Consultancy Title: Consultant to Promote Corporate Reporting on Child Rights Impacts in Relation to the Digital Environment

Section/Division/Duty Station: Programme Group/Child Protection

Duration: 01 March 2026 – 15 December 2026

Home/ Office Based: Remote

About UNICEF – 

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. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

UNICEF is globally mandated to promote the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The age of technology and the internet have brought tremendous benefits, including for children. Digital access provides opportunities for learning, communication, play, and social interaction, creating vast potential for realizing children’s rights. However, the spread of digital technologies also comes with a broad spectrum of risks and harms to which children can be particularly vulnerable. 

Children may be impacted directly as users of technology products or services; or as a result of the development, deployment, and use of digital technologies in the world around them. For example, children can be victims, targets, participants, and initiators of risky or harmful online behavior. Children may also encounter technology design features or limitations that are associated with impacts on their right to privacy and freedom of expression, among other rights.

UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026-2029 recognises the importance of tackling technology-facilitated violence against children and promoting rights-respecting digital governance (Impact Result 4). UNICEF is increasingly engaging in discussions shaping how digital technologies are regulated across the world.

As part of this engagement, advancing responsible business conduct in the digital environment is a core pillar of UNICEF’s work. UNICEF has recently released a set of Disclosure Recommendations, a Child Rights Impact Assessment (D‑CRIA) tool for the digital environment, and will shortly launch a toolkit on responsible digital marketing practices. UNICEF has also developed guidance to support industry to seize positive opportunities to promote child well-being (RITEC Design Toolbox). These resources aim to strengthen child rights due diligence in the technology and digital sectors by providing robust, rights-based, and stakeholder-informed guidance for companies. They are also complementary: understanding potential child rights impacts is a critical precursor to meaningful and decision-useful disclosure.

Scope of Work:

The next step is to accelerate uptake of these resources by companies operating in the digital ecosystem. Adoption may occur directly (through companies integrating the tools into their policies, processes, and governance) or indirectly (through the inclusion of child-rights elements in external standards, benchmarks, and framework documents that shape corporate behaviour). To support this objective, the consultancy will focus on three core engagement workstreams:

1. Company Engagement - Targeted outreach and one‑to‑one engagement with companies across the digital and technology sectors.

2. Standards and Framework Engagement - Engage relevant standards-setting organizations, industry initiatives, benchmarking bodies, and reporting frameworks to explore and pursue pathways for alignment.

3. Field Engagement - Collaborate with experts and engage at key global events to elevate the visibility, credibility, and practical value of UNICEF’s child rights guidance.

 

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

 

Travel - N/A

Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Sustainable Development, Finance, or a similar field.

Work experience:

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

• Minimum 15 years’ experience in the technology sector or advising technology companies in the fields of sustainability, reporting, or human rights is required.
• Experience in preparing technology company sustainability reports is required.
• Experience implementing human rights assessments, salience and materiality assessments in the context of the technology sector is required.
• A thorough understanding of prominent industry reporting standards and frameworks is required.
• A demonstrable understanding of practical approaches to corporate disclosure on child rights in relation to the digital environment is required.
• A demonstrated track record in engaging or shaping cross-industry human rights initiatives within the technology industry is an asset.
• An extensive technology sector and digital rights network is an asset.
• Demonstrable familiarity with UNICEF's work on child rights and corporate reporting is an asset.

 

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.