National UNV Specialist: Information Management Specialist with UNICEF in Amman, Jordan

Mission and objectives

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, 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.

Context

Since 1952, UNICEF has been working closely with the government of Jordan and civil society partners, promoting, protecting, meeting, and reporting on the rights of all children in the country, irrespective of their nationality or status. In 2023, Jordan was home to around 11.5 million people, over 90 per cent of whom resided in urban areas. Children under 18 years represents 40 per cent, and young people (aged 15-24 years) accounting for 20 per cent of the total population. 16 per cent of the population aged five years or more had at least one functional difficulty related to a disability, of which six per cent were children 5-17 years old and 1.6 per cent of children had severe difficulties (DHS, 2023). Jordan ranks second highest globally by the number of refugees per capita. Around 730,000 refugees are registered with UNHCR, predominantly from Syria and living outside camps; and over 2,5 million Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA, most of them holding Jordanian citizenship. The available data on monetary poverty illustrated that in 2017-18 around 16 per cent of the Jordanian population was living under the national poverty line, while a regional study in 2023 indicated that around 14 per cent of children in Jordan were living in multidimensional poverty. The DHS (2023) findings showed improvement in some of the child survival indicators. Under-five mortality declined from 19 to 15 child deaths per 1,000 live births between 2018 and 2023 while three and two percentage points decline were observed for infant and neonatal mortality rates, respectively. Overweight among under-five children doubled from 4.4 to 8.8 per cent. Jordan has made significant strides in increasing the enrolment in basic education of both Jordanians and non-Jordanians but inequities in access to education remain. 92 per cent of Jordanians compared to only 41 per cent of Syrian adolescents have completed basic education (Grade 10). Learning outcomes remain low. Jordan is off track in meeting most of its national and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) nutrition targets.

National UN Specialist Volunteers in Jordan are entitled to:

• Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) at the amount of JOD 1,068.5;

• Annual and learning leaves;

• Free Medical and life insurance;

• Free access to different learning platforms.

Task description

Under the direct Supervision of the Planning and Monitoring Specialist, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for:

1. Coordinating and providing quality assurance to e-work plans in the RAM digital platform.

2. Coordinating and providing quality assurance to CSI and RAM outcome/output planning, reporting and bi-annual indicator updates.

3. Contributing to the analysis and display of field monitoring products using dashboards which will be used to inform management decision making.

4. Developing a web-based central data repository/solution for key child data as well as developing an easily retrievable digital fact sheet of key child statistics.

5. Contributing to the development of innovative mid-year and end of year review information sharing products.

6. Updating and providing quality assurance to UNICEF inputs for the UNINFO cooperation framework programmatic, monitoring and financial information database.

7. Contributing to the development of digital surveys and data collection tools as requested by sections.

8. Contributing to the JORISS data compilation, entry and quality assurance as requested by the supervisor and chief of section.

9. Perform any other relevant tasks assigned by the supervisor and chief of section.