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, [insert tagline] for every child, the right to Education

Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its people.

Over the past couple of years, children and their families across Ethiopia faced multiple and complex emergencies, such as the conflict in the northern Ethiopia and the drought, which resulted in millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNICEF has programmes in Child Protection, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Policy, and Education and serves over 15 million children in Ethiopia. Join UNICEF Ethiopia to contribute to improving the lives of children and women.

Watch a video about "It's International Day of Play!" Here

How can you make a difference? 

Join our team as the Education Intern to provide technical assistance and coordination support to map the evidence-based skill requirements and develop synergies in youth and industry interface in education and skill programming, contribute to SOP, develop and disseminate guidelines for the implementation fidelity of the skills and youth employment programme delivery. In addition to that the Intern will contribute to stronger coordination mechanism and document and spotlighting impactful practices, lessons and media visibility of the successful stories. The assignment will also contribute to the overall UNICEF Education Section Quality output, which includes work on Gender, Skills Development, and Quality in Education.

The main responsibilities are: 

1. Mapping of skills (desk review, trends) in line with youth and industry interface
2. Develop/contribute to SOP, guidelines for the implementation of skills and youth development initiatives
3. Coordination, monitoring and quality assurance with implementing partners, regional administrations and beneficiaries
4. Spotlighting Human Interest Stories, blogs and contribution to social media publications.
5. Provide logistical and operational support for UNICEF and partners to provide mentorship and technical guidance and capacity building to enable adolescents and young people to design and implement their own initiatives addressing specific issues within their community, and link adolescents and youth with opportunities for meaningful civic, social, and economic engagement.
6. Plan and participate in appropriate meetings, events and monitoring exercises and prepare minutes/reports for follow-up action by Education colleagues and other stakeholders
7. Support with the preparation of reports and documentation of local or regional initiatives related to adolescents and young people’s development, participation, and engagement. 
8. Provide support to the Education Specialist, education colleagues, internal and external partners, and stakeholders by providing technical, administrative, and operational support to ensure that adolescent and youth engagement and participation are integrated in UNICEF’s advocacy, policies, programmes, and humanitarian work. 
9. Promote visibility for UNICEF’s programme implementation both at zonal and woreda levels. 
10. Any other related tasks may be required or assigned by the Chief of Education, Adolescent Specialist at country level or supervisor.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyze and share information on programme and project implementation issues.
• Support the preparation of technical reports and inputs for programme preparation and documentation.
• Assist in preparing the required documentation and materials to facilitate education programme review.    
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises of education programme sectoral reviews with government and other partners and prepare minutes and reports on results for follow up action by UNICEF Education Section and other stakeholders. 
• Undertake field visits, and exchange information with partners and stakeholders to assess progress.   
• Participate in emergency and regular education coordination meetings with and/or in the absence of Education programme Specialist and takes minutes and share with field office Education Programme Specialist. 
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

The Deliverables and Timelines: 

SL	Task	Deliverables	timeline
1	Mapping of skills (desk review, trends) in line with youth and industry interface	Skill Mapping Report	31st December 2025
2	Develop/contribute to SOP, guidelines for the implementation of skills and youth development initiatives	Submission of SOP and implementation guidelines	10th Feb 2026
3	Spotlighting Human Interest Stories, blogs and contribution to social media publications	Submission of three HIS and blogs	15 March 2026
4	Preparation of reports and documentation of local or regional initiatives related to adolescents and young people’s development, participation, and engagement.	Submission of documentation of regional practices for youth engagement and empowerment	30th April 2026

 

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: 

  The Candidate must be a recent graduate (within the past three years) in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, environmental science, Communications, Marketing, Journalism, International Relations, International Development, sociology, or social sciences, and have the following attributes.

  • Be enrolled at a university in Ethiopia at the undergraduate or graduate level or be a recent graduate (within the past two years) in education, psychology, sociology or another relevant Social Sciences field is required. 
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

 

Desirables:

• Knowledge of relevant computer systems and applications; excellent knowledge of MS Office is required. 

Official Travel Involved:

• The assignment is based in the UNICEF Ethiopia Country Office in Addis Ababa. If required to travel out of Addis Ababa as part of official duty, interns shall be reimbursed for travel expenses (upon submission of receipts), incurred during official travel authorized by UNICEF. Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA or a full board arrangement).

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 

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role]. 

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. or this position, eligible and suitable female candidates and persons with disability 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.