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 protection
The public budget is one of the most important documents of a country, it shows how government intends to mobilize financial resources and plans for spending such resources into identified programmes articulated by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies. The budget is an annual document developed by MDAs, approved by executive and enacted by the National Assembly. This goes through a participatory process of MDAs engaging their various sectors to articulate policies, plans into budget reflecting the needs of the population. On an annual basis, government uses the enacted budget as a guide to inform how goods and services will be provided to the population.
For children, budget is supposed to reflect their basic rights as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of which Gambia is signatory without reservation as in Article 4 of the Convention mentions that “States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources “. Realizing Children’s rights is an obligation and must be fulfilled by government ensuring that every child living in The Gambia survive, grow, develop, and thrive to his or her fullest potential to becoming a productive citizen. For this to happen, government should ensure that its development policies and programmes met the needs of children and be reflected into its budget.
UNICEF is the UN Agency entrusted custodian of the UNCRC, supporting members states to ensure that children realize their rights through advocacy, lifesaving programmes, and partnership. As part of UNICEF’s mandate, is to generate evidence to inform its advocacy, government policies and programmes to ensure that investment by government meets the needs of the people most especially children. UNICEF generate evidence through the development of budget brief. Budget brief is a critical advocacy tool that provides in depth analysis of government budget allocations, expenditures and trends. It is designed to inform decision-makers, development partners, and stakeholders on key investments in sectors impacting children and their families. In addition, developing budget briefs is essential to track child-focus expenditures, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively to address the needs of vulnerable children. It also promotes transparency, accountability, and citizen participation.
How can you make a difference? The primary objective of this consultancy is to develop one overall concise and evidence-based budget briefs for child-related expenditure covering priority sectors (e.g., health, basic and secondary education, social welfare- to include all child protection expenditures in other sectors e.g. Justice), starting with health and education to:
- Analyse budgetary trends, allocations, and expenditures.
- Assess alignment with national priorities, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and child-focused development objectives.
- Identify gaps and provide recommendations to inform policy advocacy and decision-making.
- Enhance stakeholder understanding of budget processes and their implications for children and adolescent.
- Strengthen government budget tracking and monitoring mechanisms of social sector expenditures for effectiveness and efficiency.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: TOR_Development of a Budget Brief
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: A post graduate degree in Economics, Public Finance, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or a related field.
- Work Experience: At least years of relevant professional work experience in budget analysis, public expenditure reviews, or social sector financing.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.
Desirables:
- 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 [Insert candidates from targeted underrepresented groups] 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.