Deputy Head of Office vacancy ukjobs

Job title:Deputy Head of Office
Location: Pristina, Kosovo
Posts: 1
Purpose of the Position

• Under the general supervision of the Representative:

•     provides strategic direction and coordination of effective engagement in social policy dialogue with Government, parliament, civil society, private sector and other partners, advocating for increased public resources towards child related policies and programmes and improved child rights realisation in the country.

•     Coordinates the office knowledge generation and dissemination strategy.
•     Ensures that equity and a gender equality perspective is mainstreamed in all aspects of substantive work across the country programme.
•     accountable for programme coordination and managerial guidance for all stages of programme formulation, planning, design and implementation of the country programme focused on achievement of UNICEF organisational priorities in a middle income country, consistent with the organization's mission, goals, strategies, and priorities.
•     provides guidance on knowledge management and guidance for the formulation, planning, design, and implementation of the integrated monitoring, evaluation and research plan of the country programme, in collaboration with the sectoral programme chiefs and the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer.
•     facilitates policy dialogue with government and other partners on strategic priorities for social development and inclusion, advocates for adequate and effective social budgets that benefit children, and provides guidance in the formulation, design, and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national programmes contributing to sustainable decentralization of social services and local capacity building, in collaboration with the sectoral programme chiefs. 
• Key Expected Results

1. Rights-Based and Results-Based management approach

•     Supports institutions of Kosovo at all levels, parliament and civil society with expertise and partnerships and builds their capacity for developing policy, implementation and monitoring systems for child rights that are sustainable.

•     Adopts a rights-based programmes approach in the formulation of programme goals and objectives, and in the development of strategies and implementation frameworks.
•     Ensures the programming planning and design processes are built on a foundation of human rights, and bring coherence, synergy and added value to the national priorities; uses a results-based management approach to programme planning and design that contains a focus on equity and gender equality as well as strategies for systematically mainstreaming gender.
•     Prepares and submits viable recommendations for the implementation of demonstration project/models , alternative approaches, and optimal utilization of resources that contribute effectively to the realisation of the rights of children and women, and recommendations on programme new initiatives and management issues to ensure achievement of stated objectives.

2. Knowledge management and policy coordination

•     Ensures that UNICEF provides relevant support to national partners so that useful valid, disaggregated and reliable information on the situation of children's and women's rights and reduction of equity gaps are available and used to inform national policies and programmes.
•     Leads UNICEF's efforts in periodic and on-going situation analyses, identifying knowledge gaps and establishing partnerships to generate cutting edge equity-focused evidence data and analysis and links them to UNICEF's advocacy, partnership and expertise.
•     Evaluates and documents policy models that are in line with international standards and can be shared beyond borders.
•     Ensures that the country programme supports national reforms for children with sound knowledge management approaches, sharing and exchange of good practices.
•     Participates in the Programme Knowledge Network system of 'lessons learned' and other agency-wide information exchanges.
•     Ensures that a strategic plan of monitoring, evaluation and research, including performance monitoring of UNICEF supported national programmes, is developed jointly by the Country Office and national partners, and collaboration with the Regional Office.
•     Ensures with national partners that UNICEF-supported evaluations are strategically selected (in consultation with the Representative) and conducted in accordance with UN quality norms and standards.
•     Joint evaluations or country-led evaluations of national sector reform programmes as well as impact evaluations of pilots should be prioritized whenever possible. Ensures that evaluations conclusions and recommendations are discussed with all stakeholders, management response prepared and follow-up actions implemented.
•     Ensures that evaluation results are systematically used to inform national programmes and relevant UNICEF support.

3. Policy and programmes development and dialogue

•     Coordinates engagement of other senior programme staff with government and civil society counterparts, providing strategic leadership on policy direction, streamlining and coordination of major strategies and polices in line with UNICEF policies and MTSP priorities.
•     Engages in and establishes constructive dialogue and partnerships between international and local stakeholders to support the development of policies and programmes contributing to the progressive realization of children's rights.
•     Supports various partners by bringing top-level expertise, and advocates for reforms in the social sector, ensuring integrated cross-sectoral strategies and approaches.
•     Coordinates support to child rights-based reviews, normative frameworks and budgets.
•     Collaborates with the central and local authorities, and supports efforts of programme staff, to strengthen public, private sectors and civil society's efforts in supporting community-based capacities on planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring of social policies and programmes.
•     Supports the strengthening of coordination between sectors and among different levels of government structures for policy implementation.

