Social Policy Officer

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, Human Rights

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have worked in Angola continuously since 1976 with mandate to support government and non-state actors to protect the rights and promote the wellbeing of every child.

Our work is aligned with Sustainable Development Goals and aims to ensure each child in each 18 provinces has access to good health services, quality education opportunities, clean water, and toilets; and children grow up protected and develop in an inclusive, just, and peaceful society.

Since its establishment, UNICEF has been helping the government of Angola to strengthen national policies, programmes and services to ensure that every child enjoy their rights.

UNICEF’s capacity, technical skills and structure allow us to work effectively with policy and decision-makers and be among the first responders to humanitarian crisis. It allows us to assess and respond quickly to the priorities and needs of communities in the most remote and underserved areas of the country. 

UNICEF protects and promotes the rights of every child in Angola.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the Social Policy officer is accountable for providing technical support and assistance in all stages of social policy programming and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results, with a focus on sectoral aspects of Public Finance. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; (b) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services; (c) social protection coverage and impact on children; and (d) public policies to reduce child poverty. 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, and HIV. The officer will support Angola Country Office in its efforts to leverage greater, more effective and equitable domestic public investments results in children, working with health, nutrition, education, child protection, WASH and cross-sectoral sections. The post provides technical, knowledge management and staff capacity development support, in close collaboration with sector colleagues to remove PFM-related bottlenecks and barriers to deliver at-scale, equitable and sustainable results for children.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Improving use of public financial resources for children

Undertakes budget analysis to inform UNICEF’s advocacy and technical assistance to Ministries of Finance, planning commissions and social sector ministries to improve equitable allocations for essential services for children. Works with sector colleagues to build capacity to undertake costing and cost effectiveness analysis on priority interventions to help inform policy decisions on child-focused investments. Supports the identification of policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions. Undertakes and builds capacity of partners for improved monitoring and tracking of public expenditure to support transparency, accountability and effective financial flows for essential service delivery, including through support to district level planning, budgeting and public financial management as well as facilitating community participation.

Strengthening capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services.

Where national decentralization processes are taking place, collaborates with central and local authorities to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions and child-focused service delivery more closely responds to the needs of local communities. Collaborates with the central and local authorities to strengthen capacity on quality data collection, analysis for policy development, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of essential social services, with emphasis on community participation and accountability.

Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy

Supports correct and compelling use of data and evidence on the situation of children and coverage and impact of child focused services – in support of the social policy programme and the country programme overall.  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. Identifies other critical partners, promotes awareness and builds capacity of partners, and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.

Improving data on child poverty & vulnerability for increased use for policy and programme action

Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly presentation of data on multidimensional and monetary child poverty, including strengthening national capacity to collect routinely, report and use data for policy decision-making. Provides timely, regular data-driven analysis for effective prioritization, planning, and development; facilitates results-based management for planning, adjusting, and scaling-up specific social policy initiatives to reduce child poverty.  Analyzes the macroeconomic context and its impact on social development, emerging issues and social policy concerns, as well as implications for children, and proposes and promotes appropriate responses in respect of such issues and concerns, including government resource allocation policies and the effect of social welfare policies on the rights of children.

Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children

Supports the development of social protection policies, legislation and programmes with attention to increasing coverage of and impact on children, with special attention on the most marginalized. Identifies, generates and presents evidence to support this goal in collaboration with partners. Supports 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 HIV. Supports improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes, and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results.

 UNICEF Programme Management

Helps manage and coordinate 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. Supports and contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme. Ensures that the social planning project enhances 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.

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

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

A minimum of one year of relevant professional experience is required. Experience in budget analysis (particularly National/State Budgets) is highly desired.

Strong knowledge of Angola Public Financial System and Political Economy is a strong asset. Experience and familiarity with Angola Social Protection sector is an advantage. Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset. Background and/or familiarity with emergency is considered as a strong asset. Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

Fluency in English and Portuguese 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 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.

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