Deputy Representative Programmes

Deputy Representative Programmes

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Contract type

• Fixed Term Appointment

Locations

Middle East and North Africa Region

• Sudan

Functional Area

Management

• Senior Leadership Vacancies

Position level

• D-1

Re-Advertisement: SSRRE 2027- 2028 - Deputy Representative Programmes, D-1, Sudan

Apply now Job no: 596484

Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment

Duty Station: Port Sudan

Level: D-1

Location: Sudan

Categories: Senior Leadership Vacancies

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfil their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up.

For every child, dedication.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in Programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action.

How can you make a difference?

Sudan is currently operating in a large-scale L3 emergency context following the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, which triggered widespread displacement and a sharp escalation in grave violations against children. The operating environment remains highly volatile, particularly across Darfur and Kordofan, requiring a response that simultaneously delivers life-saving humanitarian assistance while sustaining systems across the humanitarian–development–peace nexus.

UNICEF’s programme response is centered on child protection priorities, including mental health and psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention and response, support to unaccompanied and separated children, and explosive ordnance risk education, underpinned by the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on grave violations.

Within this context, the Deputy Representative Programmes plays a critical leadership role in driving programme strategy, coherence, and delivery at scale. The role is responsible for ensuring that programme priorities are effectively translated into results in a highly constrained and rapidly evolving environment, strengthening integration across sectors, and maintaining alignment between humanitarian response and longer-term systems strengthening. As a member of the senior management team, the Deputy Representative Programmes supports overall office leadership, contributes to strategic decision-making, and ensures that programme delivery is riskinformed, results-focused, and responsive to the complex operational realities on the ground.

The Deputy Representative supports the Representative in leading and leveraging partnerships with both public and private sectors for the achievement of results and fulfilment of the rights of children. In fragile and humanitarian settings, the Deputy Representative is accountable for the delivery of a timely, efficient and principled humanitarian programmes, in accordance with UNICEF global Policy and Framework for humanitarian action.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. CO Programme planning and development

2. Support to the Representative on managing the CO

3. Monitoring and quality control of Programmes

4. Representation, alliance building and UN System coordination

5. Private Sector Engagement and Partnerships

6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

7. Security of personnel, programmes and organizational assets

8. CO Programme planning and development

• Coordinate the planning and updating of the situation analysis by the various sectors in the CO to establish comprehensive data and information for programme development planning, management, monitoring and evaluation.
• Provide advice to the Representative on strategies, direction and planning of programmes and projects to translate analytical data/information (from situation analysis) and national priorities and goals into concrete country programmes and projects that advances UNICEF goals in the country on child rights, survival and development.
• Guide and advise the various sectoral teams throughout the process of programme formulation, planning and preparation of the Country Programme ensuring harmonization of approaches (including linking humanitarian, development programming and contribution to peace) and alignment with the UNICEF Strategic Plan, corporate guidelines, policies/procedures and regional and national priorities.
• Provide overall strategic direction, leadership and guidance to the CO team in the monitoring the situation of children, women and communities with a view to detecting imminent crises; identifying major unmet humanitarian needs of children and taking appropriate measures to address them.
• Ensure timely, effective and principled humanitarian preparedness and response by UNICEF teams, clusters/sectors and partners in compliance with the commitments and standards enshrined in the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action, by ensuring the mandatory use and application of the Emergency Procedures, as applicable.
• Provide technical and operational guidance to the heads of sectors and their team, as delegated by the Representative, throughout all stages of the programming process to ensure cooperation, collaboration and harmonization of programmes and projects.
• Coordinate necessary technical programming support from PD/Regional Office.
• Review the country programme recommendation before approval by the Representative to ensure the quality of the country programme recommendation and alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic plan, compliance with policies and procedures and that documentation materials are completed accurately and comprehensively to facilitate.

2. Support to the Representative on managing the CO

• Serve as officer in charge in the absence of the Representative.
• Monitor and assess programmes and operations and provide advice on best and innovative programming and management practices to enhance programming and operations.
• Advise the Representative on CO annual work planning, setting priorities/targets and establishing performance measurements. Monitor implementation and progress of work plans; collaborate with colleagues to assist, advise and guide the Representative to ensure achievement of results according to targets and performance standards. Take timely decisions to achieve results and/or alert the Representative for timely action.
• Establish clear individual performance objectives, goals and timelines; and provide timely guidance to his/her team to enable them to perform their duties responsibly and efficiently. Plan and ensure timely performance planning, management and assessment.
• Work collaboratively with the Representative and the various sectors to facilitate/contribute to the preparation of the CO budget proposal. Monitor critical issues to resolve problems and/or recommend to the Representative appropriate action to ensure appropriate and optimum use of resources.

3. Strategic Monitoring, Quality Assurance and Oversight of Programme resources

• • Participate in meetings/events and annual/mid-term reviews with government and other counterparts/stakeholders to contribute to strategic programme discussions, planning and assessments.
• Evaluate overall programme progress; identify weaknesses, bottlenecks and potential problems. Collaborate with the sectors and/or other partners and stakeholders to resolve issues and/or advise the Representative on resolutions to ensure delivery of results as planned and allocated.
• Monitor the optimum and appropriate use of programme resources (financial, human,administrative and other assets) and verify compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Approve disbursements and allocations in accordance with delegation of authority established by the Representative.
• Ensure that mechanisms are in place to ensure the quality of humanitarian programmes and their effective monitoring, collecting and using the feedback from affected populations to inform programme design and course correction in countries with humanitarian clusters/sectors conduct yearly cluster coordination performance monitoring (CCPM).
• Coordinate and/or provide advice on the preparation of mandated programme, cluster/sector and operational reports. Confirm accuracy of reports prior to approval by the Representative.

4. Representation, alliance building and UN System coordination

• • Represent UNICEF (as appropriate/delega