Current vacancies

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, Education. 

The 2025 Pacific Early Childhood Development (ECD) Forum, themed "Our Children, Our Heritage: Blue Pacific Resilience through ECD Leadership," is a transformative, three-day gathering (13-15 of May 2025) aimed at advancing the ECD agenda across the Pacific. This high-level forum will bring together leaders from 15 Pacific Island nations to reflect on the progress made since the 2017 Pasifika Call to Action on ECD, incorporating critical updates from 2023. By reaffirming this commitment, the forum seeks to safeguard the optimal development of our youngest citizens, ensuring their futures are deeply rooted in the rich cultural heritage and resilient communities that define the Pacific.

Organized by the Pacific Regional Council for ECD (PRC4ECD) and UNICEF, with the support of the New Zealand and Australia Governments, and hosted by the Government of Samoa, this gathering offers a vital platform for Pacific leaders to reaffirm their commitment to nurturing children while preserving the cultural legacies that are the backbone of our Pacific identity.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the overall guidance of the UNICEF ECD Specialist, the consultant will support UNICEF Pacific in its secretariat role for PRC4ECD, including the planning and execution of the 2025 ECD Forum.

The consultant will be responsible for developing actionable and practical guidance and resources to effectively advance PRC4ECD commitments. Key responsibilities include:

• Offering technical guidance and quality assurance for ECD informative papers currently in development for the ECD Forum.
• Supporting the organization of the 2025 ECD Forum in Samoa in collaboration with the UNICEF Pacific team.
• Assisting the ECD Specialist in finalizing technical resources on ECD including briefing notes and session content.

Please refer to the ToR ( TOR ECD_ForumTechnicalSupport.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:  

Please submit a CV and brief technical proposal as well as a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above.
• Travel: economy air ticket to include two in-country visits to carry out the assignment
• Living allowance: where travel is required
• Miscellaneous: to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), travel insurance, communications, and other costs

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

Education:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Early Childhood Development, Education, Public Health and other relevant fields.

Experience & Skills:

• At least 8 years of experience in Early Childhood Development, Education, Public Health and other relevant fields.
• Experience working with UNICEF or a UN system agency is an asset.
• Proven ability to work independently, liaising with and engaging diverse and very busy stakeholders, and effective.
• Ability to work under pressure both independently and as a team member.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of the 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 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 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. Consultants 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.