Planning Specialist (P-4), FT # 00117171, Programme Group Leadership Team, New York HQ

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

UNICEF Program Group is currently undergoing organizational changes; therefore, the exact location of the post has yet to be determined. Selected candidates may be required to commence duties remotely until the location is confirmed. If reassigned or relocated to New York, candidates may be expected to relocate to a new location again during the initial contract or assignment period. When working remotely, candidate will be expecting to fulfill their functions during NYHQ core working hours (10AM-4PM) unless agreed otherwise by Hiring Office.

The Programme Group (PG) provides global programme leadership to achieve results for the most disadvantaged and excluded children everywhere within the overall framework of the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and in response to the universal scope of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PG leads UNICEF’s global programmatic vision to provide countries with technical assistance to boost programme excellence, as well as support to leverage evidence, partnerships, and innovations that can be adapted and taken to scale in different country contexts – including humanitarian settings and low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Within the PG, the Programme Group Leadership Team (PGLT), led by the Director, Programmes, promotes intersectorality across UNICEF’s normative mandates (gender, human rights, disabilities) and life course priorities (including the focus on early childhood and adolescence). PGLT fosters and champions special programming areas, such as humanitarian action and programming in high-income countries; changes in strategies, such as systems strengthening; emerging programme priorities, such as mental health; as well as advocacy as a programme strategy.

For every child, a hope….

You will be responsible for preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical tasks to contribute to planning, monitoring, implementation and reporting to ensure effectiveness and to contribute to results. You will be also responsible for supporting Knowledge Manage and Evaluation within the Program Group Leadership Team.

How can you make a difference?

Programme performance planning, results monitoring and reporting are done with due quality, including:

• Provide technical support to teams in the PGLT to effectively plan, monitor and report on programme results.
• Coordination, compilation and quality assurance of workplans including assessing resource allocation against programme priorities.
• Establish monitoring and reporting protocols for the six PGLT teams (Social and Behaviour Change; Business Engagement for Results; Conflict Prevention, Fragility, and Peacebuilding; Disabilities; Gender; and Human Rights. In addition, support will be provided to special programming areas, notably Mental Health).
• Provide quality assurance review to end year results reporting and annual work planning processes with emphasis on qualitative aspects, analysis of bottleneck and opportunities and identification of trends.
• Related to the Strategic Plan, establish and support the monitoring and analysis of SP indicators.  This includes the methodology sheets for the SP indicators as pertain to the themes led by PGLT, including detailed methodology on how to calculate indicators. Calculate Baselines and set up milestones and targets to the SP indicators. Decide on data collection methods to be utilized as data source for the SP indicators. Based on current information in the UNICEF’ systems, decide on the set of PIDB codes, and on tags and markers related to the PGLT teams. Propose list of Standard Indicators (or similar).

Facilitate knowledge management, including

• Provides support to the teams in the PGLT on knowledge management and represent the full PGLT in the Programme Cone KM Working Group.
• Facilitates alignment with broader ICT initiatives related to KM such as the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Initiative. Supports the development and management of reliable, innovative electronic platforms and tools to facilitate knowledge management within PGLT.

Support the follow up of evaluations for the PGLT, including:

• Participate in evaluation planning and discussions and support the development and completion of evaluation priorities that facilitate integrated evaluation planning and priority setting.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout the evaluation process by executing/administering a variety of technical, operational and administrative transactions, preparing related materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support evaluation results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and assessing results.
• Provide appropriate technical support to facilitate implementation and/or report to relevant stakeholders to ensure time action to ensure the implementation of evaluation results.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in social sciences, statistics, economics, development, planning or other relevant disciplines is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant progressive professional experience at the national and/or international levels in programme planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting are required.
• Strong planning/organizing skills. Strong communication skills, including presentation is desirable.
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Strong knowledge in UNICEF’ systems (RAM, Vision, Insight (including working with Cubes), PPPX) is desired.
• Strong Results Based Management (RBM) background.
• Relevant experience in program/project monitoring and evaluation in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here and Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page.  If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.