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.

The Programme Group (PG) provides global programme leadership to achieve results for the most disadvantaged and excluded children everywhere within the overall framework of the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and in response to the universal scope of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PG leads UNICEF’s global programmatic vision to provide countries in all types of contexts with technical assistance (working closely with regional offices) to boost programme excellence as well as support to leverage evidence, partnerships, and innovations that can be adapted and taken to scale in different country contexts – including in humanitarian, fragile and crisis-affected settings in low-, middle- and high-income countries.

Within the PG, a small core team led by the Director, Programmes facilitates cross-programme teams around UNICEF’s normative mandates (gender, human rights, disabilities) and life course priorities (including the focus on early childhood and adolescence). This team fosters and champions special programming areas, programming in high-income countries; change strategies, such as systems strengthening; emerging programme priorities, such as mental health; as well as advocacy as a programme strategy.   

For every child, a hope..

Under the shared guidance of the Senior Programme Specialist (Prevention, Recovery and Transitions) and the Programme Specialist, CEED, the Programme Specialist, HDP nexus is responsible for overseeing knowledge management (KM) and the curation of a strong global evidence base on UNICEF’s work across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus, including in relation to climate action, and contributes to and represents UNICEF in technical-level interagency processes related to the nexus. He/she will also provide technical support to country and regional offices on implementing the HDP nexus approach, including for climate action, with a particular focus on promoting learning and knowledge among UNICEF staff at global, regional, and country levels. He/she is also occasionally deployed as surge capacity to provide technical support on HDP nexus and resilience in fragile and high-risk settings. 

How can you make a difference? 

Programme support

• Represent UNICEF in inter-agency and knowledge-sharing platforms focused on the HDP nexus, promoting best practices and fostering collaboration.
• Establish monitoring, evaluation, and learning mechanisms to track progress, measure impact, and inform adaptive programming in relation to the nexus and climate, energy, environment, and disaster risk reduction (CEED).
• Support field teams in addressing operational challenges related to HDP nexus and CEED programming.
• Supports the Programme Specialist, Humanitarian in the coordination of assets across PG and inter-divisionally to ensure that country offices receive timely and high-quality technical assistance in humanitarian action and working across the HDP nexus.

Knowledge management, learning, and thought leadership

• Collaborates with UNICEF divisions and teams at HQ and regional levels to develop KM plans in relation to HDP nexus and CEED and identify necessary resources to execute these plans.
• Building on existing resources and in line with Programme Group Knowledge Management Framework, improves the curation of existing knowledge products, organized through thematic web pages, document libraries and databases lists and continuously update the SharePoint sites on the HDP nexus, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, and CEED, including associated virtual libraries.
• Contributes to advancing thought leadership on the HDP nexus and CEED.
• Curates, organizes, and share tools, guidance, and policies related to the HDP nexus and CEED with internal stakeholders, including other divisions, teams, and country and regional offices.
• Coordinates, oversees, and shares work of consultant(s) responsible for HDP nexus and CEED KM to ensure timely and high-quality knowledge resources, tools, and technical support to advance climate action, environmental sustainability, and disaster risk reduction efforts.
• Contributes to learning and capacity-building efforts aimed at strengthening UNICEF staff capacity in HDP nexus.

Communications and partnerships

• Extracts and packages knowledge management products for internal and external communications, ensuring clarity and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Oversees the mapping of HDP nexus- and CEED-related publications, ensuring quality control measures are established and adhered to for all external publications.
• Supports UNICEF’s external and interagency knowledge-sharing across various working groups and mechanisms in relation to the HDP nexus and CEED.
• Contributes to the development of proposals to fundraise for programming in fragile and conflict-affected settings and high quality programmatic strategies and interventions to prevent and mitigate the impact of shocks on children and systems.
• Advocates for the HDP nexus approach with internal and external stakeholders to influence policies, strategies, and funding priorities.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education

Advanced university degree in communication, social sciences, political science, international relations, international development, humanitarian affairs, or other related fields or a related field is required.

Work Experience

A minimum of five (5) years of relevant progressively responsible professional experience at the national / international level in knowledge management, communication, and programme coordination.

Desirables/Assets:

• Prior experience with UNICEF, especially in programmes, an asset.
• Proven ability to work independently and efficiently to coordinate a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience in the execution of complex priorities, processes and projects in office work-plans.
• Capacity to coordinate multi-sectoral teams is an asset.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to work with and as part of a team.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language 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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• 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)

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.