Social Policy Specialist; Social Protection), NOC, Temporary Appointment Abuja Niger

Overview

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.

For every child, a chance.

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children’s rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families. UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally – click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)./

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favouritism.

There is growing evidence that investing in the health, nutrition, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of Nations.

Social protection is increasingly recognized as a fundamental driver of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development In Nigeria. Despite significant policy commitments, effective social protection coverage remains limited, reaching only 14.8% of the population. To address critical gaps and enhance social protection systems in Nigeria, UNICEF is set to accelerate its support to ongoing reforms of social protection sector, specifically by focusing on
1) expanding and strengthening the National Social Register (NSR) to include a greater number of poor and vulnerable populations;
2) building the capacity of government staff and policymakers at national and sub-national levels in social protection systems and delivery;
3) developing a robust policy and legal framework, including the drafting of a national social protection bill for legislative consideration;
4) enhancing the Social Protection Management Information System (SP-MIS) to ensure interoperability across key sectors such as health and education. To ensure key results for children and to strengthen UNICEF technical capacity on social protection, this proposal seeks to recruit a Social Policy Specialist to support the UNICEF Nigeria Social Inclusion section in its implementation of child focused and shock responsive social protection program.

Purpose of the Assignment:

Under the general guidance of Social Policy Manager, the incumbent is responsible for providing technical, coordination and programmatic support to UNICEF Nigeria’s Social Policy Section, with a specific focus on the implementation of the EU-funded Supporting Sustainable and Innovative Social Protection Systems in Nigeria. The Social Policy Specialist will contribute to delivering results on integrated, shock-responsive and child-sensitive social protection systems in Nigeria, in collaboration with Federal and State governments, development partners, and civil society.

Major Responsibilities:

Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent would be assigned the primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results:

Improving data generation on child poverty & vulnerability for increased use for policy and programme action
:

• Supports the collection, analysis and user-friendly…