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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, a voice

How can you make a difference? 

Under the guidance of the supervisor, provide professional technical assistance and support for programme design, planning and implementation, management and evaluation of programme/project activities, data analysis and progress reporting, in support of programme goals and objectives. This includes contributing to the monitoring and analysis of the situation of children’s rights, supporting the generation and use of disaggregated data and evidence to inform policy and programming, and strengthening national capacities for child rights monitoring. The incumbent will also support the integration of child rights principles across all programme areas, ensuring that UNICEF’s advocacy and interventions are grounded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and aligned with national and international human rights frameworks.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES, DUTIES & TASKS

Programme Development, Planning and Management

• Lead evidence‑based programme design by synthesizing data on child rights gaps, informing rights‑based goals and strategies, and ensuring alignment with UNICEF policies and international child rights frameworks.
• Support programme planning and results monitoring through the development and use of measurable child rights indicators, results‑based management tools, and transparent systems that track progress and strengthen accountability.
• Oversee programme implementation and resource use by monitoring compliance, tracking expenditures related to child rights interventions, and recommending actions that ensure efficient, effective, and rights‑focused allocation of funds.
• Strengthen rights‑based programming with partners by providing technical guidance across planning, implementation, evaluation, and advocacy processes, promoting approaches that advance sustainable outcomes for children’s and women’s rights.

Knowledge Management and Innovation for Programmes

• Contribute to country programmes by supporting knowledge management through high‑quality data collection, analysis, and reporting, while conducting socio‑political and economic trend analysis to assess their implications for children’s rights and inform evidence‑based programme adjustments.
• Ensure that child rights indicators are systematically included in data collection efforts and that disaggregated data (by age, gender, disability, location, etc.) is used to monitor disparities and inform programming.
• Participate in the Programme Knowledge Network system of “lessons learned” and other corporate-level databases, including documentation of innovations and good practices in child rights monitoring.
• Support the development of training and orientation materials that incorporate child rights principles and monitoring tools.
• Contribute to the preparation of programme reports, ensuring integration of child rights data and analysis.

National and Local Capacity Building/Sustainability

• Provide technical support to government authorities and partners in planning and organizing training programmes focused on child rights monitoring and data use.
• Promote institutional capacity building for child rights monitoring at national and local levels, including support to national statistical offices, ombudspersons, and civil society.
• Identify and strengthen partnerships that contribute to sustainable child rights monitoring systems.

Rights Perspective and Advocacy at the National, Community and Family Levels

• Analyze programme-related issues and policies from a children’s and women’s rights perspective, advocating for their inclusion in national policy debates.
• Promote the use of child rights data and evidence in advocacy efforts at the national, community, and family levels.
• Support the development of communication materials and campaigns that raise awareness and help to build child-centered national coalitions.
• Contribute to national reporting processes, including CRC periodic reports and SDG progress reports, by providing technical inputs and data analysis.

Partnership, Coordination and Collaboration

• Facilitate partnerships with internal and external counterparts to improve the collection, analysis, and dissemination of child rights data.
• Collaborate with the Operations Section to ensure that financial and supply management systems support child rights monitoring activities.
• Maintain close collaboration with Regional Advisers and HQ Officers to align country-level child rights monitoring efforts with global standards and priorities.
• Provide technical support in negotiations and advocacy to promote child rights-based actions and ensure alignment with UNICEF programme goals.
• Support national and subnational data generation efforts with government and key stakeholders, ensuring alignment with UNICEF corporate standards (e.g., MICS, MICS Plus) and contributing to corporate results reporting (RAM, CSIs, COAR).

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Programme Officer - Terms of Reference

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: A university degree in one of the following fields is required: Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, Statistics or another relevant technical field.
• Work Experience: A minimum of two years of relevant professional work experience is required. Experience working in a middle- to- upper income country is considered as an asset. Background/familiarity with emergency is considered as an asset. 
• Language Requirements: Fluency in Spanish and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French or Russian) or a local language is an asset.

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.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

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.

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.