Organisation: UNICEF

Position: Social Policy Officer (NO-2)

Job Number: 594514

Contract Type: Fixed Term Appointment

Level: NO-2

Duty Station: Lilongwe, Malawi

Location: Malawi

Category: Social Policy

Eligibility: Open to Malawian Nationals Only

Application Deadline: 29th July 2026

OVERVIEW

UNICEF Malawi is inviting applications from qualified Malawian nationals for the position of Social Policy Officer. UNICEF works to protect children’s rights, support their development, and improve outcomes for vulnerable children and communities worldwide.

The Social Policy Officer will provide technical, operational, and coordination support to strengthen the Government of Malawi’s planning, financing, budgeting, expenditure management, and accountability for public resources to improve outcomes for children and vulnerable populations.

The position will support social protection, public financial management, budget analysis, decentralisation, and evidence generation to inform policy dialogue, programming, resource mobilisation, and donor reporting.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support efforts to improve data on child poverty and vulnerability for policy and programme action.

• Strengthen social protection coverage and impact for children.

• Support improved use of public financial resources for children.

• Strengthen the capacity of local governments to plan, budget, consult, and monitor child-focused social services.

• Support advocacy and partnerships for child-sensitive social policy.

• Provide technical support throughout social policy programme planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.

• Support government and civil society partners in improving policies that reduce child poverty.

• Support initiatives related to social protection, governance, decentralisation, and accountability.

• Generate evidence on social sector financing, child poverty, and child-focused services.

• Engage with government counterparts, development partners, and stakeholders to advance UNICEF programme results.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in:

• Economics
• Social Science
• Political Science
• Public Policy
• International Relations
• or any other related field.

Work Experience

• At least 2 years’ relevant work experience in areas such as:

• Administration
• Budget preparation
• Public finance
• Public sector management
• Social protection
• Government budgeting
• Investment analysis
• Financial reporting
• Social sector programmes

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Demonstrated project management, budget management, and analytical skills.

• Experience in stakeholder engagement, government relations, and policy programming.

• Ability to analyse data and prepare evidence-based reports.

• Strong communication and partnership-building skills.

• Ability to work effectively with government institutions, development partners, and communities.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

• Fluency in English is required.

Additional advantage: Knowledge of another UN official language or a local language.

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

• Experience working in a developing country context.

• Experience in emergency or humanitarian settings.

• Experience with SAP, Service Gateway, data tools, and AI tools.

• Experience working at country level in development or humanitarian programmes.

UNICEF CORE VALUES AND COMPETENCIES

UNICEF values include:

• Care

• Respect

• Integrity

• Trust

• Accountability

• Sustainability

Required competencies include:

• Building and maintaining partnerships.

• Demonstrating ethical awareness.

• Driving results for impact.

• Innovating and embracing change.

• Managing complexity and ambiguity.

• Thinking and acting strategically.

• Working collaboratively with others.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates should submit their applications through the UNICEF Careers website:

jobs.unicef.org

Application Deadline: 29th July 2026

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. UNICEF does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.