Programme Associate for Recife Field Office

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been present in Brazil since 1950, supporting the most important changes in childhood and adolescence in the country. UNICEF participated in major immunization and breastfeeding campaigns; the mobilization that resulted in the approval of Article 227 of the Federal Constitution and the drafting of the Child and Adolescent Statute; the movement for universal access to education; programmes to combat child labour; among other great advances in guaranteeing the rights of Brazilian girls and boys. In recent decades, Brazil has promoted a strong process of inclusion of children and adolescents in public policies. However, a significant portion of the population remains excluded. Therefore, in its cooperation programme with the Brazilian Government for the period 2024-2028, UNICEF focuses its efforts on the most vulnerable and excluded girls and boys, with a special focus on children and adolescents who are victims of extreme forms of violence. These children and adolescents in situations of greater vulnerability are spread throughout Brazil, but they are more concentrated in the Amazon, in the Northeast and in large urban centers. Through the UNICEF Seal, UNICEF promotes commitments to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents in the Northeast and in the Amazon regions in Brazil. In large cities, UNICEF works with a focus on reducing intra-municipal inequalities, through the #AgendaCidadeUNICEF.

The Recife Field Office (FU) is located in Recife, Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil. Its programmatic coverage area encompasses the states of Alagoas, Paraiba and Pernambuco. Currently, more than 400 small and medium-sized municipalities in the semi-arid region of these three states, as well as the capital of Pernambuco, count on UNICEF's strategic presence led by the Recife FU. The main initiatives - the UNICEF Seal and the UNICEF City Agenda - are implemented through partnerships established with NGOs that have undergone open selection processes.

This FU is also duty station of staff who are responsible for the programmatic strategies of their areas (Adolescent Development, Protection, Education and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation) in the Northeast and North of Minas Gerais. Other highlights of that FU staff lead in the region are Busca Ativa Escola, Trajetória de Sucesso Escolar and WASH.
Selo UNICEF (UNICEF Seal) is an initiative which aims to encourage small and medium municipalities in 18 states of the Brazilian Semi-arid and Amazon regions to implement public policies that will reduce inequalities experienced by many children and adolescents. Recife FU is responsible for 21% of the municipalities registered for the UNICEF Seal 2021-2024.
#AgendaCidadeUNICEF is the initiative of UNICEF in Brazil to promote children's rights while preventing and reducing violence against them in urban centers. In the first edition, 2022-2024, the initiative is being implemented in 8 most vulnerable territories from 8 Brazilian state capitals: Belém do Pará, Fortaleza, Manaus, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, São Luís and São Paulo. In Recife the priority territory is the Ibura, a neighborhood that has approximately 50,000 inhabitants and has one of the highest homicide rates in the capital, including of teenagers between 10 and 19 years old (Source: 2019 data from the City Hall).

The UN Volunteer will support the Recife FU coordination in the scaling up of the initiatives implemented in the three states integrating to the National Programmatic Area. They will develop the administrative, finance and planning implementation monitoring, and support to achieve the results expected contributing to the UNICEF Brazil Country Program.

Under the close supervision and guidance of the Chief Recife FU, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for carrying out a range of procedural, administrative, and operational tasks, to help develop, implement, and monitor the country programme, ensuring timely and effective delivery that is consistent with UNICEF rules and regulations.

They will be responsible for the administrative and financial tasks assuring effective support for programmatic implementation in close coordination with the programme officers and/ or the Chief of Recife FU ensuring efficacy and effectiveness. They will also be responsible for promoting and strengthening partner’s capacities for monitoring, executing, and reporting on the implementation of resources under the management/responsibility/administration of the Zonal Office Recife.

The UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Facilitating the processing of contracts for consultants, vendors, and external partners that support the office in programme delivery. This includes preparing and filing documents, completing necessary forms and templates, uploading terms of reference (TOR)s in VISION, and making necessary logistical arrangements. Keeping vendor lists, partners, and consultant rosters up to date.
• Collecting invoices and filing documents for approval and thereafter processing in VISION and Mycase.
• Preparing and maintaining records, documents, and control plans for the monitoring of project/programme implementation and financial expenditures.
• Supporting the management of administrative supplies and office equipment.
• Maintaining office calendar and arranging meetings. Taking minutes of meetings and keeping the correspondence of the team well organized.
• Providing travel assistance to staff members in section for travel arrangements and entitlements based on the organization’s rules and policies. Liaising with relevant travel focal points to ensure that the organization obtains the best service and price for all travel.
• Maintaining and updating a system which monitors the absence of staff.
• Preparing and maintaining records pertaining to programme planning and development for Their his/her respective section.
• Carrying out transactions in VISION ensuring programme results, activities and programme coding is as per annual work plans (AWPs) and makes amendments and alterations as per section revisions when necessary.
• Supporting capacity development activities, meetings, and conferences by making the logistical arrangements, through engaging with facilitators, caterers, and hosts.
• Arranging times through liaising with participants over availability; liaising with budget focal points and section over costs and needs; and preparing background materials for participants.