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 protection

In Ghana, UNICEF cooperates with the Government and other partners to defend the rights of children and help them fulfill their potential. With offices in Accra and Tamale, the UNICEF team seeks to achieve results in strategic programme areas. The overall goal is for every child to survive and thrive, to live in a safe and clean environment, to learn, to be protected from violence and exploitation, and to have an equitable chance in life. The current Country Programme of cooperation is aligned with the Government priorities, the UN Sustainable Development Partnership (UNSDP) and Key Results for Children (KRCs) in the West and Central African Region (immunization, nutrition, learning outcomes, ending child marriage and ending open defecation). UNICEF main strategies include evidence-based advocacy, system strengthening, integrated programming across sectors, emergency preparedness and response, and innovation.

How can you make a difference? 

 Adolescent girls in Ghana face multiple, compounding barriers to education, economic opportunity, and social inclusion—particularly in rural areas where poverty is widespread and harmful gender norms persist. Girls aged 15–19 are nearly twice as likely as boys to be out of education, employment, or training. Early pregnancy and child marriage continue to drive school dropout, with over 1 million children out of school as of 2020, a disproportionate number of whom are girls. In rural areas, secondary school attainment for girls remains below 5%, and more than 10,000 girls have never attended school at all. These realities contribute to a lifelong cycle of poverty and missed opportunity.

To respond, UNICEF and the Government of Ghana launched the Livelihood Empowerment and Productive Inclusion Programme –(LEPIP) to support out-of-school vulnerable and at-risk adolescent girls and young mothers aged 16–21. The programme is designed to deliver a tailored package of social protection, financial inclusion, life and livelihood skills, and access to essential services, empowering girls to transition from skills training to earning. It also engages government partners, civil society, and girl-led organizations to improve service delivery, accountability, and policy processes for adolescent girls.

The programme aligns with the government’s national social protection objective to ensure that all citizens realize their basic rights and are able to participate effectively in socio-economic life. LEPIP is a multi-sectoral initiative and is embedded within the existing social protection system: Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme (LEAP), Complementary Livelihood and Asset Support Scheme (CLASS), Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR) as well as leveraging on other exiting government systems: health, child protection and education.

It is designed to contribute to the achievement of a number of key targets under the Sustainable Development Goals. These include target 1.3- implement nationally appropriate social protection system and measures for all; target 10.2 -empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all; target 5.3- eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation, and includes a target to end child marriage by 2030.

The programme began in 2024 in two districts in Northern Ghana and has reached almost 500 programme participants and is planned to reach 6000 adolescent girls by 2028 in 26 districts.

Scope of Work

The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical support to UNICEF and the Government under the ongoing Livelihood Empowerment and Productive Inclusion programme. LEPIP is delivered under the leadership of MMDAs through implementation teams made up of the Municipal District Co-ordinating Directors (M/DCDs), nine (9) other staff from the MMDAs including Department of Community Development, Department of Social Welfare, Ghana Education Service (GES), Ghana Health Service (GHS), and Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA). Fifteen districts (all in the northern part of the country) are on board the programme with several beneficiary communities. This consultancy is to provide support to the district implementation teams to deliver the programme effectively across the various communities. The section is working with government to expand to additional 9 districts in 2026

Key Tasks Include:

1. Support orientation and training workshop for new expansion districts to prepare them to start identification and screening of eligible girls.
2. Provide oversight responsibilities for district implementation teams in all new districts to carry out field activities in line with the programme operations manual. 
3. Support the MMDAs to maintain appropriate training modules and accompanying teaching and learning aids for all aspects of the programme. This will involve continuous adaptation of the LEPIP programme operations manual.  
4. Have oversight for the determination/selection of viable enterprise activities to be supported by the project in various beneficiary districts.
5. Supervise the selection of Training Service Providers in all beneficiary MMDAs.
6. Ensure the prompt review and processing of beneficiaries grant applications.
7. Ensure the timely disbursement of Grants and other required benefits to beneficiaries.
8. Support the maintenance of suitable networks for establishing market linkages for beneficiary investment/Income Generating Activities (IGAs).
9. Develop systems for effective partnership with other collaborating institutions and stakeholders. 
10. Provide leadership in the introduction of appropriate technology and innovation towards optimizing the outputs and outcomes of beneficiaries’ enterprise activities.
11. Support the development of strategies and guidelines to ensure the sustainability of beneficiaries’ business activities.

Click on the link to submit your financial proposal as per the deliverablesProposed Budget from Consultant - Productive Inclusion Expert.docx

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

Desirable:

• Skills in facilitating high level engagement with policy makers.

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…

(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 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.

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.