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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, a digital future.  

The UNICEF Strategic Plan, Gender Action Plan and Adolescent Girls Programme Strategy specifies how UNICEF will promote gender equality and empowering adolescent girls. However, as the gender digital divide persists, catalytic, scalable and measurable actions are needed to bridge the gap in women and girls’ digital access, adoption and use, digital literacy, and online safety. Investments and targeted support are required to tackle the under-representation of women and girls as tech creators and leaders, to ensure gender-responsive processes for digital solutions to be built with women and girls, and for these digital innovations to be prioritized that benefit women and girls and transform a gender inequality. 

One flagship example of UNICEF Gender and Technology work is Oky, an innovative mobile menstruation and reproductive health information solution, designed with and for girls in low-and middle income countries. 

Oky is a demonstration model that illustrates innovative tech design to help close the gender digital divide. Other UNICEF activities in Gender and Digital Technology include support to girl-led digital solutions and products that address gender-based violence; promote online safety; increase girls’ learning, digital skills development, pathways into employment and entrepreneurship; and health and well-being. 

UNICEF is now seeking Gender and Technology consultant services to support the development, management and expansion of UNICEF Gender and Technology work around the world, including Oky. 

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF's ICTD Digital Centre of Excellence Gender and Technology team is seeking services of individual Gender and Technology consultants to provide a range of support services and technical assistance to enhance the ability of UNICEF Offices and partner organization at global, regional, and national level to lead and deliver high quality digital programmatic results that promote gender equality and adolescent girls empowerment. 

Applicants will be considered for current and upcoming Gender and Technology consultancy opportunities, and for placement on the ICTD Gender and Technology Consultant Roster 2025-2027. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Gender and Technology categories for this roster include for both Junior and Senior roles, but are not limited to: 

Product and Partnerships Management: Perform project, product, and partnership management services for girl-centred digital solutions and initiatives; provide coordination and project planning services, implementation and reporting support; develop and maintain partnerships with implementing and contributing partners from all sectors of society and industries; garner support and expansion of the Gender and Technology ecosystem; etc. 

Technology Advisory: Provide technology related advisory services to Oky and other gender-related digital products; quality assure technology related digital gender work; support implementing partners on technology related decisions that ensure technology products are built and deployed to meet girls and women’s digital realities; advise and lead on products’ features and built-out; guide low-tech multi-platform products development; advise on Content Management Systems; liaise with UNICEF teams, technology vendors and technology industry partners; etc 

Full-stack Development: Write open-source code on both the front and back end of gender-related digital products (including apps, websites, etc); write database queries; upgrade master codes periodically to the latest stack; provide support and maintenance for technology products (including bug fixes, responses to security issues, ensuring compatibility with new operating systems, adding new features and designs, etc); conduct security audits and bi-annual penetration testing of gender-related digital solutions as per UNICEF requirements; etc 

UX / UI: Provide UX / UI services to Oky and other GenderTech products; create and test user journey maps for Oky and other GenderTech products; design graphic interface elements; develop wireframes (high and low fidelity) and prototypes; evaluate user feedback and requirements and iterate product UI and features based on user inputs; etc 

Deployment and Scaling: Provide advisory for the scaling of gender-related digital products and platforms, including on strategic and operational aspects of localization, deployment and roll-out; provide Human-centred Design (HCD) guidance to teams and partners localizing girl-intentional digital solutions in different markets; leverage lessons learnt from scaling of digital solutions for new deployments; document localization, deployment and scaling insights and develop guidance; etc 

Open-source Advisory: Provide technical assistance on open-source community building and open-source governance structures for GenderTech products, including project charter development; explore options for GenderTech governance models that put women and girls at the forefront; support open-source steering committees establishment and Standard Operating Procedure development; support strategies of open-source community development and ecosystem engagement; etc 

Gender Digital Divide: Provide research advisory and expertise on what works for closing the gender digital divide; technical assistance for UNICEF countries and partners on high impact interventions that help bridge the gender digital divide for girls; feed into UNICEF and partners research and interventions that aim to close the digital gender gaps; feed into policy advocacy initiatives and engage with policy makers if requested; support with evidence briefs; etc  

