Programme Specialist (Resilience Building) at UNICEF

How can you make a difference?

• Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Field Office (CFO), and in close collaboration with Programme Sections in Maiduguri, the Programme Specialist (Resilience Building) will be responsible for coordinating the implementation and integration of UNICEF’s multi-sectoral interventions in targeted Local Government Areas (LGAs) through joint planning, program convergence, monitoring and representation.
• The incumbent will document and build on the experience that define UNICEF’s role in resilience building and social cohesion for integration into all programmes of UNICEF.
• The incumbent will also serve as the main focal point for coordination with the World Food Programme (WFP) at Maiduguri and UNICEF’s Technical Lead in Abuja, and plays a key role in donor relations/liaison and partnerships building around scaling up resilience and social cohesion-based programming.

Responsibilites
Major responsibilites of the Programme Specialist will include:

• Provide technical guidance and support to the UNICEF Country Office, with a focus on the Northeast, in the conceptualization, contextualization, strategic planning, and programme implementation with regard to resilience.
• Act as the organizational focal point for  cross-sectoral resilience programmes, with a focus on the north east.
• Represent UNICEF on  Joint Programme (JP) coordination, with states level governments and other governance systems and networks.
• Provide support to UNICEF Country Office  to ensure strategic engagement with relevant partners, including key donors, on UNICEF’s work in resilience.
• Facilitate overall programme design when required through ensuring work plans and activities are formulated, implemented, and monitored. Support in designing and coordinating specific resilience building interventions based on LGA’s specific risk profiles, conflict analysis, partnerships, government capacity and programme priorities.
• Overall coordination towards agreed results; including timely and effective grant and financial management.  
• Provide support and coordinate  for programme convergence and resilience integration across the programme cycle (planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation) and work closely with sector programmes to increase planning and realisation of complementary programming.
• Facilitate overall programme design when required through ensuring work plans and activities are formulated, implemented, and monitored. Support in designing and coordinating specific resilience building interventions based on LGA’s specific risk profiles, conflict analysis, partnerships, government capacity and programme priorities.
• Overall coordination towards agreed results; including timely and effective grant and financial management.  
• Provide support and coordinate  for programme convergence and resilience integration across the programme cycle (planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation) and work closely with sector programmes to increase planning and realisation of complementary programming.
• Co-lead with WFP the six-month Maiduguri level inception phase, including to finalize the JP design through an inclusive, localised, participatory approach in order to deliver vulnerability assessment; a resilience analysis; a community stakeholder mapping,  an updated results matrix with selected communities, disaggregated numbers of beneficiaries, baseline and targets and updates in the timeline and budget where necessary; a Peace and Conflict Assessment (PCA), a monitoring and evaluation plan; select partners including based on a local partner mapping; establish a programme-wide complaints and feedback mechanism to improve Accountability to Affected People (AAP); and conduct a workshop at the end of the inception phase.
• Contribute to strengthen capacity and learning for UNICEF in programming for social cohesion, resilience, and the triple nexus.
• Oversee and support Maiduguri-level baseline/end line development, knowledge management, M&E, and lessons learnt arising from implementation through drafting/finalizing key documents, reports, updates and briefing notes and knowledge/information exchange to ensure continued generation of program evidence.
• Supporting programs to strengthen the feedback and response mechanism to ensure UNICEF’s engagement with users and target groups to generate and receiving reactions, comments and criticism on sector interventions.
• Coordinate the provision of cross-sectoral timely and quality inputs to donor reports and provide inputs to other documentation and presentations of the programme.
• Lead overall coordination with WFP at Maiduguri level and UNICEF’s Technical Lead in Abuja.
• Coordinate closely with other UN agencies, development partners, and state government counterparts, and targeted communities in the area of responsibility to ensure alignment and complementarity of resilience interventions.
• Manage JP related partnership development, amendments and support overall project documents management.
• Lead Maiduguri-level JP visibility, communication as well as donor visits.
• Maintain relations and work with donor partners in developing proposals and resource mobilisation for large scale resilience building and social cohesion programme across programme sectors.  

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

• An advanced (Master's) degree from a recognized university in one of the following fields is required: International Development/International Relations, Peacebuilding, Political Science, Social Sciences, Public Administration, Public Health, Nutrition, Business Administration or a related discipline.
• A minimum of 8 (eight) years of professional work experience at international levels in programme/project development, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and administration relevant to the post is required.
• Specialized training/experience in resilience/nexus programme management is highly desirable.
• Experience of working in developing countries away from country of residence in emergency/humanitarian settings is essential.
• Experience in Results Based Management of programme is an asset.
• Knowledge of development and humanitarian issues, strategies, as well as programming policies and procedures in international development cooperation is an asset.
• Ability to manage large budgeted multi-sector programmes and ability to lead diverse and multi-cultural teams is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability in donor reporting required.
• Ability to multi-task and deliver against workplan and tight deadlines is required.
• Prior experience in a similar role is highly desirable.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate:

• UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

Remarks:

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