Contract Duration - 13 months

Working arrangement: Florence, Italy / Remote

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 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.

Background 

At UNICEF Innocenti, children and youth are identified as key partners rather than mere beneficiaries, resulting in their inclusion in setting strategy and contributing to evidence generation. The IGP function ensures the office’s focus and efforts are not tokenistic, and to advocate for the children and youth living in the most challenging contexts. The team leads UNICEF’s youth foresight function, building a global network of young foresight practitioners who through fellowship and volunteering programs are engaged to identify future challenges and opportunities that could greatly impact UNICEF and the lives of children and youth. This results in the publication of youth-led and youth-focused research, advocacy campaigns, skills building trainings, products and tools that empower institutions, foresight practitioners, government officials, UNICEF staff and partners, and UNICEF’s utmost priority target audience: children and young people around the world.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The purpose of this assignment is to deepen the analytical and research capabilities within UNICEF's Intergenerational Governance and Participation (IGP) mandate and function. By leveraging extensive literature reviews, capacity-building workshops, and collaborative report writing, this role seeks to enhance the understanding of critical current and future-oriented themes such as participation in policy and decision-making, education, employment, and climate. The consultant will play a pivotal role in synthesizing insights from youth participatory workshops and research, thereby informing UNICEF's strategies and actions to advance the child rights and wellbeing agenda.

Objectives of the consultancy and Scope of Work:  

The consultancy is strategically aimed at enhancing UNICEF's IGP function by enhancing its research and analytical foundation through comprehensive literature reviews, focused on aligning with the national-level foresight work of fellows on pivotal themes such as the futures of democracy, education, employment, and climate. 

This role is designed to support youth-centered and/or led research and foresight activities, including data capture, sensemaking, report writing, and workshop design and facilitation; contributing to UNICEF Innocenti’s IGP priorities.  

The consultancy will also partake in collaborative efforts to co-design foresight exercises and co-author or contribute to pivotal reports on climate education, the digital environment and AI, the future of development, and intergenerational governance mechanisms. In doing so, the consultancy not only underscores the importance of youth-led insights in shaping future-oriented strategies but also ensures their significant role in informing UNICEF's actions towards a youth-inclusive future.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  ToR TMC0001262.pdf

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master’s in Environmental Science/Policy, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Communications, Evidence Synthesis, Research Methods or another technical field relevant to the work of UNICEF (a combination of an undergraduate degree and 2 additional years of professional experience may be considered in lieu of master’s degree);
• Experience: At least 3 years of professional experience in youth engagement, foresight, social research, or policy;
• 3 plus years’ experience designing and implementing youth engagement programming;
• Sound knowledge of approaches to futures thinking and foresight, particularly around issues pertaining to children and youth;
• Skills: Sound knowledge of approaches to futures thinking and foresight, particularly around issues pertaining to children and youth;
• Knowledge and experience of convening in virtual settings, with strong familiarity with digital workspaces, communication tools and conferencing platforms;
• Experience of engaging in child and/or youth networks;
• Demonstrated ability to set high standards for quality of work and consistently achieve project goals.
• Solid writing, analytical, problem-solving, writing and presentation skills, particularly in the context of international work settings.
• Strong interpersonal skills including developing and maintaining collaborative relationships with internal and external partners. 
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English.

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

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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal ( Financial proposal TMC0001262.docx)

Remarks:  

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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.