Programme Manager (Risk & Direct Cash Delivery), P-4, Temporary Appointment (364 days), Juba, South Sudan, #00136741

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For every child, the right to a Champion

How can you make a difference?

South Sudan is experiencing one of the world’s most complex and prolonged humanitarian crises, with more than 9.3 million people—approximately 70% of the population—in need of humanitarian assistance. Multiple, overlapping shocks continue to exacerbate vulnerabilities, including persistent conflict, widespread displacement, economic decline, and recurrent climate shocks.

The country also faces major public health challenges, including its worst cholera outbreak on record, with more than 95,000 cases and over 1,500 deaths reported between 2024 and 2025. Malnutrition remains at emergency levels, driven by chronic and recurrent acute food insecurity crises —affected the most vulnerable children and their families. As a result, 2.11 million children under five and 1.15 million pregnant and breastfeeding women require treatment for acute malnutrition.

These overlapping crises have sharply reduced household purchasing power and access to essential goods and lifesaving services (Health, Nutrition, Education, etc.). Women and children are disproportionately affected, facing heightened risks of protection violations, including gender-based violence, exploitation, and other harmful coping mechanisms to cope with the dire humanitarian situation. 

In response to this multifaceted humanitarian crisis, UNICEF South Sudan Country has significantly scaled up its cash-based assistance operations, making this modality a core component of its response strategy to ensure that frontline workers and shock-affected families receive timely Assistance.

To operate effectively in such a highly volatile and unpredictable environment, UNICEF South Sudan must rapidly adapt its ways of working to build the operational agility required to deliver cash assistance in South Sudan, addressing daily, multiple and rapidly evolving operational constraints. This includes establishing strong direct delivery capacities, enhancing operational and risk management expertise specific to the use of cash-based modalities, and reinforcing internal structures to be fit for purpose of delivering large-scale volume of individual payments across sectors. These measures are essential to ensure that cash modalities are used in a sound, timely, and risk-informed manner.

The incumbent will be responsible for managing the office’s cash-based assistance portfolio and will work in close collaboration with both each Programme sector team using cash modalities, and Operations teams, using predictable coordination office mechanisms, and systematic alignment of programmatic and operational accountabilities.

The position will report to the Representative, with functional reporting lines to both the Deputy Representative Programme and the Deputy Representative Operations. It will be based in Juba, with regular field travel across South Sudan to support implementation, strengthen oversight, and ensure operational readiness in the field. The Programme Manager (Risk and Direct Cash Delivery) will provide operational support to all sections implementing Cash based modalities, ensuring the day-to-day coordination of both the technical and operational components of the use of cash modalities. The incumbent will also supervise and manage staff directly involved (data management, monitoring capacity) in the direct delivery of payments to frontline workers and vulnerable families.

The position provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for UNICEF South Sudan’s Cash based assistance portfolio. The incumbent leads the development and institutionalization of cash standards, operations procedures, robust data and payment management systems, and integrated risk management, accountability, and monitoring frameworks for direct cash delivery. The role ensures strong governance, compliance, and operational readiness for largescale, risk informed cash payments to frontline workers and households. It strengthens internal capacities and coordination, advises senior management, and promotes harmonized, risk-informed delivery approaches across Programme and Operations teams.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

Under the direct supervision of the Representative, the Programme Manager (Risk and Direct Cash Delivery), P4 will:

1. Establish a strong risk management and monitoring framework for cash-based assistance.
2. Oversee cash team operations, including HOPE data systems, technical support, payments, and monitoring.
3. Coordinate daily team activities and align priorities with programme and operations needs.
4. Lead capacity building and institutionalize tools, SOPs, and standards for large-scale cash delivery.
5. Coordinate with partners (IPs, FSPs, TPM) to ensure quality, risk management, and updated procedures and security measures.
6. Supervise technical coordination mechanisms and advise the CMT on project adjustments.
7. Provide strategic guidance to ensure coordination across data management, grievances, finance, and partnerships.
8. Collaborate with Health and Social Policy teams on technical and operational design of cash modalities.
9. Serve as secretariat for the cash delivery task force at the country office level.
10. Lead Cash Task Force meetings to ensure coordination and timely decision-making.
11. Act as focal point for cash modalities, ensuring harmonization across sections.
12. Coordinate with field offices to ensure compliance with operational and technical standards, including travel.
13. Align programme sections with direct delivery teams to ensure effective service delivery.
14. Support design and scale-up of new cash-based interventions across sectors.
15. Update management on risk exposure and flag issues for rapid decision-making.
16. Provide strategic and technical support to ensure compliance with UNICEF standards.
17. Review and approve systems to ensure data integrity and adherence to best practices.
18. Approve cash-related inputs for senior management briefings and donor reports.
19. Represent the office in UN/inter-agency platforms, especially the Cash Working Group (CWG).
20. Support inter-agency coordination, harmonization, and joint analysis of cash operations.
21. Advocate for harmonized transfer values and Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) prioritizing children’s needs.
22. Liaise with the global cash-based assistance hub as focal point.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  TOR - Programme Manager (Risk and Direct Cash Delivery), P-4,#136741, Juba, TA 364 days.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Social Sciences, International Relations, Public Policy, Public Administration, Social Development, Development Planning, or other relevant disciplines.
  A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree)in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Work Experience: At least 8 years of relevant work experience in of progressively responsible international professional experience in humanitarian or development contexts is required.
  Hands-on experience in the use of cash transfer modalities in humanitarian context is required.
  Operational experience in programme planning, implementing, reporting, and monitoring involving the use of cash-based modalities in humanitarian and/or high-risk contexts is required.
  Demonstrated experience in managing cash-related technical and operational risks in humanitarian and/or high-risk contexts.
• Skills: risk management, operational monitoring, stakeholder coordination, risk mitigation, capacity building, leadership.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
• Experience working with UNICEF in implementing cash programming. Experience with another UN agency implementing cash programming is an asset.
• Experience collaborating across multiple technical and operational functions, working with diverse subject-matter experts and cross-sectoral teams is an asset.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates from high-income countries are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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In accordance with UNICEF’s Staff Selection Procedure, internal candidates who meet the requirements of the position may be given due consideration during the selection process.

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