UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.
For every child, hope
Under the supervision of the Representative, the Chief Social Policy is responsible for leading, managing and supervising all stages of social policy programming and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) social protection coverage and impact on children; (c) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; and (d) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, health, nutrition, child protection and water and sanitation.
Applicants who have previously applied will be considered and need not re-apply.
How can you make a difference?
The Chief of Social Policy will be responsible for the following functions:
1. Managerial leadership
- Establish the section’s annual work plan with the social policy team. Set priorities and targets and monitors progress to ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.
- Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance and coaching to enable the team to perform their duties responsibly and efficiently. Plan and ensure timely performance management and assessment of the team.
- Supervise team members by providing them with clear objectives and goals, direction and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
2. Improving data on child poverty & vulnerability for increased use for policy and programme action
- Oversees 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
3. Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children
- Advises onsocial 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.
- Promotes strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design and coverage of social protection interventions in a upper middle income country such as Indonesia.
- Undertakes improved monitoring and research around inclusive and adaptive social protection impact on child outcomes, and use of data and research findings for strengthening programme results.
4. Improving use of public financial resources for and private investment in children
- Supervises 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.
- Identifies policy options for improved domestic financing of child related social sectors and programmes.
- Oversees and strengthens partnerships for capacity building 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
- Leads in potential innovative finance opportunities and engages in policy dialogues with key stakeholders, including governments and the private sector, on the development and implementation of innovative finance through financial analysis of funding and potential revenue sources for SDGs at national and subnational levels.
5. Strengthening capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services.
- Guides offices’ strategic collaboration with central and local authorities to improve policies, planning, budgeting, consultation and accountability processes so that decisions are child-focused and service delivery more closely respond to the needs of local communities.
- Manages collboration 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.
6. Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy
- Leads the 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.
- Fosters strategic partnerships, promotes awareness of child relates policy work and actively facilitates effective collaboration within the UN family.
7. UNICEF Programme Management
- Manages and coordinates technical support around child poverty, social protection, financing for children 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.
- Leads fund-raising and ensure diligent and efficient resource management for the social policy programme.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
NOD Chief Social Policy IDS26002_GJP [NEW].docx
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Finance, or another relevant technical field.
- Work Experience: Minimum 8 (eight) years of relevant professional experience in public policy, poverty reduction, public finance for social sectors
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Bahasa Indonesia.
Desirables:
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts
- PhD or equivalent doctoral training in economics, public policy or social policy
- Proven track record on Governments macro and fiscal policy analysis, budget analysis and evidence-based policy advocacy at senior levels
- Track record on robust analysis and advisory role on socio-political context
- Experience in innovative financing an advantage
- International work experience in related field preferred
- Diverse network and proven ability to forge strategic partnerships for results
- Strong and culturally appropriate communication and negotiation skills
- Proven track record on leading teams for delivery.
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
The 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
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.
UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.
UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.
UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.
Remarks:
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.