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.

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For Every Child, empowerment.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

Purpose for the Job:

Under the supervision of the Technology for Development (T4D) Specialist , the position of Technology for Development Officer will support in advancement of the overall Digital Transformation agenda of the office, particularly through i) Implementation of T4D governance structure, standard operating procedures, strengthening internal staff capacity on T4D; ii) Continuous Programme engagement on T4D solutions, scale-up and roll-out; iii) Real-time Monitoring & Information Systems for improved programme and service delivery, particularly in the last mile with focus on social accountability; iv) Citizen Engagement, Participation & Feedback to ensure meaningful access by communities, particularly young people-to information, opportunity, and choice.

Key functions/accountabilities, and related duties/ tasks:

1. Provide technical assistance to design, develop, deploy and manage technology for development (T4D) solutions and projects 

1.1. Business Relationship Management

• Liaise with programme sections and field offices to manage Business and Programme Relationship services to define high-level requirements; document and match requirements and guide the design, development and deployment of appropriate T4D solutions.

1.2. Support and assist design of T4D interventions

• Provide support and technical assistance to the Field Offices in the identification, selection, concept design, deployment and sustainability of T4D interventions to address bottlenecks towards the achievement of programme results; adapting common solutions prioritised for UNICEF programming (e.g. Digital Public Goods).

1.3. Create and manage demand for U-Report in Field Offices 

• Support field ICT4D staff and the Field Offices in integrating U-Report in programme’s T4D initiatives that call for youth / community engagement, setup and manage such campaigns with the programmes to the effect of strengthening U-Report in the States.

1.4. Identify and assess new technology and digital innovations

• Assist programme sections to identify and assess new T4D initiatives, or new phases of on-going initiatives, with immediate potential to improve UNICEF programming.

1.5. Solution procurement and evaluation

• Assist the review of technical solutions to ensure UNICEF standards are followed; contribute to project management processes, generation, and review of terms of reference and vendor selection.

1.6. Deployment advice and support

• Assist with implementation strategy of digital technology initiatives. Including technical oversight, troubleshooting and the documentation of challenges and resolutions.

1.7. Design thinking

• Support human/user-centered design methods to enable user-acceptance testing, evaluation, documentation, and analysis.

2. Manage and build capacities of ICT4D staff for supporting T4D projects in the Field Offices

2.1. Build T4D and BRM capability

• Through hands-on experiences, training workshops and mentoring, develop T4D capacities of internal ICT4D staff to liaise with programmes and provide technical assistance to T4D solutions / projects.

2.2. Team management

• Day-to-day management of ICT4D staff with respect to the T4D work assignments and delivery.

2.3. Continuous development

• Continuously assess performance of the team to deliver T4D work assignments, identify expertise and gap areas, map growth avenues and support upskilling to deliver.  

3. Coordinate T4D support in field offices in accordance with established T4D governance framework and processes for technology enabled programming.

3.1. Digital Governance using established digital governance practices, coordinate & update T4D and Innovation portfolio; prepare presentations of new initiatives for review by the T4D & Tech. Innovation governance committee; update INVENT database. 

3.2. Digital development and technology innovation strategy

• Support implementation of the digital transformation strategy for the country office; bring visibility to T4D gaps, opportunities and scale-up investments by the office.

3.3. Participation in programme and management processes

• Work closely with the programmes to integrate digital development and technology innovation into the programme planning lifecycle. 

3.4. Leadership and Quality Assurance

• Help monitor development and quality assurance during planning and deployment of T4D initiatives; participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation and support mechanisms for T4D.

3.5. Convene and guide compliance with T4D best practices

• Participate in CO T4D Governance Committee and support compliance of T4D initiatives with the Technology Playbook, Principles for Digital Development (http://digitalprinciples.org/) and UNICEF T4D best practices.

4. Knowledge management

4.1. Share lessons learned

• Help identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from T4D for integration into broader knowledge development planning, advocacy and communication efforts.

4.2. Landscape mapping

• Maintain an inventory of Technology and Digital Innovation interventions, assets, resources and networks.

4.3. Monitoring, evaluation and learning

• Plan for and work with PME to ensure documentation and clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for innovation and T4D projects including baseline data collection, on-going monitoring, as well as first phase data collection and analysis.

4.4. Contribute to Peer Support Networks

• Contribute and share to regional and global digital development and technology innovation networks and activities.

5. Engage and maintain partnerships and networks

5.1. Engage and maintain partnerships and networks 

• Support the development of partnerships and networks with local solution providers, innovators, civil society organizations, the private sector, local media and academia to build and provide a space to nurture and test new and innovative technologies and build local capacity.

5.2. Advocacy and communications

• Participate and support Country Office representation in external, inter-agency or partner forums on Digital Development and Technology Innovation.

5.3. Proposal and partnership development

• Help identify opportunities for resource mobilization and new partnerships and assist proposal and partnership development efforts.

5.4. Provide advice and support to programme partners

• Provide inputs to technical and operational support to a wide range of stakeholders and partners on UNICEF policies, practices, standards and norms on technology for development.

5.5. Standards and procedures for ownership

• Work with stakeholders to help develop standards, procedures and partnerships for T4D interventions and their transition to relevant Government and CSO partners.

5.6. Transfer and skill-sharing for programme partners

• Help maintain partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing and transfer of knowledge, skills and tools to foster and facilitate technology-enabled programming.

5.7. Document localized partners and profiles

• Contribute updates to a catalogue of country specific T4D partners and their profiles/areas of engagement to promote and enhance UNICEF goals for outcomes for children through the use of Technology for Development.  

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

Education:

A first level university degree (Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent) is required in Digital Transformation, Business Analysis, ICT Management, Computer Science, Innovation, Digital Development, International Development or another relevant technical field.

Experience:

• A minimum of two years of relevant professional experience in technology for development (T4D) in a large international organization and/or corporation is required
• Experience in identifying, designing and implementing solutions for large-scale projects with technical components – including supervising external vendors and software developers; responsibility for business analysis, budgets, contracts, project management and procurement, etc. is required
• Experience with ICT, mobile and web-based technologies, particularly designing or deploying tools appropriate to context of developing countries is required
• Experience with day-to-day team supervision and management is required
• Experience in Open Source, mobile and emerging technology applied to UNICEF programme areas (Health, Education, etc.) is highly desirable
• Exposure to UNICEF, UN or other INGO programmatic areas or public sector consulting, including (but not limited to) health, education, child protection, eGovernance and experience in applying technical solutions to address programmatic issues is required
• Experience with RapidPro, OpenSRP, DHIS2, ODK and other digital public good technologies, and deploying, maintaining, and scaling these technologies is highly desirable

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://www.unicef.org/careers/get-prepared#Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

Core Competencies:

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. We strongly encourage applications from women, trans* and gender non-conforming people and persons with disabilities.

To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. In UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility.

If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

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:

• This position is based in New Delhi, India.
• When applying for the vacancy, candidates must possess a valid work permit for India.
• The vacancy is open to internal and external candidates. Internal staff include those with permanent, continuing, and fixed-term appointments.
• Per the UNICEF Staff Selection Procedure, alternate recommended candidate(s) from this selection process may be placed in the Talent Group which may be used to fill similar positions in the future. Therefore, all eligible candidates are encouraged to apply.
• 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. 
• For the purpose of this vacancy, internal candidates who have working experience with the UNICEF, India Country Office will be given first consideration.
• The selected applicant will have an initial two (2) year fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance. 
• 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.   
• UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited / recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/. 

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.