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, security

UNICEF JAMAICA goal is to help to fulfil the rights of every child. 

We pursue this goal by partnering with stakeholders such as the government, non-governmental organizations, change-makers in civil society and the private sector to influence and improve laws, policies, and programmes which will impact how children access quality services. We are in a unique position to collaborate with everyone including advocates and service providers who work closely with children and their families, as well as the elected leaders who are responsible to ensure that laws and policies are in line with children's rights. Most importantly, we integrate the voices of our children and adolescents by engaging them on the issues that affect their lives.

Focusing our attention on children in vulnerable situations, we have five priority areas in the Jamaica country programme document (2022 to 2026): 

1.    Child protection
2.    Climate action and resilience 
3.    Education
4.    Social policy 
5.    Survive and thrive

Everything we do is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Jamaica ratified in 1991.

How can you make a difference?  Terms of Reference_Software Developer BLC AD.pdf

• Designing a software solution that automates the calculation of benefit levels for households affected by co-variate shocks.
• Developing the Benefit Level Calculator (BLC) into a user-friendly digital platform.
• Improving the MLSS’s capacity to provide timely, accurate, and equitable assistance to vulnerable households in the event of emergencies or crises
• Ensuring that the system is accessible, scalable, secure, cost effective to maintain & sustain and adaptable to future changes in social protection policies or data collection processes

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

• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field. 
  *A masters degree is considered an asset. 
• A minimum of 4 years of relevant professional experience in software development, with a focus on web-based applications and enterprise-level systems.
• Proven experience in designing, developing, and deploying scalable, secure software solutions
• Experience in developing systems for social protection or public sector projects is highly preferred.
• Experience working on projects involving data integration, including working with external data sources or APIs.
• Experience with data flow analysis, system architecture, and data modeling.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset. 
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 

Your Financial and Technical Proposals are required in keeping with the Terms of Reference.

***Additional required experience can be found in the listed Terms of Reference.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit  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. 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. At 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.

Remarks:  

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.