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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to support.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a leader in the region for the rights of its children. Working closely with the Government of Jordan, civil society, the private sector, and communities, UNICEF Jordan Country Office aims to sustain results achieved for children to date, and strive to further improve policies, national institutions and programmes, for the well-being of every child in Jordan, in line with Jordan's Vision 2025 and the National Human Resources Development Strategy (2016-2025) towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Our programmes focus on improving the lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the Kingdom, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion, or background. Our main pillars include Child Protection; Education; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene; Adolescent and Youth Engagement, Health and Nutrition; Social Protection; and Operations.

How can you make a difference? 

The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a human-rights-based and equity-focused SitAn of the rights and well-being of children and young people in Jordan. The analysis will examine progress, challenges, and opportunities for realizing their rights and well-being, in line with the CRC, CEDAW, CRPD, and other international obligations.

The SitAn is expected to present robust evidence and highlight opportunities for socially and economically inclusive development. It should unpack and examine the bottlenecks to the realization of child rights, as well as the interrelated roles of duty-bearer institutions. It should highlight inequalities among different population groups, socio-economic characteristics, urban/rural disparities, genders, geographic locations and other dimensions. The SitAn should pay special attention to looking at disaggregated data and unpacking national and/or subnational averages. Besides presenting an analysis of why inequities exist, it should also present contextualized recommendations and strategies on what could be done by key stakeholders to attain/sustain inclusive social and economic development that guarantees equal inclusion and participation of all groups of children, adolescents and young people. The SitAn should follow a youth-led participatory action which will address different issues that affect them in diverse contexts and settings.

Grounded in Jordan’s political, social and economic realities, the SitAn will assess how children’s rights are affected by national, regional and global dynamics, including conflict, migration, and refugee situations. With a strong focus on equity, it will highlight the situation of children and young people most deprived or excluded—such as children with disabilities, those living in poverty, and refugees  living in camps and host communities—drawing on disaggregated data wherever possible.  By linking evidence to ongoing reforms and policy processes, the SitAn will support strategic decision-making, guide programming and resource allocation, and contribute to monitoring progress toward the SDGs, international human rights conventions, and national priorities.

The main objectives of a rights-based, equity-focused SitAn in Jordan are as follows:

i. Generate a comprehensive picture of children’s and young people’s situation, analyzing policies, social and economic trends, and disparities (by age, gender, socio-economic status, location, migration status, disability, etc.).

ii. Identify and analyze the main causes, barriers and bottlenecks that prevent the most disadvantaged from realizing their rights and accessing quality services.

iii. Analyze how structural inequalities, gender roles, disabilities, and dominant social and cultural norms affect children's rights, paying particular attention to the ways in which various child and young people’s groups are impacted by overlapping deprivations.

iv.  Assess the enabling environment, including laws, policies, budgets, and institutions, and examine risks such as conflict, disaster, and other shocks that affect children’s rights and resilience.

v.  Provide national government partners with comprehensive equity-sensitive and evidence-based analysis on children and young people for result-based decision-making.

vi.  Provide essential information to non-government partners (NGOs, community-based organizations, civil society, media and business sector) to be used in their planning and interventions to address the most urgent issues affecting children and young people.

vii. Contribute evidence to major national policies and strategies so that the priorities for the most disadvantaged children and young people are integrated into the socio-economic development agenda.

viii.  Identify critical data gaps and contribute to the generation of evidence that can improve the monitoring of the rights of children, especially the most vulnerable.

ix.  Assess the current or potential presence of emergency risks (disaster risks and other potential shocks), the likelihood of their occurrence, the underlying vulnerabilities and the capacities and coping mechanisms of families, communities and local and national institutions.

x.  Analyze to what extent there is an enabling environment for the realization of the rights of all children and young people and analyze how evidence-based interventions and services needed to address deprivations are prioritized in national policies, laws, strategies, plans and budgets.

xi.  Capture new or emerging areas of concern and new opportunities regarding children and young people, such as environmental issues affecting them, mental health issues etc.

xii.  Analyze the role/impact of business sector on child and young peoples’ rights fulfilment as well as public financial management.

xiii. Promote meaningful dialogue between the main child rights actors in the country on children’s and young people’s issues.

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

Minimum requirements:

1. The assignment is expected to be undertaken by a team of two individual consultants :

• International consultant with proven experience in leading or contributing to Situation Analyses (SitAn) on children’s rights and well-being, preferably in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with solid understanding of child rights frameworks, social and economic policy, and cross-sectoral analysis.

•  One national consultant with strong knowledge and experience of the Jordanian context, national policies, data sources, and socio-political environment affecting children and their families and communities.

2. For both consultants: an Advanced university degree (Master’s level or higher) in Development Studies, Economics (Development or Social Economics), Child Rights or Child and Youth Studies, Applied Social Research, Strategic Planning, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Sciences, or a related field is required.

3.  Both consultants should have at least 8 years of relevant professional experience in strategic analysis, development of analytical reports, and policy documents related to children and adolescents.  professional experience in strategic analysis, development of analytical reports, and policy documents related to children and adolescents. 

Desirables:

• Recognized researcher with proven experience in public policy, social policy and policy analysis, public finance and child/human rights, social development, etc.

  • Strong analytical skills – references to previous work or institutions.

  • Excellent knowledge of statistics, social service systems, development agenda.

  • Proven experience in analyzing large-scale household survey data (DHS, MICS, or similar).

  •  Experience in child deprivation analysis.

  •  Familiarity with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), SDGs, UNICEF programming, and regional child rights frameworks is highly desirable.

  • Previous experience with UNICEF is an advantage. Particularly related to the development of similar products.

  •  Proven experience of conducting a SitAn with UNICEF in other offices is highly desirable.

  •   Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, policy (and finance) analysis (including experience in the consistent use of age and sex-disaggregated and gender sensitive data) and report preparation.

  •  Knowledge of human rights-based approach to programming.

• Experience in facilitating consultations with government representatives, NGOs, academia, children, adolescents and other stakeholders.

  •  Excellent report writing skills with a demonstrated ability to present complex data in a clear and accessible manner.

  •  Strong communication, coordination, with the ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders, including government counterparts.

  •   Language: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Applications submitted without a financial proposal will not be considered.  The financial offer should be a lump sum for the whole assignment including Travel if applicable. 

For more details on the assignment, please review the  Advert - JCO SITAN Consultancy TOR.pdf and  New Guidance to develop SitAn.pdf before submitting your application. 

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

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. 

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.