Social Policy Specialist, (P-3), TA, (6 months), #00138643, Kampala - Uganda_ESAR

UNICEF Uganda is recruiting a Social Policy Specialist (P-3 TA) to support national efforts to reduce child poverty, strengthen social protection systems, improve public financing for children, and enhance the use of evidence in policymaking. The role will provide technical leadership for major national surveys, including MICS and Violence Against Children Survey initiatives, while supporting partnerships with government, development partners, research institutions, and civil society. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced development professional to contribute to high-impact policy, data, and programme initiatives that improve outcomes for children across Uganda. UNICEFworks in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling. UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package. Visitour websiteto learn more about what we do at UNICEF. For every child,the right to an advocate How can you make a difference? You will make a difference by strengthening the generation, analysis, and use of evidence to inform policies and programmes that improve outcomes for children. Through effective coordination and quality assurance of the MICS and Violence Against Children (VAC) Surveys, you will ensure that critical data on child poverty, deprivation, and protection is transformed into actionable insights for advocacy, policy dialogue, and programme planning. You will also enhance the integration of beneficiary data management with social protection and cash-plus programmes, improving targeting, monitoring, accountability, and learning. By fostering strong partnerships and delivering high-quality evidence products, you will contribute to more informed decision-making and greater impact for vulnerable children and families. Under the general guidance of the Chief of Social Policy, the incumbent is responsible for providing technical support to the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all stages of social policy programing and related advocacy from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of concrete and sustainable results. This includes programmes aimed at improving (a) public policies to reduce child poverty; (b) social protection coverage and impact on children; (c) the transparency, adequacy, equity and efficiency of child-focused public investments and financial management; and (d) governance, decentralization and accountability measures to increase public participation and the quality, equity and coverage of social services. This encompasses both direct programme work with government and civil society partners as well as linkages and support to teams working on education, health, child protection, water and sanitation, and HIV. Summary of key functions/accountabilities: 1. Improving data on child poverty & vulnerability for increased use for policy and programme action 2. Strengthening social protection coverage and impact for children 3. Improving use of public financial resources for children 4. Strengthening capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult on and monitor child-focused social services. 5. Strengthening advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy 6. UNICEF Programme Management If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:JD_Social Policy Specialist_P-3_TA.pdf To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… Minimum requirements - Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Economics, Econometrics, Statistics, Data Science, Operational Research, Public Policy and any other related fields. - Work Experience: At least 5 years of relevant work experience in Social Policy, Child Poverty, Public Finance, Survey Research, Data Analysis, Policy Analysis and any other related fields. Experience working in a developing country is considered as a strong asset. - Skills: Social policy programming, Research and data analysis, Child Poverty Analysis, Public finance, Budget analysis, Partnership management. - Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Desirables - Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. - Experience in developing countries, emergency response, policy advocacy, MICS surveys, child poverty surveys, and violence against children surveys is considered an asset. - Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 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… (1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others Familiarize yourself withour competency frameworkand its different levels. UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status. UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpageAccessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance. UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of serious misconduct.UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.Appointment, se