Fresh Jobs at UNICEF

Purpose Of the Job:

• The Knowledge Management Specialist ensures that UNICEF Nigeria has a strategic approach and culture on knowledge management in line with the rights and results-based programming approach of UNICEF and ensures that valid and reliable information, lessons learned and knowledge products on the situation of children’s and women’s rights are disseminated and utilized for programme designing and child rights advocacy; relevant, effective and timely use of programme lessons and insights for strategic and programmatic decision making, including insights for coverage, coordination, and coherence in emergency contexts.
• The Knowledge Management Specialist will lead the implementation of a structured knowledge management approach based on the global and NCO knowledge management strategy, which will be inclusive of and responsive to the needs of the Country Office at both central and field levels. This position will work closely with the Planning, Monitoring and Reporting (PMR), Evaluation, Communication and Advocacy, programme sections and field offices teams as well as with UNICEF regional office leads on knowledge management.
• The incumbent will be responsible for implementing a framework/approach to (i) systematically establish UNICEF as a center of knowledge on children in Nigeria; (ii) continuously identify and promote opportunities for innovation that deliver results for children; and (iii) support the sharing of promising and good practices and lessons learned. A key deliverable of this position is supporting the roll-out of the UNICEF Knowledge Management Strategy via the Office KM Implementation Plan.
• The incumbent will be responsible for the development, oversight and maintenance of systems, tools and products that support effective knowledge management. This will include internal and external platforms for knowledge sharing and exchange, and the continuous sharing of successes, failures and lessons learned.
• The incumbent will document UNICEF’s strategic approaches in Nigeria, synthesize assessments, research, and studies in order to generate and disseminate common lessons learned and identify, share and document promising and good practices.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties or tasks:

• Promotion of a country programme-wide culture on knowledge management and learning
• Develop/ update an operational action plan for Knowledge for Use (K4U) of the country programme, covering both field and country programme level strategy, including a strategy for internal and external dissemination.
• Ensure that KM needs are systematically identified and integrated across organizational processes and aligned to organizational goals.
• Update country programme accountability matrix to include KM roles and responsibilities at the field and country programme level.
• Ensure adequate incentives around KM are in place including recognition of knowledge champions.
• Build capacities of staff members on KM.
• Build knowledge management activities into programme and operations work plans to more clearly articulate how KM leads to enhanced programme effectiveness, and results.
• Act as liaison amongst various teams on KM and ensure coordination mechanisms on KM are developed, well understood and properly applied by all programme and operations staff.

Strengthened organizational systems and tools for KM

• Review existing systems and tools in place for KM and share best practices in their use.
• Develop guiding principles for engagement in communities of practice;
• Support the rollout of UNICEF's Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system, including creating document repositories, designing content on the intranet, etc.
• Liaise with the communications team to ensure content linkages with UNICEF’s external facing website;
• Champion the use of ECM and encourage knowledge sharing on the use of ECM between sections and across state offices.

Support to Knowledge Networks and Forums:

• Conduct an in-depth review of existing thematic networks aimed at providing space for dialogue, seminars, and lectures for knowledge exchange of best practices and innovations with external partners; Identify gaps and suggest specific measures for improvement.
• Create new knowledge-sharing networks (i.e. knowledge management champions) and continue to strengthen and build on best practices documented from existing networks and knowledge-sharing forums (i.e. sectoral network meetings, CMTs internal reviews, etc.);
• Update and review available guidelines and templates on internal programme effectiveness and programme excellence/innovation best practices.
• Identify external partners who can support best practice documentation in line with agreed quality standards.

Minimum requirements:

• An advanced university degree in social sciences, organizational development, public administration, knowledge management or a related social science field is required or an additional five years of relevant experience in lieu of an advanced degree.
• Five years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels in programme planning, and monitoring. Practical experience in emergency programming, including preparedness planning and active involvement in a humanitarian crisis response programme, is an asset.
• Knowledge of Rights and Results-based Management and knowledge management.
• Professional technical knowledge/expertise in facilitating participatory reflection and learning processes, programme reviews and documenting lessons learned.
• Professional technical knowledge/expertise in knowledge management and communications.
• Professional technical knowledge/expertise in the knowledge management methodology and facilitation techniques, including theories, standards and models, quantitative/qualitative/mixed methods.
• Gender equality and diversity awareness
• Professional/technical knowledge/expertise in Team Management, Coaching & Training.
• Mastery of UNICEF’s KM policies and procedures.
• Understanding of UN Mission and system, current key UN topics; and the International Code of Conduct
• Understanding of UNICEF Mission Statement and UNICEF Guiding Principles.
• UNICEF policies, and strategies promoting and supporting gender equality and diversity.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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Purpose of the Assignment:

• Under the general supervision of the Social Protection Specialist in Abuja, the Social Protection officer is accountable for providing technical support and assistance in the implementation of the Joint program. The position located in Sokoto field office, will support social protection programming and related advocacy to deliver concrete and sustainable results across the four states (Abia, Benue, Oyo and Sokoto). This includes programmes aimed at (a) strengthening functional State Social Register including expansion to integrate more poor and vulnerable people; (b) improving capacity of staff and policy makers on social protection; (c) strengthen state social protection policy and legal framework with the development of a social protection policy and bill, aimed at realizing the rights to social protection for consideration by the National and State Assembly; (c) enhance Social Protection Management Information System that is interoperable at the vertical, horizontal level and across social sector with focus on health and education. This position encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on social protection.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children

• Supports strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve expansion of social registry and design of child grants and improve linkages with social services health insurance, public works, and social care services.
• Supports the development of 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.
• Supports improved monitoring and research around social protection impact on child outcomes, and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results.

Improving use of public financial resources for social protection for children:

• Supports the identification of policy options for improved domestic financing of child-sensitive social protection interventions.
• Undertakes social protection 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.   

 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 planning, budgeting, implementation, consultation and social protection accountability processes so that decisions and child-focused service delivery more closely respond to the needs of local communities.
• Collaborates with the central and local authorities to strengthen capacity on quality data collection, analysis, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of social protection services, with emphasis on community participation and accountability.

UNICEF Programme Management:

• Helps manage and coordinate technical support around 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.
• contributes to effective and efficient planning, management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the country programme. Ensures that the social protection 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.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Provide technical support and guidance to UNICEF teams and government counterparts on data management best practices.
• Regularly monitor program consistency and data quality to ensure compliance with project management standards.
• Prepare and present data-driven reports to support project reporting
• Provide timely and accurate data insights to inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of social protection initiatives.

Minimum requirements:

Education: 

• An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Social Sciences, Administration, Public Policy, or a related field.

Experience: 

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in design, program management, system strengthening, data management and analysis, and capacity building within social protection or related fields, preferably with experience in a humanitarian context. Experience working on social protection is considered as a strong asset.

 Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in social protection system design and programme implementation
• Experience with data management and analysis for social protection
• Capacity building skills related to social protection
• Knowledge of the social protection landscape in Nigeria is highly desirable.