Child Protection Specialist- Financing for Scale, P-4, Fixed Term Position, Global Programme Division, Child Protection & Migration COE - Nairobi - Kenya #00133138

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?

UNICEF’s Global Programme Division (GPD) provides global leadership to advance programme excellence, policy coherence and innovation across the organization. Through its Centres of Excellence, GPD connects global strategies with country‑level implementation, offering high‑quality, demand‑driven technical assistance to governments, UNICEF offices and partners to deliver results for children at scale.

This position is based in Nairobi, one of UNICEF’s global Centres of Excellence, and sits within the Child Protection Programme and Migration practice, under the Violence Prevention and Response Systems (VPRS) Unit and also supports Harmful Practices Unit. The unit supports countries to strengthen child protection systems, prevent and respond to violence against children, and scale high‑impact violence prevention solutions through policy reform, systems strengthening, workforce development and financing.

Aligned with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and the Child Protection Strategy 2021–2030, the team works across development and humanitarian contexts to strengthen social welfare, justice, care and workforce systems, and to embed sustainable, equitable financing for child protection and ending violence against children.

Join UNICEF’s Global Programme Division as a Child Protection Specialist (Financing for Scale) and help countries sustainably finance solutions that protect children from violence. In this role, you will provide strategic technical assistance to governments, UNICEF offices and partners to strengthen public financing systems that enable equitable, scalable investment in child protection systems and evidence‑based violence prevention and Harmful Practices.

You will support strategic planning and policy reform, integrate child‑sensitive public finance approaches into national systems, and lead financing assessments, costing and investment cases that demonstrate the value and impact of child protection interventions. The role advances domestic resource mobilization and innovative financing, strengthens public financial management, and supports the development of costed workforce strategies for social service systems. You will also contribute to capacity development, global engagement and advocacy, helping position child protection and violence prevention within national and global financing agendas.

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: An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Public Administration, Social Policy, Public Finance, Social Sciences, Social Work, International Relations, Political Science, Law, or a related field is required.
• Work Experience: A minimum of eight years of progressive, professional work experience in public financial management, and sector financing, in the applied, national and international social development settings is required.
• Skills:  
  • Excellent analytical and public financing skills
  • Experience with costed plans, public finance, and resource mobilization
  • Excellent oral communication and interpersonal skills
  • Capacity to translate technical knowledge into provision of accessible technical assistance and to provide capacity development of partners and staff.
  • Demonstrated capacity in strategic communication, including public speaking and effective engagement in key international events, advocacy platforms, or high-level policy dialogues, is an asset
  • Experience in written analysis/documentation of public policy work
  • Publication record in areas related to economic policy, child protection or violence prevention preferred
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
• Hands-on experience and proven results in using PFM evidence to concretely generate change at the national level is required
• Experience in budget analysis, costing and developing investment cases, PERs and PETS in key sectors for children an asset
• Solid professional field experience in multiple country contexts with demonstrated technical leadership on child protection systems strengthening, social service workforce strengthening (including development and implementation of costed workforce strategies and financing plan), care reform and disability inclusion policy, advocacy, and programme design and implementation required
• 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 candidate 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.