Social Policy Specialist Job at UNICEF in Uganda

Job Title: Social Policy Specialist (Research, Evaluation & Advocacy), P-4, Kampala, Uganda

Vacancy No:  E-VN-2012-001736
Duty Station:  Kampala
Country:  Uganda
Region:  ESARO
Job Level:  P-4
Position#:  00082912
Application Close:  30-Nov-12
Contract Type:  Long-term Staff (FT)

Purpose of the Position
Under the supervision of the chief of social policy, the social policy specialist will be responsible for developing, overseeing and implementing the policy advocacy strategy of the office. A crucial element of this will be ensuring a high quality research and evaluation output of the office that is strategically linked to advocacy objectives.

Key Expected Results
1. Oversee the research agenda of the office to ensure its alignment with the office’s policy advocacy strategy.  Ensure the quality of research work, through overseeing development of TORs, consultant selection and oversight of incoming work.

2. Oversee the evaluation agenda of the office in accordance with UNICEF guidance through interaction with programme sections and management of the IMEP. Identify strategic areas for evaluation and ensure quality of evaluations through overseeing all aspects of the evaluation process.

3. Oversee the development and creation of a policy advocacy strategy for the office through engaging internal colleagues and external partners.

4. Oversee the implementation of the policy advocacy strategy of the office through coordinating policy work in the office and identifying, creating and participating in external opportunities to pursue advocacy goals.

5. Undertake field visits to monitor and evaluate programme implementation, as well as conduct periodic programme reviews with government counterparts and other partners. Identifies problems or alternative courses of action to accelerate/improve programme delivery.

6. Self-learning to stay abreast of latest developments in research, advocacy and evaluation.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate
Advanced university degree in social sciences, law, economics or development policy and planning.

Eight years of relevant work experience at national or international levels in social policy research and evaluation.  Experience in advocacy.

Fluency in English. Knowledge of another UN language an advantage. Knowledge of the local working language of the duty station is an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate
Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking

Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment

Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals

Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear

Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives

Analyzes and integrates diverse and complex quantitative and qualitative data from a wide range of sources

Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups; maintains an effective network of  individuals across organizational departments

Identifies urgent and potentially difficult decisions and acts on them promptly; initiates and generates team- and department-wide activities

Demonstrates, applies and shares expert technical knowledge across the organization

How to Apply:
https://careers.unicef.org/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_posting_apply?PARAM=cG9zdF9pbnN0X2d1aWQ9NTBBNjkyNUM1Qjg3NUVGN0UxMDAwMDAwOUU3MTBGMEYmY2FuZF90eXBlPUVYVA

Deadline: 30th Nov 2012