Thailand: Regional Adviser Social Policy, P-5, Bangkok, Thailand, #18656

Organization: UN Children's Fund
Country: Thailand
Closing date: 23 Apr 2018

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, results

How can you make a difference?

Regional advisory services and technical support on strategic planning/discussion

Support to country offices on program development and planning

Regional program monitoring and assessment

Advocacy, networking and partnership building

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Regional advisory services and technical support on strategic planning/discussion

Advise key national government officials, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners on policies, strategies, approaches and best practices on social policies and related issues, to support program development planning, management, implementation and delivery of results.

Participate in regional/country program planning, preparation and review to provide advice on formulation, design, management, enhancement and communication of social policy programs including setting priorities and results-based management goals.

Participate in regional key events and strategic discussions to influence policy discussions and agenda setting on social policy related issues.

2. Support to country offices on program development and planning

Collaborate with Regional Management/Country Office teams throughout all stages of social policy programming to provide technical support to program preparation, implementation and monitoring for results.

Provide policy guidance and technical support to national external partners/internal colleagues to develop national policies/strategies for UNICEF assisted programs.

Contribute to the planning and conduct/update of situation analysis to ensure that current and evidence based data on social policy issues are available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection.

Manages and coordinates technical support around child poverty, social protection, 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. Ensures risk analysis and risk mitigation are embedded into overall management of the support, in close consultation with UNICEF programme sections, Cooperating Partners, and governments.

Keep abreast of national/regional/international development priorities on social policy to leverage UNICEF’s position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities and constituents to advocate/promote social protection interventions and policies.

Provide technical advice to facilitate the preparation of the Country Office social policy program recommendations and to ensure alignment of programs goals with the overall UNICEF’s Strategic Plans.

Consult and collaborate with national/global colleagues/partners/allies to develop a partnerships framework to address specific needs and to leverage resources for enhancing/scaling up social policy programs/projects. Evaluate/facilitate synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programs and projects with UNICEF Strategic Plans and priorities, donors’ development strategies/policies, national priorities/competencies and UN System development interventions/initiatives.

3. Regional program monitoring and assessment

Ensures effective and efficient monitoring and evaluation of different country programmes within the region. Ensures that the social planning projects enhance policy dialogue, planning, supervision, technical advice, management, training, research and support; and that the monitoring and evaluation component strengthens monitoring and evaluation of the social sectors and provides support to sectoral and decentralized information systems.

Collaborate with HQ Advisers, Regional/Country Monitoring and Evaluation Advisers/Officers to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators and measurement to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on social policy programs.

Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual sector reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine and to provide advice on required action/interventions to achieve results.

Assess CO’s monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.

Submit/share assessments on social policy programming in country offices highlighting critical issues and suggestions for enhancing performance and delivery of sustainable results.

4. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

Establishes effective partnerships with the Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, civil society and local leaders, the private sector, and other UN agencies to support sustained and proactive commitment to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and to achieve global UN agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals.

Collaborate with/advise country offices in the region to develop strategies and implementation plans and activities for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support resource mobilization for UNICEF and Country Office social policy programs and projects.

Participate and/or represent UNICEF (as delegated/designated) in key events/meetings and in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on social policy and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are clearly articulated and fully considered/integrated in the UNDAF process in development planning and agenda setting. Collaborate with regional inter-agency partners/colleagues UNDAF planning and preparation of related programs and projects.

5. Innovation, thought leadership, research, knowledge management and capacity building

Promote critical thinking and introduce technological and program innovations, approaches and good practices in the region for sustainable social policy programs/projects initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.

Promote partnerships in thought leadership and research by developing a roster of leading academic institutions and think tanks based in the region.

Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting edge practices in the region’s social policy program management and information systems. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.

Identify, assess, vet and disseminate a roster of qualified experts and highly recognized institutions for easy access and use by stakeholders

Lead and/or develop policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programs and projects.

Lead/plan/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on social policy programing, advocacy and technical support

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

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or other relevant disciplines

A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience is required

Experience in international development, notably in the fields of social protection, public finance and/or poverty reduction is required.

Experience both living and working in a developing country context is considered an asset.

A history of relevant, peer reviewed publications is an asset. Please include citations with application documents or directly in CV

Familiarity with emergency contexts is considered an asset.

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

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.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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

How to apply:

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization. To apply, click on the following link http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=511987