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, education and opportunities
How can you make a difference?
UNICEF's fundamental mission is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and 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 — will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential and 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 Botswana is supporting the Government of Botswana in its efforts to increase access to digital technology particularly in schools. In the current country programme cycle (2022-2026), UNICEF will have dedicated activities to accelerate the government’s efforts for school connectivity and integration of ICT in teaching and learning through the GIGA initiative.
Giga is a joint UNICEF-ITU initiative to connect every school to the internet, and every young person to information, opportunity and choice. Botswana has made significant progress under the “mapping” workstream of Giga and are now planning activities under the “financing” and “connecting” workstreams.
To accelerate the deployment of Giga in Botswana there is a need of a Programme Officer who will support implementation of the initiative. For more information about Giga, please visit the website: https://gigaconnect.org/
About UNICEF
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 fulfilling their potential. 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. UNICEF is mandated to uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and works across different domains including education, health and protection, to ensure that all children everywhere are able to equitable enjoy their rights. For more information about UNICEF, please visit the website: https://www.unicef.org/
About ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs). ITU allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strives to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. ITU supports countries in implementing digital transformation projects to harness ICT for SDGs. For more information about ITU or this paper, please visit the website: http://www.itu.int
How can you make a difference?
Purpose of Position
Under the supervision of the UNICEF Education Specialist, and general guidance of the Deputy Representative, the Programme Officer will provide professional, technical, operational and administrative support in the implementation of Giga in Botswana. The Programme Officer will play an integral role in contextualizing and integrating Giga in Botswana. S/he is responsible for coordinating and facilitating the mainstreaming effort, and for strengthening Government of Botswana’s capacity to lead and support Giga related projects, identifying and engaging with key partners and key line ministries, and maximizing potential for Giga scale-up and roll-out.
Key functions/accountabilities:
1. Act as primary focal point for coordination among relevant stakeholders in Botswana
a. Act as liaison between relevant government focal points in Botswana, ITU, UNICEF, the Giga HQ team and key sector ministries.
b. Support the budgeting of key initiatives and the preparation of relevant, linked communication and materials.
c. Oversee development and quality assurance during planning and deployment of Giga activities; participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation and support mechanisms.
d. Support the Giga Technical Committees in Botswana to ensure that progress is made on the Giga work plan.
2. Lead and provide critical input in the design for major Giga Botswana events in 2022/23
3. Develop relationships with counterparts in relevant institutions and the private sector in Botswana
a. Develop partnerships and networks with key line ministries (education, ICT, finance, etc.), local solution providers, innovators, NGOs, cultural and religious organizations, the private sector, local media and academia to advance Giga.
b. Support the establishment of data sharing agreements with MNOs and ISPs and manage these relationships to ensure smooth and continued data sharing.
c. Support the generation of partner-oriented communication materials, including clear concept notes and budgets.
d. Ensure their support to the project and facilitate timely communications.
4. Execute and manage all Giga activities in Botswana
a. Work with relevant government divisions to collect, clean, classify the required data for Giga mapping, connect and finance modelling work
b. Support the deployment of software tools for real-time monitoring of internet connectivity in schools.
c. Work with the Giga team to adapt the developed tools to the needs of Botswana and coordinate and mediate between all key stakeholders to achieve the results.
d. Support the implementation of the Giga Accelerate prototypes for testing connectivity and business models.
e. Ensure that there is coordination with any planned ITU-led activities around infrastructure analysis and regulatory assessments.
5. Knowledge Management activities including progress reporting, project communications, risk management and lessons learned.
a. Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from Giga deployment for integration into broader knowledge development planning and management efforts including from other countries via the global and regional networks.
b. Ensure documentation and clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for Giga activities in Botswana including baseline data collection, on-going monitoring, as well as first phase data collection and analysis.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
A university degree in information technology management, business administration, international relations, community development or other related social science field.For every Child, you demonstrate...
UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability (CRITA) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues
UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1) Works Collaboratively with others (1) Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1) Innovates and Embraces Change (1) Thinks and Acts Strategically (1) Drive to achieve impactful results (1) Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. 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 medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
This vacancy is archived.