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 Innovation
Strategic office context:
The UNICEF Venture Fund has been specifically designed to finance early-stage, open-source technology that can benefit children. The core motivation of the Venture Fund is to identify “clusters” or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology — so that UNICEF can both shape markets and also learn about and guide these technologies to benefit children. We invest in solutions that can impact the lives of the most vulnerable children. We find solutions clustered around $100 billion industries in frontier technology spaces, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, nanosatellites, UAVs, and virtual and augmented reality.
How can you make a difference?
Overall, this position is responsible for:
- Supporting implementation of country-level activities in close collaboration with Country Offices, including documenting and sharing lessons learned, facilitating access to technical resources, etc.
- Supporting engagements at country level to strengthen local ecosystems and improve pipelines for new DPGs
- Coordinating the process for country offices to access funding from the Venture Fund, including support to approved projects
- Managing and tracking a portfolio of Country Office investments, overseeing progress, grant management, and overall performance
- Establishing and coordinating systems and support to country offices for use of promising frontier technology solutions, including by managing relevant LTAs, coordinating country pilots and links to the Venture Fund’s growth funding
- Acting as focal point for any other relevant country-level activities and maintaining a system to track and coordinate across the Ventures team and broader OOI.
Roles and Responsibilities
- In close alignment with the Venture Fund Manager, coordinate the process for Country Offices to access funding from the Venture Fund, managing a portfolio of approved investments.
- Establishing and coordinating systems and support to Country Offices for use of promising frontier technology solutions, coordinating country pilots and links to the Venture Fund’s growth funding
- Supporting engagements at country level to strengthen local DPG ecosystems and improve pipelines for new DPGs
- Acting as focal point for any other relevant country-level activities and maintaining a system to track and coordinate across the Ventures team and broader OOI
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
JD_Programme Specialist Country Engagement P3 TA.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Technology, Social Science, Development Studies, Public Relations/Communication, Business Administration, Management, Development sciences, public relations, and related areas and any other related fields.
- Work Experience: At least 5 years of relevant work experience in Technology, Programme Management,
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional work experience in technology project management, some of which should be in an international setting.
• Experience in facilitating engagements with UNICEF Country Offices and UNICEF Divisions, including experience working with UNICEF at country level required.
• Engagement with stakeholders from national entrepreneurial ecosystems is required.
• Demonstrated experience working with open source solutions and concepts related to Digital Public Goods (DPGs) required.
• Proven experience in translating and clearly presenting complex ideas from various fields into unified, clear messages, including for successful partnership development is required.
• Experience in deploying and using customer relationship management and other project management related tools to facilitate collection and sharing of information and guide engagement
• Experience in coordinating innovation and technology related activities within and across teams, including project teams for specific initiatives and use of current project management and tracking platforms and tools is desired.. and any other related fields.
- Skills: Strong writing and communication skills and the aptitude to handle competing messages and priorities with multiple audiences is required..
- Language Requirements: English - Proficient
Desirables:
-
-
- Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
- Experience in managing projects and partnerships focused on open-source frontier technology is desired, experience in supporting and engaging with national digitalization strategies and efforts with government, as an advocate or with other relevant stakeholders in the national level ecosystem is desired, demonstrated experience in developing and negotiating partnership and entrepreneurial strategies is desired.
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
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
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. For this position, eligible and suitable male candidates from non- high-income countries 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.
UNICEF staff members holding fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointments who are considered to be on abolished post status may apply for this temporary position and, if selected with a start date before 31 December 2025, may take it up as a temporary assignment, in line with UNICEF guidance on separation due to the abolition of posts or staff reduction. They will retain their fixed-term entitlements but will not hold a lien to their abolished post. For other scenarios where a Temporary Assignment may be possible, please refer to Additional guidance on IP to IP temporary assignments after completion of the full TOD.pdf (accessible to UNICEF personnel only).
The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member's original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
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.
