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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, the right to a Champion

How can you make a difference?

Background: 

Somalia is prone to frequent and recurrent Climatic shocks, including flooding and drought. For a majority of communities in the country that depend on agricultural or pastoralist livelihoods, this can have a direct and detrimental impact on food and nutrition security. 

These shocks can lead to loss of household income, and to negative coping strategies that may change patterns of food acquisition and consumption or erode productive assets and human capital – for example, as children are pulled out of school and households suffer reduced economic access to clean water and health services. Shocks can also have an impact on food systems, constraining market availability of food items and driving up prices and reducing labour opportunities in both urban and rural areas. 

Investing in climate resilient livelihoods and climate resilient programme is not only an important defence against these recurrent food security threats in Somalia but is also essential to empower vulnerable populations to break the cycle of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. 

Since 2018, the Joint Resilient Action Strategy (JRA) is being implemented by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It is intended to insulate households from the immediate impact of the frequent shocks in Somalia and the associated household food and cash income deficits and negative coping strategies, which undermine development gains and represent a critical barrier to enabling households to build resilience. The ultimate objective of the JRA is to reduce the humanitarian caseload. 

An outstanding example of how the Joint Resilience is being operationalized, is the Joint Resilience Programme (JRP) funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via the German development bank KfW and implemented by WFP, UNICEF, in the 4 districts of Dusamareed, Galkayo South, Galkayo North and Galdogob of Somalia. The programme will be launched in January 2024, in coordination with the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and with other line ministries at both federal and state level. 

This intervention, implemented by WFP and UNICEF, is an integrated Nutrition, Health, Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Livelihoods programme. 

The objective is to provide households with sustainable food security and livelihoods that enable them to produce, access and afford nutritious food. In addition, these interventions will help communities produce sufficient food to sell their surplus, and to add value and connect with higher value markets to boost household income and savings. This in turn will further improve their access to education, health, and WASH services.

The candidate will be responsible for field level management and coordination of JRP activities across the four districts, including interface with communities, partners, and local authorities.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Job Description JD -TOR Program Officer_ JRP Field Coordination PDF.pdf

To qualify as a/an [champion or advocate] for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements

• • 1. 1. Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in Social Science, International Business Relations, International Studies, community development and any other related fields.
       2. Work Experience: At least 2 years of relevant work experience in Emergency, Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Partnerships, Program Coordination, Resilience Programming, Humanitarian Program Management, Climate Change Adaptation, Monitoring and Evaluation, Grants Management, Community Development, Partnership Management, Livelihoods, Water Sanitation and Hygiene. and any other related fields.
       3. Skills: Partner Relations, Grant Administration, Data Analytics, Budget Management, Climate Resilience.
       4. Language Requirements: English - Proficient/Fluent

Desirables

1. 1. Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
   2. KfW grant experience, conflict sensitivity, government relations, community engagement, aid diversion risk management
   3. Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

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

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. For this position, eligible and suitable Female are encouraged to apply.

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.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

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.