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.

For every child, the right to education

How can you make a difference?  

UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, has been active in Brazil since 1950. From the beginning, it has been supporting governments to implement public policies that uphold the full rights of children and adolescents, as established in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA). Over the past 75 years, UNICEF has become a central actor in driving significant transformations in the protection and promotion of childhood and adolescence in Brazil.

UNICEF plays a key role in promoting and guaranteeing the right to education for every child and adolescent, particularly those living in situations of greater vulnerability. In Brazil, 993,492 children and adolescents aged 4–17 were out of school in 2024 (PNAD/IBGE). Of these, approximately 400,000 were between 4 and 5 years old, and 440,000 were between 15 and 17 years old. In addition, 367,357 students dropped out of school in 2024 (School Census/INEP). These figures highlight the persistence of school exclusion and dropout, underscoring the challenges Brazil continues to face in ensuring both access to and retention in education— especially in early childhood and upper secondary education.

To address this challenge, UNICEF and the National Union of Municipal Education Managers (Undime) launched, in 2017, the School Active Search (Busca Ativa Escolar – BAE) strategy. This initiative combines a social methodology with a free technological platform offered to states and municipalities, supporting them in structuring intersectoral actions that promote the enrollment and retention of children and adolescents in school.

The social methodology enables the identification of children and adolescents who are out of school or at risk of dropping out, investigates the factors contributing to their situation, facilitates referrals to relevant public services such as social assistance and health, supports their (re-)enrollment, and helps ensure their continued attendance. The platform complements this process by supporting case management and generating evidence to inform more effective decision-making.

In July 2026, Busca Ativa Escolar celebrates its ninth anniversary, having reached 2,877 municipalities and 21 states, with more than 640,000 cases supported and over 320,000 (re-)enrollments achieved. Learn more at: https://buscaativaescolar.org.br/

An evaluation conducted in 2025 confirmed that Busca Ativa Escolar operates where school exclusion is most severe: in territories with higher levels of social vulnerability. Most participating municipalities presented high rates of exclusion and dropout, and the strategy reached social groups at greater risk of leaving school, including boys (54.8%) and Black children and adolescents (80.4%). Furthermore, more than 90% of participating municipalities and states reported that BAE contributed to strengthening a culture of intersectoral collaboration in public administration.

The consultancy proposed here aims to assess the feasibility of institutionalizing Busca Ativa Escolar as a national public policy and, if deemed viable, to develop a detailed implementation roadmap outlining the steps, resources, stakeholders, and governance arrangements required to support its adoption and implementation. This study will serve as an internal UNICEF document to guide advocacy efforts and inform planning for the next Country Programme.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  TMC0004138 ToR.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Doctorate (PhD) in political science, social sciences, or related fields
• Work Experience:
  • 20 years of experience in developing studies on public education policies;
  • Proven experience in the development of studies and research on public management and national and subnational public policies, with greater emphasis on educational policy;
  • Proven experience in the development of studies and/or research that consider the perspective of intersectoriality, as well as collaborative governance;
  • Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative studies related to education and/or children, adolescents and young people;
  • Proven experience in qualitative approaches such as in-depth interviews.
• Language requirement: Fluency in Portuguese

•     Skills: Theoretical and technical knowledge about public policies and education policies (academic, research, extension and/or public or private consulting)   

• Knowledge about the scenario of public education policies in Brazil – national and subnational governments (academic, research, extension and/or public or private consulting);
• Knowledge of intersectoriality and collaboration regime (academic, research, extension and/or public or private consulting);
• Knowledge of the actors and instances of the interfederative educational ecosystem.

Desirables: Previous experience in studies, evaluations and technical productions with international organizations.

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 (only acceptable in the format of the linked template)  TMC0004138 Financial Proposal Template.xlsx
• Technical Proposal Requirement: A document containing the proposal for this study based on this ToR, and a tentative summary must be submitted.        

Remarks:  If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

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.