Child Poverty Technical Advisor

The Opportunity – Child Poverty Technical Advisor

Post location: Country Office role, duty station can be based in either Gaza, Ramallah, or Amman.

Contract Duration and Level of Effort: 1 year

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Child Poverty Technical Advisor will use their in-depth contextual understanding, technical expertise, and relationship building skills to define and deliver our strategic ambition for Cash & Market-based Programming in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

The role will lead strategy development and the technical design and implementation of high-quality programmes that deliver change for children in both emergency and development programming.

The role supports national advocacy and influencing, while driving strategic partnerships for new business development. It supports the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems to demonstrate impact, while sharing learning across our programmes, teams and partners. The role will work closely with operations colleagues and with partners in oPt, building their capacity; and building ownership and agency of local organisations.

This role includes a focus on external representation on priority issues including Cash and market-based assistance, livelihoods, and shock-responsive social protection to ensure linkages between SCI humanitarian cash & voucher assistance and government-led social protection systems.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Programme Development and Quality Director or Head of Technical Unit.

Staff reporting to this post: no direct reports but expected to provide coaching and mentoring support to operational and other technical colleagues and local partners.

Budget Responsibilities: None

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Technical Leadership:

• Provide technical leadership for Cash & Market-based Programming and Livelihoods Programming for the Country Office, and set the strategic approach in relation to the wider country strategy
• Build capacity of national staff and partners in key technical approaches related to Cash & Market-based Programming and Livelihoods Programming across all child outcomes.

Ensuring Programme Quality (Design & Implementation):

• Work closely with new business development colleagues to identify and pursue funding opportunities; engage with technical partners, donors and colleagues across Save the Children
• Lead the technical scoping, planning, and design and proposal writing during new programme development, and ensure that we design and deliver high quality, holistic gender-transformative and gender-equality focused programmes, building on global best practice. Ensure that broader intersecting social justice, disability and resilience considerations are reflected in our programme design and implementation.
• Lead CVA and Livelihoods Situational assessments and Response analysis processes to design appropriate CVA and Livelihoods programming.
• Work with Child Rights Governance colleagues to ensure that a rights based approach is reflected in our programme design and implementation (in line with our child rights programming approach), with a strong focus on child participation
• Promote a Systems Strengthening approach as the overarching framework, that supports working in collaboration and partnership with governments, local partners and working towards impact, scale and sustainability.
• Provide oversight and guidance to the programme implementation teams to ensure that thematic programme components are technically sound, implementation methods are consistent with national and global strategies, acknowledged good practice (e.g. Save the Children Common Approaches); and are likely to achieve scale, as well as equitable and sustainable results.
• Promote and monitor integrated programming in a way that increases overall impact of Cash & Market-based as well as Livelihoods programmes at the community level, including leading and/or supporting the development of Cash plus approaches for Nutrition, Child Protection and Educational outcomes.
• Work with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) teams to carry out gender and power analysis, and conduct quality monitoring against international standards through participatory methodologies that promote gender equality and social justice (including child-friendly and gender sensitive/transformative methodologies);.
• Contribute towards the creation of an organisational learning culture that promotes the use of disaggregated data, evidence and analysis (including gender and power analysis) and understands its link to quality and accountable programming; Contribute to strengthening the use of equality-focused programme principles and good practice across themes and sectors.
• Undertake field visits to project sites; work with implementation teams to understand impacts, operational challenges, and continuously identify opportunities for learning and improvement.
• Contribute to organisational learning on Cash & Market-based Programming when applied to and integrated with WASH, Nutrition, Health, Education, Child Protection and Livelihoods interventions, ensuring that learning from our programmes is shared across the Country Office, our partners, and the national/subnational Cash Working Group, as well as with colleagues in the wider regional and global Cash & Market community in Save the Children.
• Participate in the development of emergency preparedness plans, in CVA and market-specific assessments (including gender analysis and disability situation analysis, using SC assessment processes and tools), as well as in the design and delivery of emergency response and recovery strategies. Ensure synergies across thematic and functional teams, data and programme design.
• Monitor trends in order to ensure early action; and lead technical design and implementation and technical coordination of humanitarian responses.

Networking & External Engagement:

• In alignment with Country Office strategy and leadership, engage in strategic positioning with donors, partners and government in-country, and ensure that Save the Children is a partner of choice in Cash & Market-based and Livelihoods Programming
• Represent and ensure that Save the Children is influencing and learning from others through national technical coordination and networking bodies such as clusters and the national and sub-national Cash Working Groups.
• Strengthen civil society engagement in national dialogues and policy processes through working closely with advocacy and child rights governance colleagues. Ensure that the diverse voices of children, girls and boys are equitably heard and represented across thematic advocacy work.
• Represent the program to National and Local government representatives, donors, partner agencies, etc. as required.
• Ensure the quality, clarity and consistency of technical components of internal and external reports (e.g. programme reports, sit-reps, internal updates), working closely with awards, programme implementation and communications colleagues as needed.
• Leverage and liaise with technical colleagues from across Save the Children, including technical working groups and centres of excellence, ensuring that learning from the Country Office is shared with others and global lessons brought back.

In order to be successful you will bring/have:

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in economics, international development, public administration, agriculture and food security, or equivalent experience.
• Certified CaLP trainer (preferable).

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• At least 5 years’ experience of working in the Humanitarian and Development sector and at least 5 years’ experience specifically on Cash & Voucher Assistance for a broad range of institutional donors and sectors.
• Relevant experience in Food Security and Livelihoods.
• Previous humanitarian response experience.
• Understanding of Cash & Voucher Assistance (CVA) in oPt.
• Experience with various cash and voucher modalities, including digital, mobile, card, paper voucher, and cash in envelopes.
• Management experience of operational aspects of cash and voucher interventions.
• Experience in the introduction of internal controls systems to support cash and vouchers delivery in the areas of financial management, logistics, security and programme delivery.
• Demonstrable understanding of M&E, beneficiary accountability, and learning – Knowledge of SC MPCA MEAL Toolkit is a plus.
• Experience in the application of methodologies to calculate cash/voucher amounts for sectoral outcomes (e.g. cost of the diet, HEA) as well as for multi-purpose cash transfers; experience in conducting feasibility and risk analysis for CVA.
• Familiar with Sphere Standards (Handbook released in 2018).
• Track record in successful business development/fundraising, especially with ECHO, FCDO, and USAID/ DoS for CVA programming.
• Demonstrated program design, monitoring and evaluation skills, including designing pathways to sustainable impact at scale.
• Experience of strategy development and planning in humanitarian context.
• Skilled at networking, representation and partnership development in order promote learning, strengthen civil society and mobilise resources.
• Able to generate and use data and evidence to innovate, deliver, learn and share what works and what doesn’t work for children and in cash and market-based programming.
• Investigates and analyses gender inequalities and discrimination and their potential influence on a cash and social protection intervention.
• Experience of promoting quality and impact through at least one cross-cutting area: gender equality and inclusion, adaptive and safer programming; child rights; disability; migration and displacement.
• Experience of supporting humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery.
• Significant experience in training, capacity building, and mentoring.
• Fluent in English and high level of English writing skills.
• Competency in Arabic is highly desirable.

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector. This role is offered on the basis of national terms and conditions.

Save the Children promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment, women and people with different abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Organisation

Save the Children works in development and humanitarian contexts with children and partners to help families, communities, and governments identify and use innovations to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers/apply

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.