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BETTER CARE NETWORK SENIOR COORDINATOR NEW YORK,

The Better Care Network (BCN) is seeking a talented Senior Coordinator. The BCN is an interagency network facilitating global information exchange and collaboration on the issue of children without adequate family care. BCN is not an independent legal entity. It is a network guided by a Steering Committee, which includes: CARE USA, Firelight Foundation, Save the Children, UNICEF, and Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) and the Office of HIV/AIDS (OHA) of USAID. BCN is administered by a Secretariat (which includes a Senior Coordinator and an Assistant Coordinator) that operates under the guidance and direction of the Steering Committee. The Coordinators are CARE USA employees, and they operate from office space made available at UNICEF Headquarters.
The Senior Coordinator of BCN acts in capacity as the lead director of the Network and as its senior spokesperson regarding policy and advocacy in the area of prevention of family separation and alternative care for children. S/he is required to interact regularly with leaders and high-level representatives of international organizations, international and national NGOs, governments, and philanthropic organizations, including through regular contact with the organizations on the BCN Steering Committee and the technical experts on the BCN Advisory Group. The Senior Coordinator is responsible for managing the strategic development of the Network as well as its growing roles and responsibilities on a day-to-day basis, and holds primary accountability for all of the Network's activities. Strategic vision, leadership, diplomacy and communication skills are critical. The Senior Coordinator is responsible for policy formulation and advocacy around better care issues, and is frequently asked to give presentations, or to sit on expert panels at international conferences and events. The Senior Coordinator has oversight responsibility for the BCN website, a resource portal for practitioners, and a listserv with over 2500 experts throughout the world, approving the technical content, structure and advocacy positions conveyed through these resource and information mechanisms. S/he has the lead responsibility for securing funds from donors to support the operation of BCN.
Technical expertise on care issues, including the development of policies and programs for preventing unnecessary family separation and alternative care is critical. The ability to develop strong relationships with donors and to write successful high-value funding proposals is also extremely important. The position manages and takes primary responsibility for the work of an Assistant Coordinator and occasional consultants. S/he informs, supports, and is guided by the BCN Chair(s) and the BCN Steering Committee. High-level communication skills, both written and oral, are critical to the effectiveness of the Senior Coordinator. Additional languages and relevant, extensive experience in developing countries around better care issues for children will be considered strong assets. The Senior Coordinator position is a one-year post with possibility of an extension.
Required Skills:
· A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience and demonstrated success in policy development and/or advocacy with international NGOs, UN bodies, governments, or other complex organizations on development issues, preferably on child centred;
· Ability to manage a small team of paid and unpaid volunteer staff;
· Demonstrated success in proposal development and fundraising;
· Good level of understanding of current issues related to the care and protection of vulnerable children in both relief and development contexts;
· Good understanding of technical issues related to the prevention of unnecessary family separation;
· Policy analysis skills, including the ability to analyze emerging trends and historic evidence related to care and protection issues among children;
· Demonstrated ability to prepare and deliver a variety of presentations, particularly to expert audiences;
· Excellent interpersonal, facilitation and representational skills;
· Demonstrated skills mobilizing collaboration and coordination among organizations and individuals, particularly related to networks, clusters, and other similar groups;
· Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage a small team, and solve complex problems;
· Demonstrated strong communication skills and the ability to communicate (written, spoken) between and across a diverse set of actors;
· Strategic planning and organizational development skills;
· Strong skills in budgeting and financial management including the preparation of annual budgets and financial reports.
Desired Skills:
· Extensive experience in developing and middle income countries around better care issues for children coupled with regional or global experience in advocacy, policy development, and research development;
· Experience working in care setting in developed and developing country context;
· Experience in advocacy, policy development, and research;
· Experience developing and working with technical networks;
· Additional language skills; French or Spanish would be a particularly strong asset.

BETTER CARE NETWORK SENIOR COORDINATOR NEW YORK, NEW YORK