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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, innovation.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

This consultancy aims to assist the ICT and T4D teams to strengthen regional cybersecurity by helping with awareness campaigns, security assessments, incident management, governance development, threat intelligence, and knowledge sharing. The consultant will assist the ICT staff to collaborate with HQ, regional, and field teams to meet UNICEF cybersecurity standards, improve threat detection and response, and promote a collaborative cybersecurity environment.

Scope of Work

The consultant will support the Cybersecurity Focal Point(s) by providing valuable assistance in the development and execution of cybersecurity awareness campaigns across the region, ensuring that regional projects comply with UNICEF’s global standards and best practices. While not directly responsible for all activities, the consultant will collaborate closely with the core focal points to advise on the implementation of security incident management processes and provide guidance on effective response protocols.

The consultant will also play a key role in assisting the development of governance mechanisms that align with UNICEF’s global cybersecurity strategies, ensuring consistent application across ECAR regional efforts and PSFR countries scope. They will work with core teams to help set up and refine regional threat intelligence-sharing processes, ensuring the integration of relevant regional threats into UNICEF’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Program.

Furthermore, the consultant will facilitate knowledge sharing by supporting the creation of a best practices repository, contributing to the development of incident response playbooks, and assisting in the coordination of virtual forums for knowledge exchange. These forums will serve as a platform for regional leads and HQ experts to discuss emerging threats and cybersecurity strategies, with the consultant aiding in organizing and facilitating these discussions, fostering collaboration and continuous improvement across the organization.

Work Assignment Overview

Estimated Duration of the Contract

100 working days between April and October 2025.

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be remote/home-based, no travels are foreseen.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please submit an all-inclusive fee (in USD) to undertake this assignment for 100 working days.

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

• Minimum B.Sc. in Information Technology (IT) or Computer Science (CS). A M.Sc. is desirable.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience.
• Technical Skills:
  • Authentication & MFA: Expertise in MFA, SSO, identity management.
  • Penetration Testing: Vulnerability assessments, ethical hacking, PoC testing.
• Network & Application Security: Firewalls, IDS/IPS, OWASP vulnerabilities, secure software practices is considered an asset.
• Cloud Security: Securing AWS, Azure, GCP environments is considered an asset.
• Compliance: Familiarity with GDPR, PCI-DSS, NIST, ISO 27001 is considered an asset.
• Experience with UN/UNICEF or similar international organizations is considered an asset.
• Proficiency in English.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Please submit a full CV and a Cover Letter in your application. Additionally, indicate your availability and all-inclusive fee (in USD) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.