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 fulfill 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.

For every child, innovation.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

Recognising the critical role of robust and scalable digital solutions in supporting early childhood development (ECD) and parenting programmes, UNICEF’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) is seeking a Technology Consultant (Mobile) to provide full-cycle technical support to the Bebbo parenting app and its sister applications. This role combines ongoing responsibility for the maintenance, management, and evolution of the current Bebbo platform, while also contributing technically to the design, development, and roll-out of Bebbo 2.0, the next-generation version of the platform.

Bebbo is a UNICEF-supported, free, open-source mobile parenting app recognised as a Digital Public Good. It provides parents and caregivers of children aged 0–6 with trusted, evidence-based guidance and interactive tools in local languages, accessible both online and offline. The app is available on Android and iOS, and is integrated with a Drupal-based Content Management System (CMS) that supports a multi-site architecture for country-level customisation.

Since its launch, Bebbo has reached over 1.4 million users across more than 15 countries, with additional rollouts planned in five more countries. As Bebbo enters a new phase of strategic development, the consultant will be responsible for ensuring both the day-to-day stability of the platform and its ongoing technical evolution. This includes leading mobile development, supporting multiple UNICEF Country Offices, and contributing to the implementation of Bebbo 2.0’s expanded architecture and feature set.

Key responsibilities will include:

A. Current Bebbo App Maintenance and Management – Ensuring the stability and high performance of the existing app across platforms; managing bug fixes, releases, and updates; and supporting app store submissions and backend integration.
B. Multi-country Deployment Support – Providing hands-on technical support to Country Offices for localisation, configuration, testing, and deployment of the app in both new and existing markets.
C. DevOps, Security, and Quality Assurance – Managing CI/CD pipelines, ensuring adherence to UNICEF's cybersecurity protocols, maintaining up-to-date libraries, and supporting security and performance testing workflows.
D. Vendor Management and Bebbo 2.0 Development – Coordinating with the technology vendor and contributing to the planning and phased delivery of Bebbo 2.0 features, including technical redesign, gamified elements, personalisation logic, new content formats, and modular architecture enhancements.
E. Technical Coordination, Documentation and Open-Source Stewardship – Maintaining high-quality technical documentation, supporting community contributions to the GitHub repository, and ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s commitments to Digital Public Goods principles.
F. Backend Integration Management - Maintain integration with the multi-site Drupal-based CMS backend, ensuring performance and scalability for multi-country deployment.

This consultancy plays a critical role in maintaining UNICEF’s commitment to technology-for-good, ensuring the Bebbo platform remains secure, scalable, and responsive to the needs of families and service providers across low- and middle-income countries. The GitHub repository is available here for reference - https://github.com/UNICEFECAR/parenting-app-bebbo-mobile/.

The consultant will work closely with the Bebbo Central Team, external developers, UX/UI designers, and programme teams across regions to ensure that Bebbo continues to meet the evolving needs of parents, caregivers, and service providers—while contributing to a global ecosystem of trusted, rights-based digital support for early childhood.

Scope of Work

Under the supervision of the Innovation Manager, Early Childhood Development (ECD), UNICEF ECARO, the consultant will provide end-to-end technical support for the Bebbo parenting app and its sister applications. The consultant will contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the existing platform, lead feature enhancements, support multi-country implementation, and ensure adherence to UNICEF’s digital standards for scalability, security, and sustainability.

The work will be carried out across the following focus areas:

A. Current Bebbo App Maintenance and Management

• App Stability and Enhancements: Maintain and improve the performance, usability, and responsiveness of the Bebbo mobile app and sister apps (Foleja, Babuni, Wawamor, Bebbo Pacific, Merhaba Bebek, Zimbabwe CO app, Ukraine CO app).
• Bug Fixing and Diagnostics: Monitor and resolve bugs and also use Firebase Crashlytics and similar tools to ensure issue tracking and resolution are efficient.
• Library and SDK Maintenance: Perform regular upgrades of third-party libraries, SDKs, and OS-specific dependencies to maintain technical compatibility and prevent vulnerabilities.
• Feature Implementation: Implement new features and refinements based on evolving product specifications, UI designs, and user feedback.
• App Store Release Management: Prepare, publish, and maintain app versions on Apple App Store and Google Play Store, ensuring compliance with store requirements and UNICEF policies.
• Performance Optimisation: Improve performance across devices, and support offline functionality through robust data synchronisation.

B. Multi-country Deployment Support

• Localisation and Configuration: Support adaptation of the app for new and existing countries, including branding, string updates, locale configuration, and build preparation.
• Onboarding Support: Provide technical guidance to UNICEF Country Offices during deployment, including environment setup, build testing, and readiness for launch.
• App Publishing Assistance: Coordinate publishing of country-specific versions on relevant app stores and maintain ongoing update cycles.

