UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

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, hope

UNICEF’s culture is evolving. It is influenced by global social movements such as the #MeToo, #AidToo, #BlackLivesMatter and others, as well as by the different expectations of an inter-generational workforce emerging from a global pandemic. This evolution results in greater emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. It is also informed by our efforts to fight racism and discrimination, and tackle all types of inequalities, after listening to our employees via surveys and taskforces in the past years.

These reports highlight continuing challenges around low psychological safety, women feeling less heard and less respected than men, stalled career development and chronic tolerance of under-performance deflating motivation, equal opportunities for joining the organization and on speaking up when one has witnessed discrimination in the office.

On the other hand, we improved in other areas: Our employees now feel more comfortable discussing issues of bias and discrimination in the office, than they did in 2020. Other positive results were that our supervisors and managers behave more inclusive and respectful, treat others with more fairness, and take concrete actions to improve diversity and inclusion at their offices. A breakdown of these results by region and office shows variations that point to micro-cultures: differences across offices and teams in how employees experience the UNICEF workplace remain.

How can you make a difference?

In this context, UNICEF is seeking to develop a roster of experts across multiple regions on Anti-Racism, Gender Equality and Male Engagement, Disability Inclusion, Intergenerational inclusion, LGBTIQ+ inclusion, and overall issues of workplace Diversity and Inclusion. Our objective is to support regions and country offices on their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) journey under the overall guidance, support and supervision of the Culture and Diversity team in the Office of the Executive Director.

The expert consultants will work with UNICEF offices and staff on various aspects of DEI based on identified needs and gaps. In some cases, this would involve DEI diagnostics as a starting point, i.e., to conduct an analysis of the DEI situation in different UNICEF offices – number and specific offices to be determined as this will be based on demand. Based on the findings, the consultants will then present a roadmap with recommendations on actions to address the main concerns and provide continuous support to move the office ahead on their DEI journey.

The consultants will also support specific actions aimed at improving DEI in the offices, which may include:

• DEI awareness and reflection sessions on specific topics identified.
• Conducting training or capacity building activities on specific topics such as how to address unconscious biases, racism, discrimination and microaggressions in the workplace.
• Recommending actions to help build and sustain a culture of inclusion to retain our employees and further develop their talents.
• Supporting offices to implement an inclusive culture in which everybody feels valued, listened to and recognized in a meaningful way that instils a sense of belonging.

In addition, the consultants will support leadership development on DEI in the offices they are engaged with, based on the needs that the DEI diagnosis will define as well as regional and global organizational needs.

UNICEF envisions this as an overarching need for support that will be required over two and half years. Successful experts will be registered in a roster of pre-vetted consultants to be called upon based on need. The roster will cover all the 7 regions of UNICEF programmes and Headquarters and include a diverse group of consultants with the following expertise and experience from a multi-cultural workplace perspective:

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from an organizational culture perspective.
• Promoting anti-racism and non-discrimination.
• Promoting gender equality in the workplace.
• Engaging staff on LGBTIQ+ issues and anti-discrimination.
• Disability inclusion and anti-discrimination.
• Addressing unconscious bias and micro-aggressions.
• Active by-stander and allyship training.
• Inclusive leadership and role-modeling DEI.

Description of Assignment

The Culture and Diversity team in OED (Office of the Executive Director) will choose specific UNICEF Offices to be supported by the Consultants. Depending on need and context, the Consultants will work directly with UNICEF offices, with the support of the Culture and Diversity team in OED, in the following areas:

• 1. To develop a Situational Analysis/Diagnostic of the Office workforce culture and diversity, with the aim of identifying specific obstacles and opportunities for the Office to become more diverse and inclusive.
  2. To prepare a roadmap with recommendations on actions to address the identified issues and present this to the Office Leadership Team/Country Management Team, securing their agreement and support.
  3. To develop and deliver a specific learning package for the office leadership team/country management team on DEI, empowering managers, and senior leaders to engage in and encourage conversations within their teams about DEI.
  4. To conduct theme specific session with offices based on need and request, as advised by the Culture and Diversity team.

As noted above, each assignment will be based on the needs of the client office. Thus, specific terms of reference and timelines will be defined for each assignment based on the scope of work and the timing most suitable for the client office. The assignments could therefore cover some or all the four outputs above.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education: University degree or advanced university degree in social sciences, psychology, human rights, international development, human resources, or related fields. In lieu of an advanced university degree, demonstrated equivalent years of experience working on grassroots human rights and DEI issues with marginalized groups, plus some certification would be considered.

Experience: Minimum 5 years of specific experience in organizational culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, including in facilitating brave conversations and training on sensitive matters. Prior experience in other areas of programming, international development, human resources management with a human centered and human rights based approach is strongly preferred. Experience in working within the UN System, in particular country and/or regional offices is desirable.

Languages: All applicants should have fluency in English and at least one other official UN language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese) and/or other regional/local languages.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit  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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Please note that this vacancy announcement is not for a specific assignment but inclusion in a roster for assignments to support offices in DEI. Assignments may be in person or remote, depending upon the Terms of Reference provided by offices.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.