Technology for Development/T4D Coordinator

Vacancy Notice: TDC_01_GR/24_06

Job title: Technology for Development/T4D Coordinator
Location:  Home-based, with regular meetings at the Ministry of Health, and the UNICEF Greece Country Office
Type of contract:  ICMC (Coordinator)
Starting date: 1 April 2024
Closing date for applications: 26 March 2024
Contract duration: 12 months

About ICMC

The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) is an international non-governmental organization, whose mission is to protect and serve children as well as uprooted people, including refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, victims of human trafficking, and migrants - regardless of faith, race, ethnicity, or nationality.                                                   ICMC started a partnership with UNICEF in Greece in order to deploy a highly qualified affiliated workforce to assist UNICEF Greece Country Office. 

Scope of work

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programme, 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 fulfil 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 embraces technology and innovation as integral pillars in its mission to advance the well-being of children worldwide. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, data analytics, and digital platforms, UNICEF optimizes its interventions in health, education, sanitation, and beyond. By embracing technology, UNICEF aims to amplify its impact, improve efficiency, and accelerate progress towards achieving a world where every child's rights are realized and their potential fulfilled.

UNICEF Greece Country Office (GCO) is currently implementing the Country Programme for the period 2022-2026. The Country Programme (CP) consists of the following four components: i) Social policy and child-rights monitoring; ii) Quality and inclusive education for all; iii) Child Protection and iv) Youth empowerment. The CP marks a shift of UNICEF from humanitarian to development programming and is the first full-fledged programme of cooperation between UNICEF and the Government of Greece. UNICEF GCO has built on previous cooperation and partnerships with the Greek Government, to promote its role as technical advisor to the government for joint results for children, including through the application of innovative and digital tools, approaches and methodologies that aim to ensure scale up for adequate coverage of social services that reach all children, including the most vulnerable.   

Under the framework of the CP, which includes the halving of childhood obesity as an outcome level target, UNICEF responded to the Ministry of Health (General Secretariat of Public Health) request to develop a comprehensive program, centred on a blend of innovative approaches across various service delivery systems, to address the issue of child overweight and obesity in the country. The program promotes the concept of integrated services both at prevention and response level with a blend of innovative methodologies from SBC science/strategies to digital solutions, particularly under the strengthening of the primary healthcare sector. 

In addition, the GCO is in the process of designing a nation-wide innovative project with the Ministry of Health, which will work towards an integrated model of services for the early detection of parental anxiety and/or depression disorders and developmental disorders of children and will aim to enhance referrals from pediatricians to mental health providers, making use of technology that will be both facilitating referrals to mental health services but also serve as a tool to collect health data to inform policy making.

In the context of the European Year of Skills, Greece CO is working through innovative approaches in order to contribute to the national CP target of reducing the rate of youth 15-24 neither in Employment, nor in Education and Training (NEET). This programme integrates and localizes global UNICEF innovation tools for upskilling and social entrepreneurship, including FunDoo and UPSHIFT to deliver to young people in Greece at scale.

Responsibilities

In light of the above, the T4D Coordinator is expected to support UNICEF GCO to provide digital transformation solutions to scale up programming nation-wide and increase results for children in the context of the National Public Health Prevention Programme “Spyros Doxiadis  .  More specifically, the incumbent will support the programme team in the identification, assessment and integration of ICT and digital innovation into UNICEF programming, as well as strengthen internal capacity to support T4D related initiatives relevant to the National Public Health Prevention Programme “Spyros Doxiadis.  

The incumbent will be assigned contributory accountabilities for the following duties: 

• Coordinate and support development and testing of T4D products and processes in line with UNICEF GCO project objectives, to strengthen and improve efficiency and effectiveness of UNICEF’s programming, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy and communication, with a particular emphasis on the areas of addressing child obesity, promoting family and child health, and empowering youth.
• Understand the business needs behind and decide on priorities and the importance of scenarios
• Diagnose a problem, conduct analysis, and develop solutions
• Gather and interpret business and financial information to help strengthen proposed recommendations
• Effectively interact with colleagues and external stakeholders of varying backgrounds to effectively serve innovative solutions.
• Design Information systems to respond to business needs.
• Monitor development and quality assurance during planning and deployment of T4D initiatives, and participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation and support mechanisms for T4D.
• Work with Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation to ensure documentation and clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for T4D projects.
• Support the identification of data needs of programmes and partners and propose solutions. 
• Support capacity building of Country Office staff and partners in analysing the large amounts of data generated through T4D initiatives including the use of data visualization techniques and analytics tools
• Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies, capacity and knowledge within the GCO programme and operations teams on digital development.
• Guide UNICEF staff, partners, government counterparts and other end users in digital development and technology innovation.

Requirements

  1. Education: A university degree (Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent) is required in Digital Transformation, Business Analysis, ICT Management, Computer Science, Innovation, Digital Development, International Development or another relevant technical field.

2. Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional work experience providing support to programme/project management in the field of Technology for Development, ICTD and/or innovation.
• Strong analytical skills & problem solving skills and ability to provide business insights
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to prioritize and handle multiple assignments
• Experience identifying, designing and implementing solutions for large-scale projects with technical components.
• Experience coordinating the work of external vendors and software developers and experience supporting business analysis, budgets, contracts, project management and procurement.
• Experience applying technical solutions, including mobile and web-based technologies, to address programmatic issues.
• Experience in programme management with the United Nations or INGOs is an asset.
• Experience in training and capacity building on digital innovation in the context of T4D is an asset.   
• Experience in innovative use of technology for development, particularly in the areas of data access, visualization, mobile applications, and open source is an asset.

3. Language requirements: Fluency in English and Greek is required.   

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit a detailed CV of maximum four pages in English, a motivation letter and two professional references with full and up to date contact details via email, to:

Mr. Akis Papakonstantinou, ICMC HR Officer.

The closing date for receipt of applications is 26/03/2024.

The Vacancy Notice number TDC_01_GR/24_06 and the applicant’s full name must be quoted in the email subject line.

Applications will be evaluated upon reception and interviews with shortlisted candidates may be conducted before the closing date. Referees may be contacted prior to the interviewing stage.

Data protection

By submitting an application, you agree that ICMC collects and manages the information that you provide. You also agree that your data may be shared with UNICEF. Your personal information will be used for recruitment purposes only. Your application will be treated with strict confidentiality.

Owing to the volume of applications, ICMC regrets that only applicants short-listed for an interview will be notified.

ICMC is committed to equal employment opportunities for all applicants. ICMC does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, color, national origin, religion, physical or mental ability, marital status and age. Applications will be treated with strict confidentiality.

ICMC is committed to a Zero-Tolerance Policy toward sexual exploitation, abuses and all forms of unlawful harassment, including but not limited to sexual harassment. Screening of applications includes the vetting for records of prior misconduct and reference checking. By submitting your application, you declare your consent for your former employer to disclose any details concerning criminal convictions or misconduct.  ICMC can take other necessary measures to ensure that people involved in substantiated cases of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment are not recruited.