UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate and proud of what we do. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career, while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.
For every child, a digital future
How can you make a difference?
This post will be in ICTD’s Digital Centre of Excellence in Nairobi, reporting to the Chief of Digital Centre of Excellence. The Digital Center of Excellence (DCOE) will work with beneficiaries, partners and stakeholders at global, Regional and Country levels to tailor, implement, track and provide insights on the success of scale up innovation and programmatic initiatives. The DCOE supports the ICTD strategy by addressing current gaps in delivering field focused digital transformation in UNICEF programming, through a dedicated, field facing global structure. DCOE provides unique opportunities to safely explore alternative delivery models that have proven success in other organizations and industries. In partnership with HQ, RO and CO, the DCOE will reinforce UNICEF’s continued support for global partner managed T4D solutions such as DHIS2 and RapidPro; T4Dsolutions that have not yet transitioned to sustainable deployable, supported and funded models including Primero, HOPE, and Learning Passport; and digital innovation and frontier technologies identified for global field implementation and scaleup such as AI. The DCOE will promote and nurture digital partnerships with the technology sector, engaging companies, donors and supporters as thought partners and investors in philanthropy and digital programming.
The incumbent will provide support, coordination, and digital expertise to the DCOE. The Centre’s goals are to establish enterprise support to emerging technology solutions used by field-based programmatic experts, planning specialists, partnership managers, and implementing partners around the world. The incumbent will support field-focused technology activities with HQ project team members, regional ICT T4D business analysts, technology vendors, and country offices.
The Technology for Development Officer will support the design, development, documentation, testing, implementation and maintenance of UNICEF’s field solutions, ranging from mobile platforms, data analysis tools, and digital business process tools. In addition, s/he will work closely with Field Solutions ICT Manager to plan and coordinate custom development and customization for UNICEF software components for both web and mobile frameworks. This includes development, deployment, and maintenance of various on-premises, cloud-based applications, tools and services to ensure the technical quality and performance of solutions supported by DCOE, and other work assigned by the supervisor.
In addition, the T4D Officer will coordinate product development practices to ensure the ongoing usage of reliable and scalable software solutions for the organization. The T4D Officer will ensure that solutions and related infrastructure are available to meet end-user business and programmatic needs with regards to usability, timeliness, and consistency. This includes analysis of end-user requirements and technological guidelines, opportunities and constraints; discussion and agreement on technology features and priorities with different IT and user groups; coordination of support required from other areas in ICTD (Digital HQ and Digital Core), other ICT functions (Regional ICT & T4D plus CO ICT colleagues), Office of Innovation, and/or Global Shared Support Centre (GSSC); preparation of technical and end-user documentation; and delivery of training to other IT staff, consultants, and end users. The T4D Officer will liaise with counterparts at external organizations, as necessary, for building relationships and technical integrations for open-source projects and other initiatives related to ICTD field solutions products. The T4D Officer may be required to attend meetings, conferences, and other events, as well as attend meetings with colleagues based in the field.
To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…
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- Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Management Information Systems, Information Technology Management, Data Science, Business Administration or any other related fields.
- Work Experience: At Least 2 years of progressively responsible work experience in software development, technical product management, business analysis, technical writing, design, or related fields.
Ability to contribute technical expertise to DCOE activities, which could take several forms:
Linux command line, software programming and/or scripting experience.
Devops experience in systems administration, automation, container orchestration, and product metric monitoring.
Applied data analysis, data engineering, or data science expertise.
Business analytics/ intelligence experience in producing compelling analytical reports, visualizations, and dashboards.
Experience applying human-centered design methodologies and producing strong technical documents.
Experience authoring funding proposals and donor reports in the digital development and innovation space.
Strong analytical and interpersonal communication skills, attention to detail. Ability to translate business needs into technical requirements.
Ability to stay abreast of new technologies and their ability to support UNICEF to improve efficiency and effectiveness of business units.
Ability to foster excellent work relationships and build alliances with key stakeholders.
- Skills: Quality Assurance, Research, Devops, Technical writing, product lifecycle management
- Language requirements: fluency in English
- Desirables
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- Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
- Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergencies.
- Linux command line, Automation, Data engineering, Human-centered Design, Funding proposal, Business intelligence tools
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 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
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.
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's active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates 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.
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
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.
