Contract Duration:  10 Months

Working arrangement: Office 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

UNICEF works to ensure that every child and adolescent can grow up protected, included and able to exercise their rights. The UNICEF Municipal Seal is UNICEF Brazil’s flagship initiative to support municipalities in the Semi-Arid region and the Legal Amazon in strengthening public policies that reduce inequalities and guarantee the rights of children and adolescents, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Brazil’s Child and Adolescent Statute. A total of 2,277 municipalities from 18 states are enrolled in the 2025–2028 cycle, reaching territories where many children and adolescents still face exclusion from essential services and situations of social vulnerability. Altogether, approximately 19.4 million children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 live in these municipalities. UNICEF’s role in the Municipal Seal includes promoting municipal engagement, providing national coordination, and strengthening the capacities of six local implementing partners that provide full-time technical assistance to municipal managers. This consultancy will support UNICEF Brazil in coordinating and strengthening communication activities related to the Municipal Seal from September 2026 to July 2027, under the direct supervision of the Communication Specialist. The consultant will work closely with communication colleagues from the six implementing partner organizations, helping identify their needs, providing tailored technical guidance and training, improving the use of digital platforms and communication technologies, and ensuring that partners’ communication demands are aligned with UNICEF’s overall communication strategy, standards, visual identity and advocacy priorities.

Scope of Work:

Under the direct supervision of the Communication Specialist, the consultant will provide time-bound, deliverable-based technical support to strengthen communication coordination, partner capacity and digital communication systems for the UNICEF Municipal Seal. The assignment will result in specific, measurable outputs, including an inception report and workplan; four documented capacity-building workshop packages for implementing partners; a diagnostic report and improvement plan for Municipal Seal digital platforms and coordination channels; a monitoring report on the implementation of digital platform improvements; two sets of practical communication templates or guidance materials; a scalable municipal advocacy pilot design and readiness package; and a final consultancy report and handover package. The consultant will not perform staff functions. Payments will be linked to the submission and acceptance of these agreed deliverables. Payment will be made upon submission and written acceptance by UNICEF of each deliverable listed in the table below. Deliverables will be considered complete when they are submitted in the agreed format, meet the expected quality standards, are aligned with UNICEF communication, branding and ethical standards, and are delivered by the agreed deadline. UNICEF reserves the right to request revisions before acceptance and payment.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  Terms of Reference TMC0004280.pdf

Minimum requirements:

• Education:

Communication, journalism, public relations, marketing, international relations, social sciences, education, digital communication, or another relevant field related to communication, public policy communication, or development communication.

• Work Experience:

A minimum of three years of progressively responsible professional experience in communication, public relations, journalism, digital communication, advocacy, or project management related to communication initiatives. Experience should include the development and implementation of communication strategies, coordination of communication activities with multiple stakeholders, production of communication materials, and support to capacity-building or knowledge-sharing processes. Previous experience with UNICEF, the United Nations system, international organizations, civil society organizations, government partners, or development programmes is an asset.

• Skills:

Demonstrated knowledge of communication planning, content development, editorial coordination, digital communication and partner engagement. Ability to translate technical information into clear communication products for different audiences and channels. Familiarity with branding, visual identity and quality assurance processes for institutional communication materials. Ability to design and facilitate capacity-building activities, develop practical guidance materials, and support the use of digital platforms and messaging channels for coordination and knowledge sharing. Strong writing, synthesis, organization and interpersonal skills are required.

• Language Requirements:

Fluency in Portuguese is required. Working knowledge of English is required. Fluency in English is an asset.

Desirables (If provided in the ToR):

Experience with communication for children’s rights, public policy, education, health, social protection, adolescent participation, equity or other development-related areas is an asset. Experience with UNICEF-supported initiatives, municipal level programmes, implementing partners, digital communities, WhatsApp-based communication, or capacity-building for local actors is desirable. Familiarity with the UNICEF Municipal Seal or similar territorial programmes will be considered an advantage.

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)  Financial proposal TMC0004208.xlsx
• A detailed technical proposal

The technical proposal must include a workplan and delivery schedule.

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.