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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, … a champion

Every child has the right to an education in a protective environment so that they can learn, grow and develop the skills, and confidence they need to lead healthy and productive lives. Schools have the potential to be transformative in promoting positive social norms and gender equality. But for too many girls and boys around the world, school is a place of violence and fear. Physical, sexual and psychological violence in and around schools affects children and young people everywhere. Violence is often a result of unequal gender and power dynamics. Girls and boys experience different forms of violence. Girls are more likely to experience psychological bullying, sexual violence and harassment; boys more likely to experience corporal punishment and physical violence. Disabled children are more often three times as likely as their peers to suffer physical violence in schools, and girls with disabilities are up to three times at greater risk of rape.

Violence hampers learning and is detrimental to children’s well-being. It decreases self-esteem, reduces attendance, lowers grades, and leads many children to drop out of school altogether. Whether sexual exploitation for grades, corporal punishment in the classroom or bullying and harassment, all forms of violence in schools can and must be prevented. It is both the right and the smart thing to do – morally, socially and economically – as it enhances a child’s chances of staying in school, increases their ability to fulfil their potential and breaks the cycle of violence.

Safe to Learn is a global initiative launched in 2019 to catalyse commitments and evidence-based action to end violence in and through schools by 2030. It works to improve learning outcomes and better leverage investments in education towards violence prevention and response. Safe to Learn brings together a powerful coalition of partners (currently 14) from education, child protection, health, gender, and social and behaviour change. Together, Safe to Learn partners leverage each other’s strengths and unique expertise to ensure that every child can learn safely.

The Safe to Learn programme is managed and implemented from the Global Education and Adolescent Development and Participation section with UNICEF Headquarters.

How can you make a difference?

The Safe to Learn initiative focuses on creating safe, inclusive, and equitable learning environments by preventing violence, bullying, and discrimination in educational settings, while promoting gender-transformative education. Serving as a catalyst for inclusive education, the initiative is supported by the Safe to Learn Secretariat, which provides coordination, technical guidance, and knowledge management for stakeholders. Reporting to the Senior Adviser (Management, Advocacy, and Partnerships), the Programme Manager will play a pivotal role in implementing Safe to Learn initiatives, developing strategies to end violence in and around schools, coordinating partners, managing knowledge and research, and influencing global policy to advance safe and inclusive learning environments.

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

The Programme Manager for Safe to Learn is responsible for strategic leadership, programme development, and implementation to address violence in schools and foster safe learning environments. This includes defining priorities aligned with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, developing programme proposals, managing partnerships, and integrating initiatives across sectors. The role entails mobilizing and managing grants, while ensuring coherence and effectiveness in collaboration with stakeholders. The manager provides technical guidance to country offices, regional offices, and partners, develops resources like toolkits and training materials, and contributes to policy development and capacity building at country levels. Advocacy and networking are key components, involving engagement with governments, donors, UN agencies, and NGOs to promote safe learning environments and secure sustainable partnerships.

Additionally, the Programme Manager focuses on innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building to institutionalize best practices and ensure cutting-edge approaches are applied in tackling violence in schools. This includes organizing global and regional training initiatives, disseminating lessons learned, and driving sustainable interventions. The role also involves rigorous management, monitoring, and reporting, such as supervising staff, establishing work plans, managing resources efficiently, and evaluating programme impacts to refine strategies. By ensuring alignment with organizational standards and donor commitments, the manager supports impactful results and maintains transparent communication with stakeholders through regular reporting and advocacy efforts.

The following minimum requirements:

Education:

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, human development, economics, psychology, sociology or another relevant technical field is required.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience work experience at national and/or international levels in education programme management, with a focus on policy development, planning, and monitoring.

Desirables/Assets

• Extensive experience in cross-sector collaboration, advocacy, and partnership building, particularly in the context of education reform, violence in schools, and child protection.
• Good understanding of child protection systems and social norms, with a particular focus on school-based violence.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical and strategic discussions with multiple stakeholders, including government officials, education experts, and UN partners.
• Knowledge of UNICEF policies and programmes is a plus, particularly programmes that address school-based violence.
• Solid understanding of Social and Behaviour Change approaches.
• Previous experience working with UNICEF or other UN agencies and national government ministries is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is considered 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…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will 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.

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.