, provide input to monitoring and analysis of health/nutrition/EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT programmes to ensure programme quality and determine the contribution to specific national and global child survival goals;
• Contribute to monitoring programmes and budgets and submit periodic progress reports to the supervisor and senior management.

Impact of Results:

The incumbent’s work will contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of UNICEF’s role and visibility in Child Survival and Development as a convergent programme strategy in India. It will influence further strategic outlook and strategy of ICO on Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health policies. It will also have positive effects on Early Childhood Development, Communication for Development, Nutrition, Child Protection and WASH in middle income context. This will increase UNICEF’s credibility and leverage partnerships to support the Government of India and UNICEF’s agenda for child survival. 

Competencies and level of proficiency required:

Core Values

• Commitment
• Diversity and inclusion
• Integrity

Core competencies

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

Functional Competencies:

• Analyzing (II)
• Leading and supervising (II)
• Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
• Relating and networking (II)
• Persuading and influencing (II)
• Creating and innovating (II)  

Education:

Advanced University Degree in public health, health research, health policy and/or management, or other health related sciences is required.

Experience:

At least 5 (five) years of relevant professional work in Health/Nutrition/Child Survival/Early Childhood Development experience that involves substantive and relevant experience in health/nutrition policy and system strengthening.

Language Requirements:

Speaks, reads and write fluently in English. Mastery of another UN language is desired.

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

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

 Remarks:  

• Selected applicant will have an initial two (2) year fixed-term contract, with possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• UNICEF does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process including application, interview, meeting, traveling, processing, training etc. UNICEF is a nonsmoking working environment. 

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