Current vacancies

In the Pacific, UNICEF works with its mission to promote the rights and wellbeing of every child in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. UNICEF Pacific is a multi-country office, based in Fiji and with field offices in Vanuatu, Kiribati, FSM, Samoa and the Solomon Islands.  These 14 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, an area comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. 

UNICEF Pacific’s health and nutrition programme aims to support governments in: strengthening health systems to accelerate progress towards universal access to quality and climate-resilient health and nutrition services that are appropriate, affordable and accessible to children, adolescents and women, especially those in remote settings; and accelerating efforts to promote multi-system and multi-stakeholder approaches to address triple burden of malnutrition (undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity), improve the quality of foods, food environments and nutritional practice of children, adolescents and women and ensure household food security. UNICEF supports governments to strengthen the existing legislation and regulatory frameworks, or to develop new ones that support the availability and affordability of nutritious foods and regulate the importation and marketing of unhealthy foods. Given the growing prevalence of obesity in children, UNICEF invests in multisectoral approaches to promote healthy lifestyles and dietary practices, including social and behavioural change and youth-led advocacy initiatives, engagement with private sector food producers and strengthening school nutrition programmes.   

Above all, UNICEF Pacific launched the ‘Fix My Food’ initiative with the objective to bring together young people, influencers, celebrities, and food entrepreneurs in Fiji and Solomon Islands, with the plan to expand to other countries such as Tonga, Vanuatu and FSM. UNICEF also intends to support the development and implementation of an integrated package of proven school-based interventions for student health, nutrition and wellbeing in support of the school health and nutrition policies, particularly in Fiji, with focus on the most pressing challenges that affect school children – e.g., HIV and AIDS, triple burden of malnutrition, vaccine preventable diseases, mental health and substance use.  

Against this background, the UNICEF Pacific Multi Country Office will seek the service of a consultant to support the effective implementation of UNICEF Pacific’s evidence-based, health and nutrition social behavioral change communication and youth-led advocacy interventions.    

The overall objective is to provide technical assistance, capacity building support, and coordination for effective implementation of UNICEF’s youth engagement, social mobilization, communication and policy advocacy activities for promoting child health and nutrition in the Pacific Island Countries.  

More specifically, the assignment includes:   

1. Design and management of “Fix My Food” campaign, a multi-year and multi-country campaign to empower youth to advocate for healthier food environments and to drive demand for effective government policies in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) 

2. Coordination of other youth-engagement, social mobilization, communication and advocacy activities, including multi-sectoral interventions for school-aged children’s health, nutrition and well-being.   

Please submit the following application documents: 

• A cover letter explaining suitability for position 

• Curriculum Vitae (CV) 

• Technical proposal 

• Financial offer in a separate attachment, stating a lump sum amount with a break down for the following: 

• Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference 

• Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment in Fiji) - The costs for in-country travel and inter-pacific travel costs (Fiji, Solomons, FSM, Tonga, Vanuatu) do not need to be included in the financial offer. 

• Living allowance for international consultant that will need to relocate to PICTs, for the duration of in-country assignment 

• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs. 

Please refer to the full Term of Reference (ToR)  TOR Nutrition Youth.pdf for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.  

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  

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels. 

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status. 

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance. 

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. 

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 is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable 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. 

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities. 

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.