Contract Duration: 2 Months

Working arrangement: Home based

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.

                                                         TERMS OF REFERENCE

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

In 2026, UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) continues to advance the PATHWAYS initiative Pathways for Ukrainian youth | UNICEF Europe and Central Asia with a stronger emphasis on cross-country knowledge sharing and system-level learning. Through PATHWAYS, UNICEF supports governments and partners in Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine in exchanging evidence, practices, and scalable models that address the education, skills development, and employability needs of Ukrainian adolescents.

Poland hosts one of the largest populations of displaced Ukrainian adolescents and young people in Europe, many of whom are navigating fragmented education-to-employment transitions shaped by language barriers, disrupted schooling and economic pressure to enter the labour market early. These realities place refugee youth at heightened risk of premature school leaving, informal or unsafe work, and disengagement from longer-term career pathways. In this context, one-off career interventions are insufficient to support sustainable transitions from secondary education into decent work. Through PATHWAYS in 2025, UNICEF Refugee Response Office (RRO) in Poland piloted an integrated career pathway model connecting digital career guidance (Mapa Karier UA), youth-led skills development (UPSHIFT), and structured, mentored internships (Futureship). Implemented as a single progression rather than as discrete interventions, the model supported young people from career orientation, through skills acquisition, to a safe and supported first work experience. Documenting this pathway as a lived journey for young people generates evidence on career guidance as a continuous, youth-centred process, strengthened through sustained employer engagement.

In Slovakia, following the closure of UNICEF RRO in 2025, UNICEF successfully advocated for Ukrainian refugee adolescents and youth to be included as a core target group under the 2026 EU Youth Guarantee Call for Proposals, ensuring their formal eligibility and policy visibility within the national framework. Building on this achievement, UNICEF provided targeted technical assistance to the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (MoLSAF) to integrate education support, skills development, psychosocial services, and inclusive outreach approaches into its emerging one-stop shop model for vulnerable youth Pathways Initiative: Documentation of the Pathways model | UNICEF Europe and Central Asia, drawing on tested approaches from PATHWAYS (2025) and positioned the model for future EU Youth Guarantee funding.

UNICEF ECARO is seeking an International Consultant with expertise in secondary education, skills development, youth work, and the social inclusion of vulnerable adolescents, including refugees, alongside strong qualitative research and evidence synthesis skills. The consultancy will enhance UNICEF’s global and regional knowledge on effective programming at the humanitarian-development nexus, informing inclusive education and youth policies and practices across the region.

The consultant will contribute to strengthening the quality, coherence, and strategic use of evidence generated under UNICEF’s PATHWAYS Initiative, with a specific focus on:

• Career guidance and school-to-work transition support in Poland, and

• Youth Guarantee-aligned systems and service model in Slovakia.

The consultant will work under the supervision of Programme Manager, UNICEF ECARO, ensuring alignment with regional priorities and close coordination with country offices and partners.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: TMC0002113 External ToR.pdf

Minimum requirements:

Education:

Master's degree in Education, Psychology, Social Sciences, or other relevant degree.

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in education and youth project management, research, monitoring and evaluation, or consultancy roles.
• At least 2 years of previous experience of working in Eastern Europe or refugee response countries.
   

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

• Expertise in secondary education, skills development, youth work, and the social inclusion of vulnerable adolescents (including refugees), alongside strong qualitative research and evidence synthesis skills.

• Proven track record of strong analytical and report-writing skills. Candidates are requested to submit at least one recent writing sample (e.g. research brief, case study, evaluation report) demonstrating analytical rigour and high-quality written outputs.

• Experience in integrating gender and social inclusion perspectives into analysis and recommendations. Experience in programming or research related to the EU Youth Guarantee, NEET youth, or comparable employment, education, or skills policies is a strong asset.

Language Requirements:
Fluency in Italian and English is required

Desirable:
Prior work experience with UNICEF or other UN organization on secondary education, youth, skills, or employment issues is an asset.

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  TMC0002113 FINANCIAL PROPOSAL.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.