This is a re-advertisement, candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.
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 a Digital Future
The Office of Innovation (Ool) is responsible for sourcing, adapting, iterating, and scaling innovation solutions to address the world's biggest development and humanitarian problems. The office takes a portfolio approach to managing innovations that we believe will have a transformative impact on children's lives.
Ool takes a problem-led approach, carefully defining the needs of children, teachers, health workers, parents and government partners and finding solutions to solve the problems identified – while tracking and exploring new possibilities that emerging from evolving technologies and other opportunity spaces. A solution can be a physical product (e.g. a diagnostic), cutting-edge technology, a new financial model, an Al data model, a new way of working or even a new process. UNICEF takes a systems approach to innovation, trying to understand the entire value chain and designing solutions to meet the user needs within it, and then tapping into or generating demand.
How can you make a difference?
The Innovation Manager (Innovative Financing) will be responsible for providing advice, guidance and implementing innovative financing efforts and platforms to increase financing for innovations for children. This will entail working closely with OOI project teams, priority initiatives and platforms to identify opportunities, map options and models, and lead external engagement and execution to set up innovative financing engagements.
Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:
- Increase the use and value from innovative financing to sustain innovation efforts
- Increase OOI stakeholder engagement to leverage Finance for Development (FFD) for innovations
- Understanding the tasks/projects and helping to develop funding structures which would support them, while looking to leverage both the IFIs, Development Banks and private sector and new generation of partners.
- Help drive organizational, results-oriented change and ultimately geometrically expand UNICEF’s assistance to children and youth.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
JD-Innovation Manager (Innovative Financing)_P4.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Economics, Business Administration, Finance, Development Studies, Public Policy and any other related fields.
A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. This is applicable to internal (FT, Continuing and Permanent) staff only.
- Work Experience:
- At least 8 years of relevant work experience in finance, investment banking, development finance, venture capital, impact investing or any other related fields.
- Demonstrated experience in structuring and executing innovative financing mechanisms (e.g., blended finance, results-based financing, social impact bonds, catalytic funds).
- Proven track record working with both for-profit financial institutions (banks, funds, fintech) and development agencies/organizations (e.g., UN, World Bank, DFIs, NGOs)
- Experience engaging with governments, philanthropies, investors, and private sector partners to mobilize or structure financing.
- Skills:
- Strong technical knowledge of financial structuring, risk management, and capital raising, with the ability to design sustainable financing models for frontier or underserved markets.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including financial modeling, risk assessment, and investment performance evaluation.
- Proven ability to map financing options across diverse contexts and recommend feasible models for scaling innovations.
- Experience supporting early-stage ventures, innovation funds, or accelerator/incubator programs.
- Familiarity with cryptocurrency, blockchain, and decentralized finance (DeFi), including applications such as staking, tokenization, or digital asset-backed instruments.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills, for building cross-sector partnerships
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with ability to present complex financial concepts to non-technical audiences.
- Entrepreneurial mindset, comfortable with ambiguity, iteration, and testing new models.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.
Desirables:
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- Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
- Experience mobilizing finance for development or humanitarian innovation (e.g., health, education, child protection technologies in emerging markets).
- Direct experience working on blockchain-enabled financing initiatives or pilots for social impact.
- Ability to assess and integrate emerging financial technologies into development financing.
- Knowledge about Open Source solutions and working business models.
- Familiarity with UNICEF’s mission and global child-focused financing initiatives, or comparable large-scale development financing platforms.
- Professional certifications such as CFA, CAIA, FRM, or blockchain/crypto-finance credentials.
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 programmatic countries (MENAR, EAPR, WCAR, ESAR) 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.
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.
