Social Policy Manager, P-4, Abuja, Nigeria, #123985-Temporary Appointment - 364 days

UNICEF Nigeria Country Office Abuja is seeking a passionate and committed person to work in the role of Social Policy Manager and invites applications from highly motivated and committed persons who want to contribute to results for children. If you are that person, we encourage you to apply and become part of a highly motivated and committed team.

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, an advocate

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children's rights in partnership with government, civil society, children and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally - click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/.

How can you make a difference?

Under the direct guidance of the Chief, Social Policy, the incumbent is responsible for advising the Chief, Social Policy on the design, management, 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. This includes programmes aimed at improving child focused policies; the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; governance and accountability measures; all working synergetically to strengthen the social protection system in Nigeria and improve the social protection coverage of children. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, health, child protection, water and sanitation, nutrition and social and behavioural change communication. The incumbent is expected to provide strong technical support on resource mobilization, by developing new and innovative partnerships to fund social protection programmes for the country office.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Donor Engagement and Resource Mobilization

• Develop funding proposals to mobilize non-core resources for social protection interventions and programmes in the country office.
• Act as a single and direct entry point for donors, building institutional relationships.
• Provide regular updates on donor profiles, databases (e.g. contacts management);
• Support existing, identify and facilitate the co-creation of new shared value partnerships with donor countries, international and regional financial institutions and private sector in support of the UNICEF Social Inclusion Programme, particularly social protection.
• Build trust and manage/coordinate the relationships with key partners and ensure the proactive coordination, monitoring and facilitation of non-core sources and partnerships for social protection interventions in the country office.
• Identify opportunities to secure additional non-core resources and, where appropriate, liaises with relevant sections and field offices for action, including recommendation on positioning with potential donors; timely follow-up and support.
• Set and monitor Social Policy’s annual priorities, goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs) for donor partnerships and resource mobilization
• Facilitate and monitor the submission of high quality and timely reports to Donors, preparation of missions, meetings and other consultations with donors, including the preparation of concept notes, briefs and other materials, in close cooperation with the Management for Results team.

2. Strengthening social protection coverage and the  impact for children

• Develops social protection policies, legislation and programmes with attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention the most marginalized.  Identifies, generates and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners.
• Promotes strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design of cash transfers and child grants and improve linkages with other social protection interventions such as health insurance, public works and social care services as well as complementary services and intervention related to nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, child protection and social and behavioural change communication.
• Undertakes improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results.

3. Coordinating and implementing shock-responsive social protection – including social (cash and in-kind) transfers of the Country Office.

• Provide technical oversight and supervision to the P3, Shock-Responsive Social Protection Specialist in the Country office.
• Lead the development and implementation of an inter-sectoral shock-Responsiveness SP for the country office, including a strong focus on gender and climate vulnerability, with analysis covering the different areas of the social protection system including shock-responsive social assistance, social security and labor market, and social services.
• Support shock-responsive strategy and programming to support the Government, highlighting gaps and lesson learned to improve the emergency preparedness, and reinforce a shock-responsive SP system at Federal and State-level.
• Engage and maintain partnerships with key shock-responsive social protection stakeholders, including Federal and State Governments, National and Sub-National Cash Working Groups, and International Development Partners, and in close consultation with appropriate UNICEF sections.

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

Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field. 

Experience: A minimum of eight years of relevant professional work experience is required.

Experience working on social protection in a developing country is considered as a strong asset.

Background and/or familiarity with resource mobilization is considered as a strong asset.

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

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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