Africa Strategy Coordination and Strategic Communications Consultant, UNICEF Global Programme Division (GPD) - Director’s Office, New York, USA, 8 months (remote)

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 Safety.

How can you make a difference? 

This assignment aims to support the implementation of UNICEF’s Africa Strategy by providing coordination, strategic communications, research, analysis, reporting and project management support across multiple teams and partners. The consultant will help track progress, facilitate collaboration between headquarters, regional and country offices, support stakeholder engagement with the African Union and other partners, and strengthen the coherence and effectiveness of UNICEF’s contribution to Africa’s development agendas and outcomes for children across the continent.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:

Minimum requirements:

• Education:
  • Advanced university degree in international development, public policy, international relations, communications, social sciences, business administration, project management or a related field.
  • A first university degree combined with additional relevant experience (10 years) maybe be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
• Work Experience:
  • At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in programme or project coordination, strategic communications, partnerships, planning or related areas.
  • Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder workplans across organizational units or geographic locations.
  • Experience coordinating senior-level meetings, consultations or governance processes and translating decisions into clear follow-up actions
  • Demonstrated experience conducting policy and programme-related research, synthesizing complex information and producing high-quality analytical reports, briefing notes, strategic documents and knowledge products for senior management and external audiences.
• Language requirement:
  • Excellent English writing, editing and synthesis skills, with experience preparing leadership briefs, presentations, talking points and stakeholder communications.
• Skills:
  • Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
  • Strong project-management skills, including milestone tracking, risk and dependency management, action follow-up and preparation of concise management reporting.

Desirables:

• Familiarity with UNICEF, the UN system, African Union development frameworks or Africa-focused partnerships is an asset.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 tools, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams and SharePoint.

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 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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal  TMC0007888 Financial Proposal Template.docx

Remarks:  If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page  Vacancies | UNICEF Careers .

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.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here .