​Public Finance Officer​

Organizational Context

UNICEF is dedicated to upholding the rights of every child globally, prioritizing equity for the most disadvantaged. The Global Programme Division (GPD) drives program excellence through strategic leadership and technical expertise. UNICEF's Centres of Excellence (CoEs), including the one in Bangkok, provide demand-driven technical assistance. This role supports the Public Finance for Children (PF4C) initiative within the Child Poverty Centre of Excellence, aiming to ensure public budgets are transparent, inclusive, and child-sensitive, contributing to reduced child poverty and SDG achievement.

Job Purpose

This assignment supports UNICEF's mission to ensure public budgets and financial systems are transparent, inclusive, and child-sensitive, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region through the EU-UNICEF Public Finance Facility (PFF). The role focuses on reducing multidimensional child poverty by strengthening public financial management and advocating for increased and equitable investment in children's well-being. The Public Finance Officer will provide technical assistance to country offices, support policy dialogue, conduct analysis on financing for children, and contribute to knowledge management. This position directly contributes to UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and the achievement of SDGs related to poverty reduction and equity.

Responsibilities

Provide technical assistance and program support for the EU-UNICEF Public Finance Facility (PFF) for Children, including assisting country offices in rolling out the PFF agenda, designing and documenting technical analyses, and advocating for child-focused fiscal frameworks. Support public finance system strengthening, particularly in local governance and subnational financing, and respond to country office requests for technical assistance aligned with the PF4C Framework. Assist in identifying and analyzing budget data for social sectors to link expenditures with child outcomes. Coordinate program activities, monitor progress, and ensure timely reporting. Conduct policy analysis on key trends and challenges in financing for children, contributing to EU-UNICEF-PFF priorities. Provide quality assurance on tools and processes, facilitate regional policy dialogues, and support strategic policy analysis on issues impacting children's well-being. Collaborate with stakeholders to position UNICEF as a vital partner in child-focused public finance initiatives, build strategic partnerships, and contribute to advocacy efforts through presentations and policy briefs. Support communication initiatives to disseminate research findings and policy recommendations. Manage and organize country data, technical reports, and advocacy materials, maintaining a structured knowledge repository. Support the development of a centralized repository for project documents and publications to scale up good practices and document lessons learned. Facilitate knowledge sharing through webinars and resource distribution.

Work Experience

A minimum of three years of relevant professional experience is required. This includes experience in Public Financial Management (PFM), understanding government budgeting cycles, and analyzing national/subnational budgets. Proficiency in budget analysis for social sectors, assessing equity and adequacy of public spending, and using data analysis tools (Excel, Stata/R/SPSS) is essential. Experience in policy analysis, drafting policy briefs, and strategic stakeholder engagement is also necessary. Desirable experience includes fiscal space and financing analysis, intergovernmental fiscal systems, financial modeling, and monitoring & evaluation.

Skills

Core competencies include Self Awareness, Ethical Awareness, Collaboration, Partnership Building, Innovation, Strategic Thinking, Driving for Results, and Managing Ambiguity. Functional competencies include Persuading and Influencing, Applying Technical Expertise, Learning and Researching, and Planning and Organizing. Expertise in Development Programmes, Economics, and Finance is required.

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