C. DevOps, Security, and Quality Assurance

• CI/CD Pipeline Management: Maintain and optimise continuous integration/deployment workflows for code merging, testing, and automated build processes.
• Testing and QA Automation: Implement unit, integration, and regression tests using automated frameworks to ensure app quality across development cycles.
• Cybersecurity Compliance: Conduct regular codebase reviews and enforce adherence to UNICEF digital security standards, including CLASSI classification and privacy-by-design principles.
• Certificate and Credential Management: Manage certificates, provisioning profiles, and keychains securely for both iOS and Android publishing.
• Analytics and Monitoring: Configure Firebase Analytics and performance monitoring tools to track app usage, engagement trends, and issue diagnostics.

D. Vendor Management and Bebbo 2.0 Development

• Vendor Coordination: Serve as the technical coordinator with software vendors, aligning on deliverables, sprints, and quality standards.
• Feature Development for Bebbo 2.0: Contribute to Bebbo 2.0 features including new UI/UX structure, personalisation logic, gamification, pregnancy modules, and improved accessibility.
• Technical Validation: Review code and conduct QA on vendor submissions; ensure quality and alignment with architectural principles.
• Sprint Participation: Participate in sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives with UNICEF teams and external developers.

E. Technical Coordination, Documentation and Open-Source Stewardship

• Repository Management: Maintain and oversee the official GitHub repository for Bebbo mobile and CMS, including README files, issue tracking, and release tagging.
• Code Review and Community Engagement: Review and manage pull requests from community contributors and vendors, ensuring code quality and alignment with UNICEF’s open-source standards.
• Documentation and Developer Resources: Create and maintain technical documentation including environment setup, build guides, API references, and mobile workflows.

F. Backend Integration

• CMS Coordination: Ensure frontend–backend integration is seamless through close coordination with the CMS content managers.
• Drupal CMS Integration: Maintain and improve integration integration between the React Native mobile app and the Drupal-based CMS multisite backend.
• API Development and Usage: Develop and document RESTful APIs for secure, efficient data exchange between backend and mobile layers.
• Subsite Setup and Maintenance: Support for creation and management Drupal subsites for new country apps, ensuring content delivery and architecture consistency.
• Backend-driven Feature Control: Integrate backend-managed features such as code push, feature toggles, and localisation strings to streamline deployments.

The consultant is expected to apply best practices in mobile engineering, DevOps, and open-source governance while ensuring all outputs meet UNICEF’s technical and ethical standards. The consultant will need to maintain flexibility and adaptability as the Bebbo platform continues to evolve and expand, balancing multiple priorities while ensuring quality, sustainability, and impact across all areas of responsibility.

Work Assignment Overview

Estimated Duration of the Contract

160 working days between June 2025 and April 2026.

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be home-based with no travels foreseen.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please submit a professional fee (in USD) based on 160 working days to undertake this assignment.

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

• Academic qualifications: A graduate degree (Bachelor’s or higher) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field. Having a master’s degree in the above fields would be an advantage.
• Professional Experience: A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in the design, development, and maintenance of mobile applications using React Native or equivalent frameworks.
  • Experience in deploying and maintaining digital products across multiple countries or languages is required.
  • Technical expertise in developing react native mobile apps for both Android and iOS platforms.
  • Previous work in open-source environments and with Digital Public Goods is considered an asset.
  • Experience in digital development projects related to early childhood development or parenting is a strong advantage.
• Technical Expertise: Proven ability to deliver secure, stable and scalable mobile applications, with a focus on offline functionality.
  • Familiarity with tools including Git, CI/CD pipelines, Firebase and RESTful APIs.
  • Knowledge of Node.js and DevOps practices is an asset.
  • Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot) is considered an asset.
  • Hands-on experience with Drupal-based content management systems and backend integration is desirable.
• Coordination and Communication Skills: Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams of designers, developers, researchers, and country-level partners.
  • Strong coordination and task management skills, with the ability to meet deadlines and manage competing priorities in a remote, multicultural work environment.
  • Fluency in English is a minimum requirement. Fluency in languages of the UNICEF ECA region would be an advantage.
• Understanding of UNICEF’s Operating Context: Previous experience/knowledge of the environment in which UNICEF operates, and understanding the constraints of working in a developing-world environment is desirable.
  • Ability to align technical goals with UNICEF strategic goals — that always will mean UNICEF's mission over any particular technology.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

Please include a full CV, a Cover Letter with clear indication of your specific role and responsibilities within the project team for the relevant projects mentioned in the CV, and links to the App Store and GitHub repositories for relevant projects you have contributed to (where applicable) in your application. Additionally, indicate your availability and professional fee (in USD) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.