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 Innovation

How can you make a difference?

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.

The Office of Innovation (OOI) works to catalyze UNICEF's and all its partners’ expertise and resources against key children-outcomes bottlenecks, with a view to continuously ideate and scale the most effective solutions with transformational potential at scale to achieve the child-related SDGs. The office is doing this by continuously exploring new ways of accelerating results for children, investing across a range of early stage solutions, and harnessing internal and external expertise towards continuously iterating and fine-tuning the most promising solutions for children through a systematic portfolio management approach, and leveraging all stakeholders’ innovation energy, knowhow and resources from intergovernmental, multilateral, private sector and non-governmental organizations. This takes place across 160 country offices.

The Innovation Specialist (Knowledge Management and Data Analytics), under the general guidance and direction of the Innovation Manager (Insights), leads the knowledge management function of UNICEF’s Office of Innovation. While the post leads KM and analytics strategy, the role is expected to be hands-on in priority analytics and product development, while coordinating specialist inputs for more advanced automation and development.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

Under the general guidance and direction of the Innovation Manager (Insights) and in close collaboration with relevant Senior Advisers and Innovation Managers across OOI, the post is responsible for: 

Leading knowledge management advisory and strategy

1. Lead the development of OOI’s knowledge management and analytics strategy, its implementation and undertaking its execution.
2.  Lead knowledge management needs-finding to fulfil unmet demand for knowledge and insights for stakeholders ranging from internal stakeholders (at all levels) and external partner agencies, to field colleagues and the wider innovation ecosystem. 
3.  Keep OOI updated on industry trends in knowledge management/analytics, and ensure early adoption of new methods, approaches and frontier technology/AI.

Overseeing knowledge management content and maximizing engagement on thought leadership

1. Lead content development translating analytics, portfolio data and operational learning into concise insight products (e.g. blogs, briefs, dashboards, webinars) that support decision-making and thought leadership, and oversee their prioritization and production based on analytics, portfolio evidence and strategic learning needs.
2. Lead delivery of strategic insights and knowledge products to package complex data into digestible insights; this includes maintaining existing products like innovation catalogs, developing new data-driven reports on various topics (e.g., innovation key results, region-specific innovation trends, etc.) as required.
3. Engage in the global ecosystem of innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and related areas to horizon scan, source learning and knowledge management resources, and exercise thought leadership to position and diffuse UNICEF’s innovation learning work publicly.

Advancing data platforms, systems, and analytics service provision

1.  Manage data dashboards for OOI; this includes overseeing the development, maintenance, and updates for data, pipelines, and interfaces, while also proactively enhancing the suite of dashboards to maximize use for advocacy and decision-making (primarily with Power BI).
2. Manage data analytics services to country office solutions; this includes conducting needs-finding to source analytics projects (primarily from country office innovations), understanding specific data-related business problems, effectively prioritizing resources to develop solutions (e.g., dashboards, automated systems, apps, etc.), and providing hands-on services/technical support in their delivery – leveraging frontier technology for solutions where appropriate.
3. Manage internal apps and tools to maximize productivity and coordinate data flows (such as the 5D Web Assessment); this includes developing, maintaining, and updating the apps, training stakeholders on their use, and proactively improving these products as new business needs arise and as new capabilities emerge (primarily using low-code applications).
4. Support the rollout of the project management/CRM software for internal staff; this includes providing training, monitoring data inputs, and supporting any platform updates to maximize utilization for an accurate and updated database on innovation initiatives.
5. Support innovation reporting across the Office of Innovation; this includes establishing reporting fields, coordinating with subject matter experts/team leads, and validating data as needed.
6. Oversee OOI knowledge management platforms (e.g., SharePoint, Viva, Medium, and other internal sites); this includes ensuring updates are made to internal channels and engaging with external channels and updating 

Partnerships, supervision, and representation

1. Manage a small team of professionals and consultants to roll out the knowledge management and analytics strategy.
2. Develop pathways and networks for effective knowledge management information sharing between OOI HQ, Regional and Country Offices, while representing OOI in various internal and external contexts.
3. Plan and undertake mission travel to critical country offices where demand for support is made by senior country management

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  TOR Innovation Specialist P-3 TA #00136107.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Computer Science, Technology, Business Administration, Design, Information Management, Statistics, Data Science and any other related fields.
  A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Work Experience: At least 5 years of relevant work experience in Monitoring and Evaluation, Knowledge Management, Data Analytics, Strategic Insights, Thought Leadership, Data Visualization, Reporting, Geography and Information Management (GIS). and any other related fields.
• Skills: Strategy Development, Automation, Data Modeling, Analytics, Data visualization, AI.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

1. 1. • Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
      • Python, LLM integration, Graphic Design, Frontier Tech, prompt engineering, large global organization
      • Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

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 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

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.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates from programme countries are encouraged to apply.

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.

The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member's original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.

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

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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.