Senior Expert II - Organizational Decision Making/ Evaluation of risk-taking, risk-sharing and risk management in humanitarian action (remote with possible travel)

  • 596829
  • United States, New York
  • Consultant
  • Closing at: 19 Nov 2026 - 23:55 EST

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 safety

How can you make a difference?

The UNICEF Evaluation Office (EO) is commissioning a global evaluation of UNICEF’s risk governance frameworks and practices in humanitarian action. Building on a set of case studies conducted across different emergency contexts, the evaluation will allow tracing the decision-making processes that led to either action or no action during past emergency responses and will attempt to measure their repercussion on the delivery of services and good to children, especially those in hard-to-reach areas. The evaluation aims to put forward recommendations that will equip UNICEF staff across a variety of emergency contexts to manage, prevent and share risks more responsibly and effectively in the future.

The EO is seeking a Senior Expert in Organizational Decision-making for this evaluation.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Download File Senior Expert Consultant.pdf

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

Minimum requirements: |(Qualifications/Experience/ Knowledge/Expertise/Skills)

  • Education: PhD in Behavioural science, decision science, organizational psychology, social sciences or a related field.
  • Work Experience:
    • At least 12 years of applied experience studying how people and organizations make decisions under uncertainty.
    • Proven experience designing survey experiments or vignette studies, including factorial designs, and analyzing the results
    • Applied work in humanitarian, security or public-sector settings
    • Experience translating behavioural findings into organizational design recommendations
  • Language Requirements: English required; other UN languages considered an asset
  • Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:
    • Knowledge of the risk culture literature, including calculative cultures, and of cognitive biases relevant to evaluation such as hindsight and outcome bias
    • Knowledge of the UN system and the global humanitarian system as a whole;
    • Excellent analytical, communication and writing skills

]

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

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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

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.

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.

Other jobs you may be interested in

Consultancy for Harmful practices data for programming, Florence, Italy, 4 months, Remote with no travel, Nationals, Internationals

Italy Child Protection, Disability
UNICEF Data & Analytics supports countries in the design, collection, analysis and uptake of data on children. The Child Protection, Development and Disability (CPDD) section of Data & Analytics oversees such work in the area of harmful practices, namely child marriage and female genital mutilation. To promote the effective uptake of data in programming to address harmful practices, UNICEF has developed and implemented a series of capacity-building initiatives for practitioners whose work involves designing and delivering programmes on the prevention of harmful practices.

Transition Support Consultancy, WASH, UNICEF, Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe (Office-based), 3.7 Months, International Candidates Only, #596929

Zimbabwe Operations , Partnerships, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
UNICEF Zimbabwe is implementing a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Climate, Energy and Environment (CEE) programme and is preparing for the transition from the 2022-2026 programme cycle to the 2027-2031 Country Programme. The period from late November 2026 to mid-March 2027 requires concentrated technical support to complete 2026 programme closure, consolidate results and lessons, and translate the new Country Programme priorities into an operational 2027 WASH/CEE workplan. The consultancy will provide senior technical, planning and coordination support to the WASH/CEE section during this transition. It will support programme review and closure, work planning with government and partners, cross-sectoral integration of WASH/CEE priorities, resource mobilisation, donor and management reporting, and humanitarian preparedness. The consultant will work under the supervision of the Deputy Representative, Programmes, and in close collaboration with the WASH/CEE team, other programme sections, Operations, Partnerships, government counterparts and development and humanitarian partners. The assignment is deliverable-based. The consultant will provide advice, facilitate processes and produce agreed outputs. Accountability for staff supervision, financial certification, formal representation and management decisions remains with authorized UNICEF staff.

Reports Specialist, P-3, TA (364 days), #137063, East Jerusalem, State of Palestine - MENAR

State of Palestine (SoP) Partnerships
If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.