Current vacancies

Contract Duration: 11 months

Working arrangement: Helsinki, Finland – Remote / Home-based

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.

                                                         TERMS OF REFERENCE

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 fulfil their 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.

The Global Learning Innovation Hub under the UNICEF Office of Innovation is seeking a Senior Full-Stack Developer to join the Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADT) team. The ADT initiative transforms PDF textbooks into rich, accessible digital learning materials for children with and without disabilities. The selected consultant will take the lead on the continued development of ADT Studio — a TypeScript monorepo application that automates the production of accessible digital textbooks through AI-powered pipelines. This role is central to making educational content universally accessible and available to millions of children worldwide.

The ADT initiative converts PDF textbooks into structured, accessible digital content — including HTML storyboards, quizzes, glossaries, image captions, translations, and text-to-speech audio — packaged as self-contained web bundles, EPUBs, or WebPubs. The production pipeline is powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) and controlled through a configuration-driven architecture that supports per-book customization of text classification, rendering strategies, and model settings.

ADT Studio is the successor to ADT Press, rebuilt as a TypeScript monorepo using AI-assisted development (Claude Code). It represents a significant architectural advancement: a two-level DAG pipeline model with a React frontend and Hono backend. The codebase is open-source, hosted on UNICEF’s GitHub, and designed for extensibility by third-party developers and country offices.

The initial release runs as a Docker-based application — users simply pull and run a container, with no local dependency management required. This approach prioritizes ease of deployment across diverse country office environments. The architecture is designed so that the same React + Hono codebase can later be wrapped in Tauri v2, delivering a native desktop installer experience with no Docker dependency at all.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  Sr Full Stack Devlper Cons TOR.pdf

• Minimum requirements:
• Education:
  • Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
  • A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above-mentioned fields combined with additional relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
• Work Experience:
  • Minimum 6 years of professional experience in software development, with strong expertise in TypeScript (strict mode), React, and Node.js.
  • Demonstrated experience building and maintaining full-stack web applications with modern React patterns (hooks, functional components, context providers) and state management libraries such as TanStack Query or similar. Experience with TanStack Router, Table, or Form is a strong advantage.
  • Strong debugging and code review skills. The candidate must be able to independently diagnose and fix bugs across the full stack — from React component rendering issues and state management bugs through to API route logic, database queries, and pipeline processing errors. This includes reading and interpreting error traces, using browser DevTools, and systematically isolating issues in a multi-package monorepo.
  • Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools, particularly Claude Code or similar AI coding agents. The candidate must demonstrate the ability to leverage AI pair-programming effectively for feature development, refactoring, and test writing — while critically reviewing AI-generated code for correctness, architectural consistency, and adherence to project guidelines. AI tools accelerate the work but do not replace the need for strong engineering judgment.
  • Experience working with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar) including prompt engineering, structured output generation, token management, and understanding of model capabilities and limitations.
  • Strong understanding of monorepo architectures (pnpm workspaces or similar), module bundling (Vite), and CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions).
  • Experience with Docker containerization and deployment workflows.
  • Familiarity with SQLite or similar embedded databases, and comfort working with SQL for data queries and schema management.
  • Experience with real-time web technologies such as Server-Sent Events (SSE) or WebSockets.
  • Proficiency with Git and GitHub-based workflows including issue tracking, pull request review, and release management.
  • Excellent written communication in English for documentation, technical specifications, code review, and community engagement.
  • Desirable:
  • Experience with accessibility standards (WCAG), assistive technologies, and inclusive design for persons with disabilities.
  • Experience with desktop application development (Tauri, Electron) or Rust.
  • Experience with WebAssembly (WASM) or cross-platform build strategies.
  • Familiarity with educational technology, digital publishing formats (EPUB, WebPub, SCORM), or learning management systems.
  • Experience contributing to or maintaining open-source projects.
  • Experience working with UNICEF, other UN agencies, or international development organizations.
  • Understanding of text-to-speech technologies and multilingual content production.
  • Familiarity with Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, or Radix UI component libraries.
  • Spanish proficiency 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

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):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal:  Financial Proposal Sr Dev Consultancy.docx
• A detailed technical proposal

Remarks:  

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.