How can you make a difference?
UNICEF’s Office of Innovation (OoI) is mandated to catalyse, accelerate, and scale innovative solutions that address critical bottlenecks affecting children and young people. The Office works across UNICEF’s global network to identify, test, and support the adoption of solutions with the potential to deliver impact at scale. To do so, OoI applies an innovation portfolio management approach, combining early‑stage exploration, structured support to proven solutions, and systematic learning to inform decision‑making. Through this mandate, OoI contributes to strengthening UNICEF’s organizational innovation capacity, improving the effectiveness of programmes, and supporting progress toward child‑related Sustainable Development Goals.
The Connect function within the Office of Innovation supports the achievement of these objectives by ensuring that innovation initiatives are coherently designed, well‑coordinated, and effectively delivered. It plays an enabling role by linking innovation platforms, country engagement, and delivery capacity, helping to translate portfolio‑level strategy into consistent, high‑quality implementation.
Through coordination, project oversight, and quality assurance, the Connect function ensures that initiatives such as SPARK and COMPASS are aligned with OoI priorities, responsive to country needs, and connected to broader organizational learning and governance processes. This strengthens UNICEF’s ability to provide structured innovation support to country offices and to generate evidence and learning that inform future innovation investments.
Purpose, Roles and Responsibilities
- Oversight and coordination of SPARK and COMPASS
- Management of consultants and delivery inputs
- Quality assurance of outputs and processes
- Strategic alignment and integration
- Country engagement and support coordination
- Learning, reporting, and knowledge contribution
Minimum requirements
Administration, Social Sciences, or a related field.
Strong familiarity with innovation capacity building, strategy development, or acceleration models.
simultaneously, excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills. Comfort working across strategic, operational, and learning dimensions.
Desirables
- Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset
- Innovation management, decision discipline, SOP management, quality assurance, methodological oversight, learning systems
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
For every Child, you demonstrate...
UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
(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
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 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/other 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.