Social Construction Officer

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 fulfill 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, Protection

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. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

UNICEF-Mozambique assists the Government of Mozambique through six major programs components including Education, Health/Nutrition, Water/Environment Sanitation, Child Protection, Information and Communication and Social Policy. Within the current Country Programme of Cooperation between the Government of Mozambique and UNICEF that covers the period 2022-2026, UNICEF has conceived and launched the Community Recovery and Resilience Plan (CRRP: 2022-2024), aiming for UNICEF to contribute to build on the current humanitarian response programme with the objective of enhancing social cohesion and equity through system strengthening. The importance of adaptable and agile programming working with a wide range of partners and through different modalities will be at the centre to ensure that children have access to basic services and that they are protected from violence, exploitation, and abuse.

How can you make a difference?

The Social Construction Officer, under the direct supervision of  P3 Education Specialist and with the technical guidance P4 Child Protection Specialist, and the technical support of the P3 Construction Specialist in Maputo, will work closely with UNICEF Supply colleagues, to ensure overall efficiency and effectiveness of the planning and implementation of the CRRP goals and objectives in terms of its social infrastructure activities, namely the Multi-purpose centres (MCPs), temporary learning spaces (TLS), classrooms and possibly child-friendly spaces (CFS).

Summary of results-based key functions/accountabilities

• Support the UNICEF CRRP implementation in the field, especially its social infrastructure activities.
• Support to the preparation, setting up and construction of Multi-purpose centres (MPCs).
• Support to the preparation, setting up and construction/rehabilitation of classrooms and temporary learning spaces (TLSs).
• Contribute to the overall programme management from the social infrastructure perspective.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

• Advanced university degree (Bachelors) in Architecture or Civil or Structural Engineering or a related discipline
• A minimum of 2 years relevant professional work experience in Architecture or Engineering or a similar field.
• Work experience in public building construction processes and projects with knowledge of supervision, management, programming and planning of works.
• Relevant knowledge of housing/public building construction (including design and calculation of building structures) and reconstruction especially in flood, cyclone, earthquake and drought-prone areas.
• Work experience in disaster risk reduction construction works and resilient infrastructures; ideally in school reconstruction and/or education in emergencies.
• In-depth knowledge of the Mozambican context, knowledge of the sub-region would be an asset.
• Experience in working with high level institution representatives, ministries, and national or local authorities.
• Exposure to and work experience in small towns and rural areas, including public consultations, community involvement and the capacity to deal with local community representatives and builders. Ability to conduct interviews and technical training on the ground.
• Poficiency using relevant softwares (Excel, Word, Powerpoint), and medium technical expertise in using GIS application, 3D Modeling programs, CADs and ArcGIS.
• Work experience in emergency duty station is considered an asset.
• Fluency in oral and written Portuguese and English are essential.

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.

[add the 8th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for supervisory role]

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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 and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks

[Remove below text if not a child safeguarding elevated risk role]

[If applicable] This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with child, is a safeguarding response role or has been assessed as an elevated risk role for child safeguarding. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable [Insert diversity profile] are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.