Digital Literacy: Provide advisory on what works in digital literacy for women and girls; develop or adapt gender-specific digital literacy guidance and case studies; feed into girls digital literacy strategies and their implementation; review and support curricula and materials development that advance girls’ digital literacy, etc 

Digital Content: Create new and evidence-based content in girl-friendly, girl-centred and compelling language in English (or other languages where GenderTech products are deployed); design chatbot / IVR / SMS conversations and scripts; develop gamified content; advise on editorial processes for content at global and/or country level; quality assure content developed in various contexts; participate in content quality review panels; manage open-source content repository; foster digital content collaboration with partners; etc 

Promotion and User Engagement: Provide advisory and support to Oky and other GenderTech products promotion and user engagement approaches, with a view towards a female target audience and their digital realities; develop and roll-out strategies for user acquisition (both digital and in-person); support monitoring and reporting on backend analytics; customer and user feedback management; 

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL): Refine Theory of Change and indicators, including analytics and business intelligence systems; build out digital monitoring and reporting frameworks; lead the setting up of MEL data collection and reporting mechanisms, particularly using lean data approaches; provide technical support for in-country and multi-country research projects and impact assessments; etc. 

Data and Statistical Analysis: Develop pre-analysis plan for specific assignments and research questions for gender-related digital solutions; review data sets, data format, database structures and make recommendations; propose statistical methods; guide and run data analysis and insights generation to respond to research questions; etc 

Peer-to-peer: Provide technical assistance on adapting peer education strategies for connecting un-connected female users and tap into adolescent girls’ peer and women networks; develop or adapt training and other peer-to-peer materials; work with UNICEF teams and partners to repurpose trainings and materials for multiple markets to ensure the benefits of digital products for un-connected women and girls; etc 

Disability and Accessibility: Provide technical assistance on ensuring digital products and platforms cater to girls and women with special needs (physical and/or intellectual disabilities); design and run consultations with girls and women with special needs; work strategically with partner organizations (and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities) specialized in accessibility of digital products; advise on adaptations needed to ensure accessibility (e.g. code, design and UX); design strategies and materials to reach more girls and women with disabilities through adaptations, community and outreach approaches that can be replicated in multiple markets; 

Duration and Location: 

This is an expression of interest to be placed on the ICTD Digital Centre of Excellence Gender and Technology roster. For each work assignment, Terms of Reference with work scope and tasks, schedules, deliverables, timelines and final outputs will be developed. Work assignments might require full-time or part-time commitments, at Senior or Junior level expertise. 

Assignments will be remote based, with travel to deployment countries or conferences as needed. 

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

• University degree (Bachelor’s Degree or higher) in Social Sciences, Gender Studies, International Development, ICT, or in an area relevant to UNICEF’s Gender and Technology work (Sexual and Reproductive Health, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Health, Education, Child Protection, WASH, etc.) is required. 
• Specific work experience on digital projects, products and services, or innovation, in emerging markets; experience with GenderTech products and working with women and girls, preferred. 
• At least 8 years (applies to Senior level) or 3 years (applies to Junior level) of progressively responsible professional experience and demonstrated track record in the area of gender, digital or innovation, or in the specific area of support that candidate is applying for. 
• Strong, substantive, experience and skills related to the specific roles and areas of support that candidate is applying for. 
• Creative, innovative thinker who can also translate ideas into practical applications; “Get things done” mindset. 
• Self-starter who is happy to hit the ground running; independently motivated who doesn’t require extensive set-up processes, training, orientation, or strategy development (Applies to Senior level) 
• Proven skills in communication, networking, strategic thinking, advocacy, negotiation, and ability to relate this to innovation and young people. (Applies to Senior level) 
• Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas. (Applies to Senior level) 
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

Candidates from low-and-middle income countries are particularly encouraged to apply. 

Application Instructions: 

Interested applicants should submit their application for this roster through UNICEF’s Talent Management System. In the application process, applicants will be asked to confirm: 
• Levels the candidate would like to be considered for (Junior or Senior level) 
• Workload availability (Full-time, Part-time or Specific Assignments) 
• Categories the applicant would like to be considered for  

Applicants should include the following attachments in their application: 
• Cover letter indicating availability until end of 2027 and availability for home based work. 
• Samples of previous work on similar assignments (links preferred)  

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.