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
The Office of Innovation (OOI) works to catalyse UNICEF’s and its partners’ expertise, resources and creativity to accelerate results for children. OOI supports UNICEF to identify priority problem spaces, test and scale solutions, and strengthen the systems, governance and ecosystems required for sustainable impact at scale.
The office is doing this by continuously exploring new ways of accelerating results for children, investing across a range of early stage solutions, and harnessing internal and external expertise towards continuously iterating and finetuning the most promising solutions for children through a systematic portfolio management approach, and leveraging all stakeholders’ innovation energy, knowhow and resources from intergovernmental, multilateral, private sector and non-governmental fora (think tank, academia
Within OOI, the Systems & Services Section strengthens innovation as a disciplined, system-level organisational capability. It provides a coherent set of innovation services that link insight to decision-making, support structured country engagement, embed governance and learning, and enable system-level transformation.
The Systems & Services Section is organised around three mutually reinforcing pillars: (1) Insights & Learning, (2) Design & Connect, and (3) Influence. The Design & Connect pillar focuses on design-led country engagement, applied innovation governance, and the development of innovation ecosystems, operating through both time-bound acceleration engagements and longer-term ecosystem-building work
How can you make a difference?
Under the general supervision of the Senior Adviser Innovation - Systems & Services (P5), the Innovation Manager (Design & Connect) provides strategic leadership of the Design & Connect pillar, providing strategic direction, design leadership, and connective capacity across OOI's work. The role combines strategic leadership, people management, and hands-on advisory support, and shapes how UNICEF engages with countries and systems on innovation through structured, design-led engagement and applied innovation governance, ensuring that innovation efforts are prioritised, routed and institutionalised in a coherent and disciplined manner. The incumbent provides strategic direction for country intake and triage, Innovation Ecosystem development (including innovation culture and decision infrastructure), and coordination of Design & Connect sub-teams, while delegating operational delivery to P3 roles in line with the approved organigram.
Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks
1. Strategic leadership of the Design & Connect pillar
2. Intake, triage and routing if technical assistance (TA) requests
3. Design leadership and advisory support
4. Applied innovation governance (COMPASS)
5. Innovation Ecosystem ownership (SPARK and culture)
6. Connection, collaboration and knowledge enablement
7. People management and representation
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
Job Description.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: Advanced university degree (Master's or higher) in innovation, service design, UX, graphic design, social sciences, public policy or a related field.
- Work Experience: A minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible experience in innovation, systems change, or design-enabled programmes in complex institutional contexts (development, public sector, or related).
- Skills: Hands-on design practice background (service design, UX, systems mapping) as a foundation for current strategic and advisory work.
- Language Requirements: Knowledge of English language at a Proficient/Fluent level is required.
Desirables:
- Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is desired.
- Experience working with or within government systems on institutional change, innovation policy, or systems strengthening, particularly in low- and middle-income country contexts. Experience with innovation ecosystem development: culture change, community building, capacity strengthening, or acceleration programme design.
- Familiarity with Sprint Lab, COMPASS, SPARK, or equivalent structured engagement methodologies.
- 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
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 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 targeted underrepresented groups/regions 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.
