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Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, Research
Organizational Context and Purpose for the job
UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight was created in September 2022 from the merger of two former UNICEF offices: the Office of Research-Innocenti, and the Office of Global Insight and Policy. The merger brings together the organization’s leading research and foresight expertise to establish a single unified office that will expand UNICEF’s knowledge base and its capability to act on the basis of evidence. UNICEF views research and foresight as complementary functions that can deepen the organization’s understanding of complexity in the present, and our planning for the future of children.
UNICEF Innocenti is committed to providing evidence-informed narratives that allow policy makers and practitioners to take actions to address important current and evolving issues facing children and young people. To this end we seek to provide UNICEF leadership at all levels – country, regional and global – with evidence-based tools that empower them to make the case for investments in children and young people. We identify gaps in evidence relevant to the world of children and young people, the world at large, and in the world of UNICEF while also seeking to maximize impact and uptake our foresight and research by deploying a wide variety of useful, engaging and insightful tools, products, events and collaboration. An emerging area of focus will develop a human security focus for children to understand how growing global risks, crises, fragile and humanitarian contexts threaten children’s well-being and rights, and ways to protect and promote their rights within these contexts.
UNICEF Innocenti’s approach has the objective of equipping and supporting leaders and decision-makers to take evidenced-based advocacy and programming to the next level, and look beyond the current challenges to the future they want to shape – together with children and young people. Shaping this future through evidence will entail UNICEF Innocenti focusing on three key workstreams in the coming years:
First, supporting children’s survival and development through evidence: Leverage global evidence to help UNICEF offices and government systems (including Education, Social Policy, Child Protection, Digital Engagement and Social and Behaviour Change) address current challenges for children and young people, and prepare for the future challenges for them by:
• Generating, synthesizing, curating and disseminating emerging evidence on challenges and opportunities for children and young people
• Researching “what works” in child-related policies and actions, including in humanitarian contexts.
• Assessing positive outcomes of synergetic cross-sectoral policy and programmatic efforts, including and improved responses to shocks and stressors.
• Researching and curating the tacit experiences of UNICEF staff in humanitarian situations and fragile contexts to better understand and curate their evidence, experiences and expertise.
Second, understanding child and youth perspectives: Gain a better understanding – through research, foresight and engagement – of well-being today from the perspective of children and young people though our emerging evidence generation and synthesis on such issues as:
• Child Identity and Mental Health
• Climate Justice and Sustainable Consumption (and what it takes to create future leaders who take responsibility)
• Children in a Digital World
• Child and Youth Exposure to Misinformation, Extremism and Radicalization
• Child and Adolescent Subjective Wellbeing (their own views of what constitutes a good life)
A key area of focus will include co-creating platforms and forums for meaningful youth engagement with children and young people, and undertaking surveys and other forms of evidence generation and foresight analysis with children and young people.
Third, assessing the world at large and its implications for children and UNICEF: Identify geographic hotspots where children are likely to experience the largest impacts of the intersecting and overlapping crises and transitions (climate, financial, demographic, armed conflict) with a view to informing advocacy and programming through:
• Risk analysis of recent and ongoing crises, their impacts on families, children and communities and their coping mechanisms.
• Analysis of longer-term trends, using existing data and possible trajectories related to these trends (geopolitical, economic, environmental, technological, health, social etc)
• Scenario planning and predictive analytics, providing quantitative and qualitative analysis of how trends could impact children in the future
This post reports to Deputy Director (D1).
Purpose for the job
This post manages Innocenti’s work programme on Socio-Economic Policies and Children, which analyses the impact of economic and social policies on children and promotes child-friendly economic and social policies. The incumbent will initiate, conceptualize and carry out data-driven analysis and research that contributes to policy reform and enriches UNICEF’s corporate knowledge on public policy issues pertaining to the advancement of children’s rights. The post holder will provide strategic and technical leadership in the development, collection, analysis and use of information for assessing progress for children and women in developing and industrialized countries. They will lead on the exchange and promotion of relevant knowledge through networking within UNICEF and the UN and with academics, researchers and policy practitioners externally. The incumbent leads a team of approximately a dozen of researchers (UNICEF staff members and consultants) and has extensive management responsibilities. Major research areas of the team at present are poverty analysis, analysis of child wellbeing in advanced economies and rigorous impact evaluations of social policy interventions, with scope for the research programme to expand into additional areas of social policy.
Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks
Lead and contribute to research and analysis in social and economic policy to reflect UNICEF’s overall policies and approaches, including the development of concepts, frameworks and plans for producing evidence-based analysis and action-oriented research and policy advocacy in low middle income and industrialized countries.
• Initiate, conduct and oversee high quality research. Organize, manage and contribute to the work of the socio-economic research team that survey the relevant literature, promote data collection and analysis and prepare specific studies and reports in cooperation with other UNICEF offices and external partners. Initiate new research and introduce appropriate methodologies. Lead the preparation of project proposals and seek and obtain financial or in-kind contributions to the research programme.
• Contribute to inter-regional and cross-disciplinary studies and activities within Innocenti and to the Organization’s equity agenda in contributing to achieving the SDGs. Give direction so that UNICEF initiated research reflects innovation, analytic rigor and sensitivity to problems, and is communicated effectively to relevant audiences through a wide range of media, including high-profile publications, technical reports, databases, conference materials and related documents
• Support and participate in policy and implementation research undertaken by UNICEF field offices following agreed organizational priorities and in collaboration with other HQ Divisions and Regional Offices. Maintain and promote co-operation with UNICEF HQ and field offices and their partners, through information exchange, collaboration and co-publishing arrangements, coordination of studies, and participation in professional meetings and networks. Contribute to Innocenti’s role of providing quality assurance for research within UNICEF in economic and social policy by the development of guidelines and providing technical input to research ToRs and proposed projects prepared by other offices, particularly in relation to research methodologies. Serve on advisory boards for research by country offices, regional offices and headquarters and contribute to peer review.
• Contribute towards future-informed social policy and social protection strategies by promoting the use of data and analytics that is foresight-oriented. Contribute in particular to analysis of projecting the situation of children due to the impact of the climate and environmental crises, demographic shifts, the financial situation, and armed conflicts.
• Contribute to the implementation of an effective knowledge management strategy for research through maintaining an overview of research both within UNICEF and outside relating to social and economic policy. Collaborates with HQ Divisions and Regional Offices to build and enhance networks of collaborative research in all regions. Develops easily accessible syntheses of significant research findings and analyses important knowledge gaps for possible inclusion in future research
• Provide management, leadership and guidance to the social and economic policy team. Contribute to the overall management of the Office of Research and its work programme and advise on the UNICEF Office of Research programme. Carry out work planning of the social and economic policy unit linking to the overall objectives of the Office of Research. Act as a resource person for key UNICEF meetings and advocacy activities as requested by the Director.
- Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and manage research programmes and studies and to transfer knowledge and skills. Leadership and organizational ability
- Good communication skills, both written and oral, including the ability to speak in public and represent the Organization.
- Policy advocacy and negotiating skills should include a demonstrated ability to assess the feasibility and political economy of proposed policy measures.
- Knowledge of computer systems, including the software packages used at Office of Research (e.g. STATA).
Recruitment Qualifications
Education:
Advanced university degree in economics, statistics, development economics or social development planning.
Ph.D. with research experience desirable.
Experience:
Ten years of relevant professional work/research experience
Strong research and analytical skills
Strong management record, including management of research teams
A strong and relevant academic publication record.
Language Requirements:
Fluency in English required. Knowledge of other UN languages desirable
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
During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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. 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.
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
This vacancy is archived.