Job Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for the scaling up of UNICEF's PF4C work in the WCAR region in line with the strategic direction of the regional Social Policy programme. Provide technical support, quality assurance and oversight to assure high quality in all aspects of PF4C programme activities conducted by Country Offices and the Regional Office. This includes the provision of guidance to COs on the development of budget briefs, engagement on budget transparency, assessing and improving the impact of spending, strengthening budget processes, addressing national financing challenges, and increasing investments in child-focused services, as required. Support and set standards for Country Office and Regional Office sector teams to regularly keep track of budget information with regards to sector budget allocations, sector spending levels, and financing needs.
• Provide specialized technical expertise to national partners in the area of PFM, with a focus on strengthening PFM systems for the monitoring of allocation and expenditures in key sectors for children (education, health, HIV, nutrition, child protection, social inclusion, and WASH).
• Support country programme development, monitoring and evaluation in the area of PF4C. Develop an initiative to support Country Offices, where relevant, with PF4C capacity development and curriculum strengthening programmes for national counterparts.
• Support sectors costing their plans and developing investment cases.
• Knowledge generation and management
• Serve as regional focal point of technical expertise for PF4C. Monitor developments in technical areas, as well as political and social developments, at the national and regional levels. Contribute to the regional Social Policy knowledge management function by analysing and disseminating available national budget data, information systems, and trends to evaluate cost and impact on SDGs, capturing determinants of the trends and their implications for country programming. Monitor the access of countries in the region to international financing facilities, and trends in financing for development.
• Synthesize best practices in PF4C from ongoing programmes/projects and disseminate among Country Offices and partners in the region and, where relevant, through facilitation of exchange visits, study tours, workshops, and training. Document investment cases for leveraging resources for PF4C. Compile evidence on the investments of countries in the region in key sectors for children and develop relevant knowledge products for advocacy use by the Regional Office.
• Create alliances with research institutions, development partners, and civil society organisations on evidence generation and knowledge management regarding Public Finance for Children.
• Monitor the macroeconomic outlook, as well as demographic and poverty trends for the region.
• Capacity Building
• Provide technical inputs for capacity development efforts of UNICEF staff in country offices, across all programme sections. Provide technical guidance on the design, content and delivery of staff training courses or workshops on PF4C.
• Develop initiatives to promote the engagement of Country Office and Regional Office senior management in national and regional PF4C initiatives, including on budget advocacy and on collaboration with International Financial Institutions.
• Communication, Networking and Partnership
• Enhance UNICEF’s regional technical leadership role by forging internal and external partnerships in the development of programme interventions, through representation in regional fora with partners and stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain collaboration with the Communication and C4D Advisors to develop innovative strategies for increasing social accountability and demand of citizens across the region for greater investments in children.
• Build strategic alliances with various international and regional partners, national associations, entrepreneurs, academics, religious organizations, and NGOs active in PFM/PF4C. Contribute to a better integration of donors into consultative processes and networking. Expand strategic engagement and partnerships with UN Agencies and International Financial Institutions.