Program Specialist - HACT, (NOC), For Tanzanian nationals only

Job no: 497927

Work type: Fixed Term Staff
Location: Tanzania,United Republic
Categories: Programme Management

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Position

You will coordinate and manage the programme commitment of a medium size country programme with a broad range of projects, including programme/project formulation, design, planning and management, with the goal of achieving UNICEF's Organizational priorities.

You will ensure that area or country programmes are supported by knowledge management through data collection and analysis and complete, accurate reporting, and will help prepare the Situation Analysis. You will administer a consistent and transparent monitoring system; help analyze country level socio-political-economic trends and their implications for ongoing programmes and projects; and assist in establishing programme work plans. You will also undertake field visits to monitor and assess programme implementation.

Key Function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

• Summary of key functions/accountabilities:
• Ensure Annual HACT Assurance Plan developed and approved
• Ensure HACT assurance activities organized and implemented as planned
• Review and use of HACT reports
• Review PCA documents and ensure PRC meetings conducted
• Programme Planning, Budgeting and Monitoring
• Networking and inter-agency partnership
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1.  Ensure Annual HACT Assurance Plan developed and approved Coordinate and contribute to development, documentation and reporting of HACT assurance plan, facilitate planning and priority setting of HACT activities for Programme sections, Provide technical and operational guidance throughout the process by administering technical, operational and administrative transactions and coordinate preparation of related materials/documentations to ensure the incorporation of HACT into the country programme. Oversee and contribute to the preparation of micro assessment and assurance plans for the office Coordinate preparation of information on shared implementing partners to facilitate joint planning and execution of micro assessments and audits in line with the UNICEF HACT Procedure.

2.  Ensure HACT assurance activities organized and implemented as planned Exercise effective technical leadership in implementation of HACT assurance plan in the office Serve as reference person on HACT implementation in the office. Provide technical support to ensure that the Office has evidence-based information, as per the assurance plan, to assess whether progress reported by partners is in accordance with work plans and that resources provided by UNICEF are safeguarded Provide guidance on execution of HACT activities undertaken by external service providers through scheduling, arranging briefings and related administrative needs to ensure service providers have appropriate and comprehensive information for effective and efficient completion of assignments. Guide and coordinate the spot check process of implementing partners in the office Coordinate and contribute to the preparation of HACT implementation status report in InSight through collation of implementation information from relevant CO colleagues. Contribute to development and monitoring of implementation of CO HACT related SOPs and internal procedures, including for escalation of issues identified through assurance activities.

3.  Review and use of HACT reports Monitor and oversee the recording and updating of risk ratings of implementing partners in VISION through review of the Vendor Master and provision of relevant information to appropriate colleagues in the CO. Provide technical guidance on establishment of a central repository for HACT decisions, documentation and reports to provide timely and current information to facilitate implementation of HACT in the CO. Coordinate and oversee the review assessments and programme assurance reports to identify areas of weaknesses related to the implementation of HACT and keep supervisor/partners informed of findings for timely action and/or intervention. Contribute to quarterly reporting of HACT assurance activities to Regional office Advise senior management when special audits may be required

4.  Review PCA documents and Ensure PRC meetings conducted Act as PRC secretariat and ensure PRC/PCA meeting are organized as scheduled Play oversight role in risk assessing PCAs from a HACT perspective Ensure that CSO partnership administration is in conformity with UNICEF policy and procedures Oversee the timely distribution of relevant documentation to PRC members Contribute to documenting Part 3 (PRC Review and Recommendation) of the PRC Submission, Review and Approval form(Annex G) and ensure and correctness and completeness is accordingly made Ensuring electronic versions of PCAs, [SSFAs if applicable], Programme documents, PCA amendments submitted to PRC are maintained in a shared drive that is accessible to all staff involved with programme management

5.  Programme Planning, Budgeting and Monitoring Work closely with the Monitoring Specialist on programme implementation issues Support the coordination of programme visits, planning, implementation and reporting of HACT activities including inputting the reports in the systems (eHACT, eTools). Undertakes field visits to monitor and assess programme implementation and decides on required corrective action. Ensure UNICEF support is harmonized with GoT systems i.e. annual MTEF Projections and commitments timely consolidated, shared with Ministry of Finance and IPs; ensure UNICEF Projections and commitments are timely entered in the GoT Aid Management Platform (AMP) system Ensure financial flows/disbursement to Partners including DCTs are effected on timely manner Provide technical support in monitoring DCT management for the office. Communicate and follow with relevant Programme sections to ensure timely liquidation of DCTs

6.  Networking, Partnership and inter-agency collaboration Provide technical information and operational support to implementing partners, UN system partners and other stakeholders in the CO on the implementation of HACT to reinforce UN/CO harmonization and coordination. Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of HACT information and knowledge to facilitate/build their capacity for implementing HACT. Participate in appropriate inter-agency meetings/events to facilitate and promote sharing of information, knowledge, experiences and best practice and enhance coordination of activities in line with the UNICEF HACT Procedure. Interact regularly with other country offices and the Regional Office on HACT issues. Collaborate with the Operations Section to establish and maintain sound internal controls supportive of programming endeavors and to coordinate financial and supply management requirements and accountability

7.  Knowledge management and capacity building Identify, synthesize and share lessons learned from HACT and its implementation for integration into broader knowledge development planning and management efforts. ·  Identify, synthesize and share lessons learned and best practice in the implementation of HACT Contribute to design and implementation of capacity development strategy/initiatives for implementing partners which can be supported by UNICEF through identification of common weaknesses in financial and procurement management from review of micro assessment and assurance activity reports of high and significant risk partners. Contribute to design and implementation of capacity development strategy/initiatives for CO staff to ensure that staff has knowledge and skills to fulfill their responsibilities under HACT. Provide government authorities with technical supports and guidance to plan and organize training programmes for the purpose of capacity building and programme sustainability Ensure the building or reinforcing of the commitment and institutional capacities of the national and local partners starting with taking a strategic approach to the identification of these partners and partnerships 8. Impact of Results The effective support provided by the Programme Specialist (HACT) L3 to the careful planning and effective implementation of the HACT activities directly impacts on programme execution and delivery of sustainable results and promote national ownership and accountability for programme resources.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate 

• A Master's Degree in Development Studies, International Development, Programme/Project Management, Business Administration, Financial Management, Economics, and Auditing or other relevant field is required
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in programme/project development and management or financial planning, management and oversight or related field at the international and/or in a developing country is required. Relevant experience in program/project financial monitoring and evaluation in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Background/familiarity with emergency situations
• Fluency in English and local working language of the duty

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core competencies

•  Communication (II)
• Working with people (II)
• Drive for results (II)

Core Values

• Commitment
• Diversity and inclusion
• Integrity

Functional Competencies:

•  Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
• Analyzing (II)
• Applying technical expertise (II)
• Learning and researching (II)
• Planning and organizing (II)

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

Advertised: 20 Jul 2016 E. Africa Standard Time
Applications close: 10 Aug 2016 E. Africa Standard Time
 Click here to Apply now
Source: jobs.unicef.org