Current vacancies

Consultancy Title: Content Development and Fact-checking on Child Rights and Business Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Business Engmt. & Child Rights, Programme Division NYHQ

Duration: February 20, 2025 to October 1, 2025

Home/ Office Based: REMOTE

 

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For over 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

 

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

This assignment forms part of UNICEF’s efforts to guide and accelerate responsible business conduct in relation to

children’s rights, with a primary focus on thorough technical review and refinement of written materials. It consists of

two complementary but distinct functions across a range of core documents, purpose detailed below:

Fact checking and content review – thorough technical review of written materials including assessment of accurate representation of sources and robust referencing.

Professional editing and writing – thorough review of presentation of written materials for appropriate audiences, including re-writing as required.

 

Scope of Work:

Context

UNICEF’s Business Engagement and Child Rights Team (BECR) within Programme Group (PG) is responsible for developing knowledge and guidance for companies, governments, and civil society in support of identifying and addressing business impacts on children’s rights, and leveraging at their action to achieving and accelerating results for children.

Aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, the team works with all stakeholders – companies, government and civil society – to create an enabling environment where business can respect, support and advance children’s rights online and offline.

In recent years, UNICEF has developed a suite of written materials spanning industry tools and guidance, policy documents, and case studies.

Assignment

This assignment consists of in-depth technical review of a range of existing and new child rights and business documents spanning a broad range of technical areas.

Specific expectations on deliverables are itemized in the table below.

 

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Child rights in relation to the digital environment

Summary of research on child rights and digital marketing (up to 15 pages)

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) of research summary for public dissemination distilled from long-form internal research findings. Multi-audience (policymakers and industry).

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft report (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft report (Word doc)

• Final proofread of report prior to layout (Word doc)

1 March 2025

Industry toolkit on child rights and responsible digital marketing (up to 50 pages)

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) of toolkit for industry on child rights and digital marketing, ensuring non-technical and accessible tone for ease of use.

The toolkit is currently under development. Estimated final length is up to 50 pages, divided into 5 shorter documents addressing different audiences.

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft toolkit (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft toolkit (Word doc)

• Final proofread of toolkit prior to layout (Word doc)

1 July 2025

Industry practice case studies on child rights and responsible business conduct in relation to the

digital environment (up to 40 pages total) 

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) of documented case studies of industry practice divided across 6 documents of 5-7 pages each.

Final output should be presented in a non-technical and accessible tone for generalist audience.

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft case studies (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft case studies (Word doc)

• Final proofread of case studies prior to layout (Word doc)

15 August 2025

Guidance on corporate reporting in relation to child rights impacts in the digital environment

(up to 40 pages)

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) of public-facing resource on corporate reporting in relation to child rights impacts online, drawing from extensive research on corporate reporting completed in 2024.

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft summary report (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft summary report (Word doc)

• Final proofread of summary report prior to layout (Word doc)

30 May 2025

Summary Report on Tech Regulation (up to 20 pages)

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) of public-facing summary report of research on industry regulation with regards to children’s rights and safety online.

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft summary report (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft summary report (Word doc)

• Final proofread of summary report prior to layout (Word doc)

1 October 2025

Child Rights and the Just Transition

Summary of research on Child Rights and Just Transition (up to 15 pages)

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) of research summary for public dissemination distilled from long-form internal research findings. Multi-audience (policymakers and industry).

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft report (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft report (Word doc)

• Final proofread of report prior to layout (Word doc)

15 June 2025

Final research report on Child Rights and the Just transition including data from 3 country studies

(up to 80 pages)

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) of research report for public dissemination. Multi-audience (policymakers and industry).

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft report (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft report (Word doc)

1 June 2025

PG Leadership

Thought Leadership

- Research, develop and edit four thought leadership pieces (blog posts) to be published by a senior leader on a professional platform. Each article will draw insights from existing organizational reports, policy briefs, data and analysis by the organization and other approved content. Articles should be concise (up to 1500 words) and align with the style and tone of established benchmarks, such as similar thought pieces from notable platforms. Suggestions for accompanying graphics are welcome, though final design work is not required.

• 4 finalized blog posts (up to 1500 words each) ready for publication, with suggestions for accompanying graphics.

31 May 2025

Programme Guidance on Engaging with the Business Sector (up to 40 pages)

- Review (fact check, edit, re-structure as required) as well as propose new content as relevant of UNICEF Programme resource on engaging the business sector

• Thoroughly reviewed/edited first draft report (Word doc)

• Reviewed/edited second draft report (Word doc)

• Final proofread of report prior to layout (Word doc)

30 June 2025

Business Engagement Annexes to new Country Programing Guidance (3 documents up to 4 pages each)

• Thoroughly reviewed/edit first draft (Word doc)

30 June 2025

 

Qualifications

Education:

University Degree (Bachelor's) in English, Culture, Society or related Social Science Studies. 

 

Work experience: 

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

o Minimum 10 years of work experience in one of the following is required: Professional editing/copy editing in technical fields of international development with a focus on child rights, responsible business, and tools for companies. Strong fact-checking skills and previous experience with UNICEF publications is preferred.

 

Requirements: 

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and 

- Upload copy of academic credentials 

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

o the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.

o travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. 

o Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.

o Indicate your availability 

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. 

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process 

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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.