Latest Jobs at UNICEF

Purpose Of Activity/Assignment:

• To address these critical gaps and enhance the system’s responsiveness to shocks, a new project jointly implemented by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funding from the European Union was launched in 2024. This EU-UN Joint Programme (EU-UN JP) titled "Supporting Sustainable Social Protection System in Nigeria (SUSI)” aims to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection system at both federal and state levels (Abia, Benue, Oyo, and Sokoto). The project aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s Eight-Point Agenda, and is anchored in Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021–2025) and the revised National Social Protection Policy.

Specifically, The EU-UN JP Will Focus On:

• Expanding and strengthening the National Social Register (NSR) to include a greater number of poor and vulnerable populations.
• Building the capacity of government staff and policymakers at national and sub-national levels in social protection systems and delivery.
• Developing a robust policy and legal framework, including the drafting of a national social protection bill for legislative consideration.
• Enhancing the Social Protection Management Information System (SP-MIS) to ensure interoperability across key sectors such as health and education.

Advocacy and communication are central to achieving the project’s objectives, including for upstream policy engagement and influencing government and key policy makers on development and enactment of policy and legal frameworks, better financing of social protection, enhanced awareness of key policy changes required for child sensitive and shock responsive social protection system, and improved engagement of stakeholders.

Scope Of Work:
The consultant will work in close coordination with UNICEF EU SUSI project team and implementing partners to implement the following key activities:

• