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, health

UNICEF became operational in Greece in early 2016 as an outposted team from the Regional Office of Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to respond to the significant influx of refugee and migrant children and their families at that time. Following several years of engagement with national stakeholders, UNICEF and the Government of Greece made a decision in January 2020 to formalize the agency’s presence in the country as a full-fledged Country Office. The office falls under the auspices of the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia located in Geneva, which supports the work of 22 Country Offices within its geographical scope, reporting in turn to global headquarters in New York. Within the framework of a mandate for all children in Greece, UNICEF and Greece are now working to address the needs of all vulnerable, marginalized and left-behind children in the country.

In the context of the Country Programme for Greece (2022-2026) approved by the UNICEF Executive Board in February 2022, UNICEF and the Government of Greece have agreed on national targets for children, concerning health, education, social protection, child protection, justice and youth employability. Regarding the health and nutrition agenda, and within the context of the National Action Plan on Public Health 2021-2025 and the National Prevention Programme ‘’Spyros Doxiades’’, UNICEF is scaling up programming to address the high prevalence of childhood obesity in the country through the following pillars:

(i) advancement of an enabling environment including strengthening regulations, policies, and strategies to promote healthy diets, practices, and services for the prevention of childhood obesity,

(ii) programmes that strengthen the primary prevention of childhood obesity, including actions to improve nutrition in infancy and early childhood, prevention intervention programs at the school and community/municipal level, as well as developing awareness raising campaigns for social and behavioral change,

(iii) interventions to enhance secondary and tertiary prevention and response programmes,

(iv) establishment of a European Regional Initiative on Childhood Obesity as a platform to enable exchange of lessons learned, good practices, and proven effective approaches to address childhood obesity among and within EU member states,

(v) development of strategies and programmes focusing on achieving social and behavioral change so that children and their caregivers across Greece make more informed lifestyle choices.

How can you make a difference?

The Programme Specialist will be responsible for the overall management of the childhood obesity programme including its implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation in the context of the Greece Country Programme 2022-2026 already agreed with the Government. The Programme Specialist provides technical guidance and management support to counterparts and partners to facilitate the administration of the programme and the achievement of agreed results. This is carried out according to country-specific plans, approaches and methodologies, under the umbrella of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, institutional standards of performance, and accountability framework.

Technical Leadership, Oversight and Optimum Use of Programme Funds

• Provide technical leadership and strategic direction for the project “Addressing Child Obesity”, ensuring the integration, quality and sustainability of interventions.
• Provide day-to-day technical oversight and oversee programme implementation, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, the Country Programme 2022-2026, and coherence/integration with national priorities, plans and agreed targets using results-based methodologies.
• Supervise technical staff and manage a team of highly qualified staff to ensure rapid and sustainable results.
• Manage technical contributions of contractors and implementing partners, including defining scopes of work and terms of reference.
• Monitor and verify the optimum and appropriate use of programme resources confirming compliance with organizational rules, regulations, procedures, donor commitments, and standards of accountability.

Programme monitoring and delivery of results

• Establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators, and UNICEF/UN system indicators and measurements, to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results.
• Actively monitor the UNICEF GCO childhood obesity programme through field visits, surveys and/or exchange of information with partners and stakeholders to assess progress; and participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises and programme reviews with government and other partners to assess progress and to determine required action to achieve results.
• Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths and/or weaknesses in programme management and delivery; identify lessons learned and bottlenecks and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention.
• Monitor and verify the optimum and appropriate use of programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets) confirming compliance with organizational rules, regulations, procedures, donor commitments, and standards of accountability.
• Ensure timely reporting for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress; and ensure timely liquidation of resources.

Capacity building, networking and knowledge management

• Provide technical guidance to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners on UNICEF policies, best practices, and approaches on child wellbeing, nutrition and on addressing child obesity, to support programme implementation and delivery of results, including in relation to the design of social and behavior change strategies.
• Collaborate with, advise and/or consult all local stakeholders, especially Greek Government Ministries and implementing partners to promote the nutrition agenda in relation to the prevention and management of overweight and obesity and to ensure that all activities conform to requirements and regulations.
• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use and/or information.
• Work closely with the Ministry of Health and actively participate in relevant technical advisory/working groups (Steering Committees, Center of Excellence etc).

Apply and introduce innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders, and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best and cutting-edge practices in nutrition management and information systems; assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Social Sciences, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Nutrition, Public health, or another relevant technical field.

• Work Experience: A minimum of five years of professional experience in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of UNICEF, Government/ EU–funded projects or other internationally funded programs is required.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in Greek and English is required.

Desirables:

• Experience in nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or child/adolescent wellbeing
• Experience in coordinating multisector interventions on children, adolescents and youth related areas
• Experience in social and behavioural change and/or public advocacy
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.

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

(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

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 measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, 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. For this position, eligible and suitable male candidates 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.

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.