UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, a chance

The UNICEF Venture Fund has been specifically designed to finance early stage, open-source technology that can benefit children. The core motivation of the Venture Fund is to identify “clusters” or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology – so that UNICEF can shape markets, learn about and guide these technologies that can positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable children. We find these solutions clustered around $100 billion industries in frontier technology spaces, such as: UAVs, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, blockchain, nano-satellites, and human dynamics. With $35M raised to date, the Venture Fund is scaling its investment portfolio with the aim of investing in 20 start-ups every year and also provides funding to CO-led projects.

How can you make a difference?

Under the leadership of the Programme Funding Manager, the Programme Specialist (Portfolio Strategist) supports the Venture Fund investment portfolio companies (consisting of both seed-stage and follow-on investments), bringing strategic guidance and management to maximize the Fund’s return on investment by:

1. Developing and executing the overall portfolio management strategy, including necessary systems, partnerships, and technical assistance, for companies receiving funding
2. Advising on sourcing and selection of companies, and leading on selection and contractual process of companies receiving bridge and acceleration funding
3. Based on a robust needs assessment process, developing a technical assistance strategy for each portfolio company (with support from external partnerships, a network of mentors, engagement of technical leads) in seed and growth portfolios
4. Maintaining portfolio management systems and processes, including regular tracking of milestones and companies’ performance through KPIs, and applying data to guide portfolio management strategy
5. Identifying and managing growth strategies for portfolio companies

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Portfolio Strategist P3.pdf

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

The following minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced university degree in finance, entrepreneurship, business administration or relevant field. *A first level University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced university degree. 

Work Experience: At least 5 years of relevant work experience in a relevant field

• Demonstrated management-level experience in managing portfolios of investments ideally in venture capital, at seed and early growth stages, and in UNICEF programme regions required.
• Demonstrated experience in developing partnerships and entrepreneurial strategies.
• Demonstrated knowledge of specific challenges faced by seed stage companies and approaches to address them.
• Understanding of open-source and frontier technologies, and their applications to UNICEF strategic priorities required.
• Experience of managing networks and portfolios of consultants and technical advisors to deliver against agree objective required.

Skills: 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills required, including external representation and presentations, facilitation of networks of communities
• Ability to synthesize technical information and translate it into accessible products and systems

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

The following desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.
• Experience in coordinating and monitoring complex projects, product development, business growth and ROI metrics required- specifically for solutions leveraging frontier tech and open-source licensing desired.
• A strong understanding of UNICEF programmes, goals and principles, and experience in a UNICEF programme country desired.
• Experience working in complex, resource poor contexts is a plus.
• 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 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

The 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 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.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes[KR5] , and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

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’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required[LK6]  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.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here. For any queries, please contact: swe-ooi-recruitments@unicef.org