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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 health 

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide overall coordination to the UNICEF uSupport initiative which aims to increase access to quality MHPSS care and support for adolescents and young people in the Europe and Central Asia region. The consultant will work under the supervision of the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team and will support various phases of project implementation, including design-build-test-learn agile production cycle, promotion, MVP launch, roll-out and subsequent scale-up to new countries.

ABOUT UNICEF
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 realize their full 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.

ABOUT uSupport

Adolescents today are facing a compounding mental health crisis: more young people than ever are struggling with anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions. Fifty percent of all mental health conditions start by age 14 and 75% by age 24. Most cases are undetected and untreated. uSupport initiative aims to make mental health and psycho-social support services more affordable, inclusive, and accessible to all adolescents.

Young people systematically rate mental health as one of their top concerns. Yet, there is a large gap in access to affordable accessible quality services to support young people with their MHPSS needs. Stigma associated with mental health issues is widespread. The consequences of being unable to find help can be catastrophic. Nearly one in five deaths among 15 to 19-year-olds in the EU is caused by intentional self- harm - second only to road traffic incidents.

Many young people turn online seeking information, care and services for their mental health needs. uSupport can be a confidential, secure and trusted platform to provide support to youth where they are: online.

In 2022, UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) started the development of innovative on-demand digital mental health (MH) solution to address the growing mental health concerns for youth in the Europe and Central Asia Region. ECARO’s uSupport platform has been designed to address an important bottleneck in MH care in the region, which is the significant gap in access to MH support and services for young people.

As of February 2026, uSupport has been successfully launched in Kazakhstan, Poland, with preparations ongoing for the platform launch in Romania,Armenia and Cyprus. In addition, several countries (Tajikistan, Greece, Azerbaijan and others) expressed their interest in uSupport.

The UNICEF ECARO seeks a uSupport Project Coordinator to provide overall coordination to the uSupport project which aims to increase access to quality MHPSS care and support for adolescents and young people in the Europe and Central Asia region. The consultant will work under the supervision of the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team and will support various phases of project implementation, including design-build-test-learn agile production cycle, promotion, MVP launch, roll-out and subsequent scale-up to new countries.  He/she will also work in close collaboration with UNICEF country/regional teams and technical and non-profit partner organizations. This is an individual consultancy contract to work remotely full-time the next 6 months.

How can you make a difference? 

1. Overall Coordination of the uSupport Project
• Work closely with the internal cross-functional team (ADAP, T4D, Office of Innovation (OOI), GPD Mental Health, Legal, Data Protection, Child Protection, Communications, Partnerships) and the technical development contractor to ensure coordinated implementation and achievement of project objectives across deployment, rollout, maintenance, and adaptation phases.
• Facilitate, coordinate, and document action points from weekly meetings with:
(i) uSupport cross-functional management team
(ii) Technical development contractor
(iii) Country Offices
• Collaborate with the technical development team and Digital Architect consultant to design, test, and refine additional platform functionalities based on research findings and Country Office (CO) needs; coordinate technical workflows using GitHub.
• Lead knowledge management and project documentation, including management of SharePoint repositories, GitBook, and other technical and non-technical documentation systems; prepare briefing notes, updates, and information materials covering programme overview, workforce onboarding, policy/legal considerations, operational challenges, and solutions.
• Contribute, in collaboration with the OOI, to the development and refinement of a real-time monitoring and evaluation (M&E) dashboard to track implementation progress and analyze impact.
• Contribute to ensuring alignment between uSupport and the Digital Center of Excellence, particularly with respect to governance models, digital standards, and integration within broader Digital Public Goods initiatives.

2. Coordination and Support to Country Offices Implementing uSupport and Other e-Mental Health Initiatives
• Provide coordination and technical support to Country Offices and the Regional Refugee Response Office (RRO) in implementing and scaling uSupport, with a focus on Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Romania.
• Support Poland RRO within the humanitarian response framework, including analysis and potential implementation of scale-up and development of possible handover scenarios beyond 2027.
• Monitor and provide technical guidance to Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, and other COs developing youth-focused e-mental health initiatives.
• Continuously update and strengthen the uSupport Deployment Kit, ensuring availability of standardized tools and materials to support onboarding and rollout in new countries.
• Coordinate onboarding processes for new interested countries (including Cyprus and Tajikistan).
• Support documentation and dissemination of best practices in digital mental health to promote inter-country learning, evidence-informed implementation and knowledge exchange.

3. Support to Development of an Enabling Policy and Financial Sustainability Environment
• Provide a bridging coordination function to ensure continuity of technical guidance, governance oversight, and strategic direction during the 2026 transition period.
• In collaboration with the Partnerships Team, support platform positioning and promotion with National Committees (NatComs), public donors, and private sector partners; develop presentations and advocacy materials for fundraising purposes.
• Support resource mobilization efforts by identifying funding opportunities and contributing to grant proposals and funding applications.
• Collaborate with the OOI on the development of a sustainable Business Model with multiple implementation scenarios, as well as on the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for implementing countries.

4. Support any other uSupport coordination-related duties as may be required.

Working modality:

This is a home-based consultancy with possible travel (1-2 trips TBC). Duration of the contract is from July to December 2026 for 130 working days. 

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

• A requirement of minimum bachelor’s degree in social sciences and/or Technology for Development, Public Health, Project Management, etc.

  • A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in social development planning and management with focus on adolescent/youth development and MHPSS related areas is required.

  • Previous work experience in coordination of MHPSS projects, specifically in the area of digital MH and innovative eMH solutions is highly desirable and will be considered a strong asset.

  • Work experience in South/East Europe, the Caucasus, and/or Central Asia would be an asset. Previous work experience with UNICEF/UN agencies is desirable.

  • Ability to plan and manage, e.g. by summarizing meeting decisions and highlighting key tasks, issues and people responsible with due dates.

  • Must have a passion for project coordination and following up on pending items with the team and partners.

  • Previous experience working with tools like GitHub, Notion and Jira is a strong asset.

  • Excellent written and verbal skills in English; knowledge of Russian language is desirable. Knowledge of Ukrainian will be considered as an asset.

  • Adaptable and collaborative working style with good communication and interpersonal skills capable of maintaining strong relationships.

  • Ability and patience to navigate through administrative processes.

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 

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role]. 

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.

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.

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.