Programme Officer (HACT & RISK)

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

The fundamental mission of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. UNICEF has adopted the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT) as an approach for obtaining assurance that results have been achieved in line with resource utilization. It aims at managing risk related to cash transfers made to implementing partners in support of programme implementation, reducing partner transaction costs and allowing progressive use of national systems for management and accountability of results and resources.

Purpose for the job: The Programme Officer (HACT) reports to the Implementing Partnership and Risk Management for close guidance and supervision. This position is an entry professional level and should therefore be normally used as a trainee level for acquiring organizational knowledge of rules, regulations and processes to supplement academic and theoretical knowledge of the profession for upward mobility to higher responsibilities.
The Programme Officer (HACT) provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programme cycle through the application of theoretical and technical skills in researching, collecting, analysing and presenting technical information to facilitate the integration of Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT) plans in all programming activities and to ensure the application of HACT and related organizational rules, regulations and procedures in the country office (CO).

In addition to duty station specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Under the direct supervision of the Implementing Partnership and Risk Management Officer, the national United Nations Volunteer will perform the following tasks:

1. Support to Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT) planning during the programming process
2. Support implementation of HACT activities
3. Review and use of HACT reports
4. Networking and inter-agency partnership
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to HACT planning during the programming process
 Participate in discussions, collection, analysis, verification, and synthesis of HACT-related information/documentation to gain good knowledge of HACT and programme planning and implementation.
 Participate in the preparation of HACT-related materials/documentation to ensure incorporation of HACT in the country programming process.

2. Support to implementation of HACT activities
 Serve as the reference person on HACT implementation in the office.
 Participate in and assist with the preparation and regular updating of country office (CO) micro-assessment and assurance plans.
 Together with qualified and experienced CO colleagues, undertake spot checks of implementing partners to gain knowledge and experience.
 Provide technical and administrative support to external service providers in the execution of HACT activities to ensure timely and efficient delivery of results.
 Assist with maintenance of records of relevant HACT-related documentation, including CO decisions related to HACT.

3. Review and use of HACT reports
 Assist with recording and update of risk ratings of implementing partners in VISION through regular review of the Vendor Master and provision of information to relevant colleagues in the CO.
 Share with implementing partners and CO staff HACT related reports, especially reports of assurance activities, to ensure adequate awareness and follow-up of identified issues.
 Participate in the review of micro-assessment reports of implementing partners to identify common weaknesses in financial and procurement management and propose capacity development actions that can be supported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Participate in the review of assurance activity reports of implementing partners to identify issues that need follow-up and common weaknesses in financial and procurement management and propose capacity development actions that can be supported by UNICEF.

4. Networking and inter-agency partnership
 Exchange information and/or 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 and build their capacity for implementing HACT.
 Participate in appropriate inter-agency meetings/events to facilitate and promote sharing of information, knowledge, experiences, and best practices.
Interact regularly with other country offices and the regional office on HACT.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
• Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned from HACT and its implementation for integration into broader knowledge development planning, and management efforts.
• Participate in the design, planning and implementation of capacity development strategies/initiatives for implementing partners which can be supported by UNICEF through participation in review of reports of micro-assessments and assurance activities of significant and high-risk partners.
• Participate in the design and implementation of capacity development strategies/initiatives for CO staff to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to fulfill their responsibilities related to HACT.

The effective support provided by the Programme Officer (HACT) to the careful planning and effective implementation of the HACT activities directly impacts on programme execution, delivery of sustainable results, and promote national ownership and accountability for programme resources.