Planning and Monitoring Manager – HPM (P-4), #ECA24004, FT, Geneva – Switzerland, ECARO

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, hope

In ongoing humanitarian situations, robust performance monitoring is a core accountability and is essential to support effective response. To ensure effective monitoring of the programme actions is in place, the UNICEF ECA Regional Office seeks support from an experienced professional in planning, monitoring, and evaluation who would provide expertise in humanitarian performance monitoring and support the ECARO Programme Planning and Data team.

Within the framework of regional Humanitarian Action for Children, the primary purpose of the assignment is to ensure support to the ECA Regional Office in setting up and implementing a mechanism for information gathering and processing, management of humanitarian information management tools, procedures and systems, and facilitating effective HPM reporting. The incumbent will support the Regional Office in maintaining a functional HPM system that meets the monitoring and reporting requirements, working closely with the Refugee Response Teams, the RO Emergency section, the Programme sections, and the Programme Planning and Data section.

The position, strategically embedded within the Programme Planning and Data team, is pivotal in fostering the synergy between development and humanitarian planning and monitoring. This arrangement contributes to integrating these two critical areas, bolsters data preparedness, and fosters collaboration across various sections in the different stages of the humanitarian life cycle.

How can you make a difference?

• Oversight of planning and results reporting at the regional level: The incumbent will ensure adequate guidance for planning, monitoring, and reporting on ongoing regional humanitarian responses. This includes working with sectoral teams, coordinating data validation exercises, defining regional SoPs for humanitarian planning, and continuing quality assurance and guidance.
• Regional HPM coordination: The incumbent will ensure coordination and collaboration on humanitarian data initiatives at the regional level. This includes continuing the RO HPM data working coordination, the HPM regional network, and interagency coordination with UNHCR and other partners.
• Support the Emergency team in developing evidence-based preparedness and response plans: The incumbent will work closely with the Emergency team to ensure adequate preparedness and response planning at the CO and regional levels.
• Multi-country support: In close collaboration with the emergency team and under the guidance of the regional chief of programme and planning, the incumbent will provide remote and face-to-face technical support to ensure HPM and data preparedness at the country and regional level. This includes providing surge support in the initial phase of a crisis, building regional assets such as LTAs and Rosters for HPM/IM/M&E capacity, templates, tools, and SoPs to be socialised in the region easily deployed by COs in case of need.
• Capacity Building: Lead initiatives to build HPM-related capacity in the region, focusing on humanitarian planning, monitoring, reporting, and knowledge management. This includes participating in sub-regional Emergency Preparedness and Response training to socialise the regional results framework and planning templates, ensuring new humanitarian responses build on previous learning and link to regular programs.
• Interregional Collaboration on HPM Adaptation: Address HPM-related audit and evaluation recommendations by documenting the HPM work in the region, identifying potential solutions to make the HPM package more suitable for the ECA Region, and producing evidence to influence policy change. Foster collaboration with other regions facing similar issues and with a high representation of HICs and MICs. Contribute to documenting and implementing the nexus approach to ensure continuity between development and humanitarian programming, aligning with the regional approach to planning and results.

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

• An Advanced University Degree in social sciences, statistics, planning development, or other related fields is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible work experience in Programme Development and implementation, Monitoring and evaluation, Information Management, Humanitarian Performance Monitoring, and Reporting is required.
• Prior hands-on experience in emergency programming, including preparedness planning and active involvement in a humanitarian crisis.
• Knowledge of the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action framework.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Excel (pivot tables and functions) is required.
• Proven technical expertise for managing data capture and storage, analyzing diverse datasets, and presenting information in understandable visualisations and reports is required.
• Experience in a client-orientation and key coordination role with strong analytical, interpersonal and communication skills is required.
• Experience working in developing countries under emergency crisis for UNICEF/UN or NGO organizations is a significant advantage.
• Good understanding of the disaster risk reduction, humanitarian action, and development context in ECAR region is an asset.
• Ability to work independently and in constant communication across multiple teams and partners as well as emergency focal points in the region is required.
• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and deliver under pressure is a requisite.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in a diverse organization, tailoring language, tone, style, and format to match audience.
• Ability and willingness to travel to emergency countries if necessary.
• Proficiency in English, written and verbal, is required. Working 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, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS). The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)

Works Collaboratively with others (2)

Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)

Innovates and Embraces Change (2)

Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)

Drive to achieve impactful results (2)

Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Nurtures, leads and manages people (2)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. 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.

Remarks

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.