Programme Officer (Joint SDG Fund Social Protection) – Grade P2 – Temporary position 364 days Sao Tome e Principe - 112808

The Program officer will provide strategic project planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring and reporting support to achieve the targeted results of this joint program, including communication and visibility. In addition the PO will oversee the implementation of the UNICEF component of this joint project.For this, the incumbent will coordinate internally with UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and ILO and externally with partners such as concerned Ministries, the World Bank and others.

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 childhood

Organizational Context

UNICEF is a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for the rights of every child. Child rights begin with safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflict and traverse the life cycle: pre-natal care for healthy births, clean water and sanitation, health care and education. UNICEF has spent nearly 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Working with and for children through adolescence and into adulthood requires a global presence whose goal is to produce results and monitor their effects. UNICEF also lobbies and partners with leaders, thinkers and policy makers to help all children realize their rights -especially the most disadvantaged.

Strategic office context: 

UNICEF Country office in Sao Tome e Principe (STP) is the lead agency to support the implementation of the Joint Programme to strengthen social protection system in STP in close collaboration with UN RCO, ILO, UNDP and WHO. As the implementation of the programme starts in 2020, UNICEF is looking for a programme coordination at P2 level to support planning, implementation and monitoring.

This Joint Programme (JP) will support the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity, Family and Professional qualification (MLSFPQ) to fully implement the Social Registry (SR)“ including the draft of a legal framework and the revision of questionnaire and registration approach - to enable its use by several targeted social programmes. It will build on the current support given by the World Bank to the MLSFQ to update the cash transfer beneficiary database, but it will go beyond it with a view to ensuring the interoperability of the SR with different monitoring information systems of social programmes. This way, it is expected that it can be effectively linked to a set of interventions aimed at improving the access of vulnerable and extreme poor families not only to cash transfer schemes, but also to social services in three on six districts of the country. The main objective of the JP is to accelerate some key SDG targets by fostering cross-sectoral synergies through cross-sectoral coordination while expanding social protection coverage via the Vulnerable Family Programme and social pensions. Social sector interventions to be linked to the SR through the JP include 1) parental education; 2) youth engagement in the social sector; 3) access to a health services package, including essential preventive and curative health and nutrition care jointly with case management and monitoring that will be made available to beneficiaries listed in the social registry. Monitoring and case management will be possible thanks to the interoperability of the Social Registry and the DHIS2 with an individual tracker module.

At the end of Joint Programme it is expected that the Single Registry is fully implemented in three districts with an adequate legal and normative framework and ready to be scaled out and scaled up; all families benefiting from the Vulnerable Family Programme (cash transfers targeting children) or identified as vulnerable in the social registry have had access to parental education while promoting access to health, nutrition and education (particularly pre-schooling) through sectoral platforms and referral systems and that youth are trained and engaged in supporting the provision of social services, particularly in parental education. This approach will allow to accelerate the country's path towards reaching the SDGs focusing on those most likely to be left behind.

The Joint programme is also expected to mitigate the negative effects of economic crisis on the vulnerable and extreme poor household by fostering the development of an infrastructure that will be able to respond to, and even anticipate, negative shocks in a timely manner through adequate social protection mechanisms and access to social services. Hence, by 2022, the SR and its linkages to complementary social services in the area of health, nutrition, education and youth entrepreneurship is likely to have important synergistic impacts on those who have been left behind in 3 out of 6 districts.

 In addition, the SR will be ready to be used by other programmes, increasing its capacity to mobilize different stakeholders beyond government ministries and the PUNOs already involved in this JP. In particular, the evidence of the JP catalytic effects will leverage financing of the World Bank, that has  already strongly supported the current JP design as well as  other important stakeholders in the country such as the  African Development Bank, the European Union and the bilateral cooperation of countries such as Portugal and Luxembourg as well as south-south cooperation with countries such as Brazil and Cape Verde that have developed robust social registries with interoperability features across sectors.

How can you make a difference?

Job Purpose

The Program officer will provide strategic project planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring and reporting support to achieve the targeted results of this joint program, including communication and visibility. In addition the PO will oversee the implementation of the UNICEF component of this joint project. For this, the incumbent will coordinate internally with UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and ILO and externally with partners such as concerned Ministries, the World Bank and others.

The position has Sao Tome, in Sao Tome e Principe as duty station.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

The Programme Officer will be in charge of the following tasks and responsibilities:

1. Ensure cross-sectoral coordination of the project;
2. Establish close coordination and synergy among agencies involved namely UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and ILO;
3. Be responsible for effective management of the project team and resources, ensuring smooth running of the project, promoting team work and an environment that is conducive to delivering effective results as well as sharing of good practices and lessons learned;
4. Coordinate the draft of the project annual work plan and budget, its submission and approval, and seek the corresponding authorizations required to undertake project activities, to ensure eligibility of expenditures and activities based on the requirements the donor;
5. Ensure the achievement of the project results according to the submitted plans, budget allocations and time frames as outlined in the project logframe;
6. Provide support in monitoring the implementation of specific program activities, ensuring coherence of programming strategies and proposing adjustments as appropriate;
7. Support relevant UNICEF components in documenting progress throughout implementation by working closely with implementing partners; and facilitate knowledge management and information sharing among programme actors;
8. Oversee and coordinate M&E activities and staff  in coordination with the concerned agencies and teams;
9. Support overall reporting and produce corporate documentation as requested.
10. Contribute to effective communication and visibility of programme  results.

The Program Officer will report to the Deputy Representative of Unicef, in close collaboration with other agencies lead and teams.

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

Education

A university degree in one of the following fields is required in political science, social sciences, international relations, programme management or any related.

Work Experience and Requirements:

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible professional experience working in the field of programme coordination, UN coordination, or related experience in development or joint programmes;
• Proven experience in project management and coordination  managing grants, delivering on results, monitoring, and reporting;
• Demonstrated experience in supporting multisectoral and multi-stakeholder interventions targeting community and system capacity building;
• Experience coordinating with other organizations in the collation of information, analysis and development of recommendations.
• Good understanding of the issues and complexities of Sao Tome e Principe or similar contexts;
• Ability to analyze, synthesize information and communicate outcomes clearly to different stakeholders;
• Capacity to manage various tasks simultaneously in planning, implementing, and monitoring a complex project over an extended period;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ability to work independently and in a team, high-level report-writing skills;
• Ability to work in an international or multicultural environment.

Language Proficiency

• Fluency in Portuguese and English. Knowledge of French is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate commitment

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The functional competencies required for this post are:

Core Values: Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability

Core Competencies :

• Communication [ II ]
• Working with People [ II ]
• Drive for Results [ II ]

Functional Competencies 

•  Formulating Strategies and Concepts  [ I ]
• Analyzing  [ I ]
• Applying Technical Expertise  [ I ]
• Learning and Researching  [ II
• Planning and Organizing [ II ]

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.