Chief Field Office -Jijiga, Ethiopia (Open for non-Ethiopian nationals only)

Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its people.

Over the past two years, children and their families across Ethiopia faced multiple and complex emergencies, such as the conflict in the northern Ethiopia and the drought, which resulted in millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNICEF has programmes in Child Protection, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Policy, and Education and serves over 15 million children in Ethiopia. Join UNICEF Ethiopia to contribute to improving the lives of children and women.

For every child, an advocate

The Chief Field Office (CFO) oversees the region of Somali which is characterized by several emergencies including drought and cholera resulting in compromised fragile livelihoods of mobile populations that are heavily reliant on livestock, resulting in worsening food security and nutrition while eroding coping strategies for the most vulnerable. With expanded needs across the Somali region including of IDP and refugee populations, UNICEF has significantly increased overall resources and response to the crisis supporting and, in many cases, leading response efforts across our key mandated areas. Through various partners UNICEF is targeting its most vulnerable populations Education, Child Protection, Health, Nutrition and WASH interventions.

With a budget of over 15 million USD, The Somali field office supports several outpost operations outside Jijiga and is the second largest field office for UNICEF in Ethiopia in terms of staff numbers. The CFO would lead the response, inspire the field office team to reach children, and be UNICEF’s voice on the ground in the region.

How can you make a difference?

Programme Development & Monitoring

• Monitoring of the Situation – Develop and maintain a sound knowledge and understanding of the national and regional economic, social and political situation in order to assess impact on the situation of and programmes for children and to identify needs and opportunities.
• Humanitarian Programme Implementation – In collaboration with relevant sections of the Country Office, plan, coordinate and manage the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of UNICEF humanitarian response plan and where possible the wider development programming.
• Technical Assistance – Provide to government and NGO partners technical support on situation analysis, policy, plan/programme/project formulation, project management, monitoring and evaluation.
• Monitoring – Organize and participate in the regular monitoring of UNICEF cooperation in the province through programme/project review, field visits, inspection of supplies, and review of reports, accounts, and outputs.
• Reporting – Lead on SitRep reporting on a weekly basis with support from your team and relevant sections of the Country Office, prepare or contribute to the annual report, donor reports and special reports, covering programme implementation, cash operations, personnel, special problems.
• Emergencies –   Follow up immediately   on all reports of emergency   situations which may have impact on the situation of children and women. Undertake fact- finding, consult with all stakeholders and ensure immediate reporting and information to the main office in Addis Ababa.

Team Leadership and Management

• Team Leadership -Provide inspiring leadership to the regional UNICEF team in terms of UNICEF Mission, guiding principles, policy interpretation, guidance on procedures, developing and maintenance of positive attitudes, constructive team behavior, and positive relations with all partners.
• Management – Through participatory approaches, manage the work of the Regional UNICEF   office and team, ensuring   high standards of accountability and efficiency.

Representation, Advocacy and Communication

• Representation – Represent UNICEF and the rights and needs of children to the regional government, the wider UN, to civil society institutions, to partners and to society.
• Advocacy – Advocate with the regional government, the wider UN, civil society organizations, media and society, attention to the rights and needs of children, as well as specific policies, strategies, plans, projects and practices in support of those rights and needs.
• Communication – Undertake communication activities in support of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF Policy and the UNICEF-supported Humanitarian Programme.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: social sciences, international relations, public administration, government and public relations, public or social policy, sociology, social or community development, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of ten years of professional work experience in programme management, planning, monitoring and evaluation, project administration, social development, another relevant area is required, at national & international levels, at least 5 years of which should be in developing countries.
• Familiarity/background with emergency is required.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• 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)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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:

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and qualified female candidates as well as persons with disabilities are highly encouraged to apply. Please indicate in your application any reasonable accommodations UNICEF can provide in the recruitment process. 

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

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 are also 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.

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