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, innovate…

The Office of Innovation (OoI) works to catalyze UNICEF and partners’ expertise and resources to solve key challenges facing children and young people, with a view to sourcing, accelerating and scaling the most effective solutions to accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs. To achieve this the Office of Innovation uses an innovation portfolio management approach and leverages support from a range of stakeholders including from intergovernmental, multilateral, private sector, young people and non-governmental fora (think tank, academia). The Office of Innovation is able to evaluate, fund and provide technical support and resources to key transformative innovations. How these decisions are made is critical to the success of the work and therefore the impact on children’s lives. 

How can you make a difference?

For more details, please review the Terms of Reference:  ToR Consultant strategy, capacity and youth_final.docx

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in in a relevant field such as Social Science, Humanities, Innovation, International Relations, Business Administration, or another related technical discipline.
• A first degree combined with a minimum of two additional years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a Master’s degree.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of professional experience at both national and international levels, specifically in the fields of innovation, social and economic development, and cooperation.
• Proven expertise in innovation practices, including experience in both initiating and scaling innovations across pertinent sectors.

• Experience in developing innovation strategies with country offices while in a global role is highly desired.
• Experience managing innovation projects from concept to scale within UN context is important.
• Demonstrated ability in designing and managing innovation portfolios, showcasing a strong understanding of strategic planning and execution.
• Strong collaborative skills to coordinate effectively with various stakeholders, including government, non-profit organizations, and private sector partners, to drive impactful change.
• Exceptional communication and organizational skills, with the ability to facilitate workshops and training sessions aimed at enhancing innovation capacities among senior management and team members.
• Familiarity with capacity development strategies tailored for diverse organizational contexts, highlighting a commitment to continuous improvement and effective implementation.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

In case of any questions, please contact us at swe-ooi-recruitments@unicef.org