4. Programme development and management

•     Provides overall guidance and direction for programme planning, implementation through on-going consultations and inter-sectoral coordination of activities. Formulates programme goals and objectives and develops strategies and implementation frameworks, including sound monitoring indicators.
•     Coordinates preparation of the Country Programme Documents, and related documentation.
•     Coordinates major programme evaluation exercises, annual/sector review meetings with government counterparts, prepares RWPs and annual programme status reports.
•     Follows up, coordinating the implementation of the programme recommendation to ensure goals/objectives are met. Identifies critical cross-sectorial and sectorial interventions by administering a consistent and transparent management and monitoring system; analyses country level socio-political-economic trends and their implications for on-going programme and interventions.
•     Monitors compliance and provides training, support and guidance to the programme team in order to meet objectives.
•     Prepares programme recommendations for inclusion in formal programme documentation,
•     Prepares relevant programme reports required for management.
•     Plans and monitors the overall allocation and disbursement of programme funds, making sure that funds are properly used.
•     Takes appropriate actions to optimize use of programme funds.
•     Ensures programme efficiency and delivery through a rigorous and transparent approach to programme planning, monitoring and evaluation.
•     Ensures that the application of gender mainstreaming is integral to all work processes.
•     Organises annual programme review and planning meetings with government counterparts.
•     Ensures the timely preparation of annual programme reports.

5. Partnership, coordination and collaboration

•     Promotes the inclusion of children's issues and the requirements of relevant duty-bearers to meet their obligations in the realisation of children's rights in budgetary decisions, in poverty reduction strategies, in inter-sectorial approaches and programmes.
•     Collaborates with the communication team in developing strategies for communication for social change and social mobilization.
•     Promotes partnership and collaboration with internal and external counterparts, including the UN and national partners, in order to improve their ability to collect and disseminate child-related data and knowledge on good practices and lessons learned and exchanges information on programme implementation, with focus on excluded and marginalised children.
•     Develops and maintains strategic and coordinated partnerships and collaboration with various stakeholders, including national and local governments, civil society, the corporate sector, the media and international partners to support the development and implementation of the country programme and on-going reforms for social inclusion in the country.
•     Ensures guidance and coordination in provision of expertise, negotiation, advocacy and promotion of country and regional level goals.
•     Strengthens the role of UNICEF as the key convenor on child rights.
•     Maintains close collaboration with Regional Advisers and other appropriate UNICEF staff for effective overall guidance and coordination of programmes.
•     Liaise with other country offices to identify opportunities for mutual learning, exchange and cooperation for children.

6. Optimum use of programme resources:

•     Oversees programme work plans and monitors progress and compliance.

•     Approves and monitors the overall allocation and disbursement of programme resources, making sure that funds are available by appropriate and effective fundraising, properly coordinated, monitored and liquidated, and staff resources are optimally used and managed.
•     Takes appropriate actions to optimize use of programme funds.
•     Ensures programme efficiency and delivery through a rigorous and transparent approach to programme planning, monitoring and evaluation.
•     Assesses country programme effectiveness in achieving thematic/cross-cutting and sectoral goals.
•     Supervises staff responsible for tracking programme financial inputs and outputs.
•     Provides guidance to the programme staff and sets priorities as needed.
•     Ensures the accurate and timely input of programme information in VISION and issuance of status reports for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

7. Acts on behalf of the Head of Office during his/her absence
 Represents UNICEF in meetings with high-level and senior government officials as well as multi-lateral, bi-lateral agencies and NGOs to conduct programme advocacy and negotiations, identify strategic alliances and influence policy development to facilitate achievement of programme goals and objectives.
   Participates in international/national meetings and workshops. 
Qualifications of Successful Candidate

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Social Development, Development Planning, or other relevant disciplines.
•     At least ten years responsible relevant experience in human-rights based area of public sector social policy and development and programme management, including UN system field experience in strategic programme management in an international development context.
•     Experience in programme development, monitoring and implementation preferably in a middle income country with significant ethnic or geographic disparities -as well as, as is experience in post-conflict programming and development of upstream programme strategies that lead to documented progressive realization of the rights of children in the short and medium term.
•     Kosovo is a complex political and programming environment, and the successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in networking with various stakeholders all veying for political space in the context of Kosovo.
•     The successful candidate will be dynamic, capable of managing multiple stakeholders to programme for results for children.
•     Similarly, the successful candidate will have demonstrated team building skills, to guide the programme team in UNICEF as the Kosovo programme undergoes a restructuring to sharpen UNICEF value-added for the children of Kosovo.
•     Fluency in English and another UN language 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

Closing Date: Monday, 03 June 2013
How to apply: visit  http://unjobs.org/vacancies/1368514876979