Research Specialist

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF, also known as the United Nations Children’s Fund, is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. The agency is among the most widespread and recognizable social welfare organizations in the world, with a presence in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF’s activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters.

Context

UNICEF is a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for children rights. Child rights begin with safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflict and traverse the life cycle. UNICEF strive to ensure that all children are born alive, stay safe and keep learning.
For 77 years, UNICEF endeavor to improve the lives of children and their families. Working with and for children through adolescence and into adulthood requires a global presence whose goal is to produce results and monitor their effects. UNICEF also lobbies and partners with leaders, thinkers and policy makers to help all children realize their rights—especially the most disadvantaged.
The UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional office in Nairobi provides technical support, and oversight for 21 countries, including the generation of regional public goods for thought leadership and advocacy on driving policy, programmes and budget for realizing all children’s rights and leaving no child behind.
Towards this, the Research Specialist will play a critical role in the provision of streamlined and quality guidance across RO and country offices (COs) in ensuring high-quality research evidence generation and use.
The Research Specialist will be working under the supervision of the regional Data and Research Manager part of the Programme, Planning and Monitoring Section in ESARO. The incumbent will engage relevant sections and country office focal points and section staff in driving the agenda forward including wider regional partnerships with relevant entities (academia, research institutes, think-tanks….etc.).

Task description

-Regional office section workplans have integrated and prioritized research activities
-Coordinate and monitor progress of the region’s (RO and COs) evidence generation agenda and use
-Develop relevant guidance and templates for streamlining relevant planning, implementation and use processed
-Rollout of ESAR research benchmarking and monitoring framework, and provision of technical and operational guidance.
-ESAR has established mechanisms for ensuring quality research outputs, including review processes, adherence to ethical procedures and other relevant regulations (open access, data protection, academic publication).
-Strengthened research capacity of country and regional office staff;
-Networking and building partnerships for research conduct and funding on priority child related research in ESAR.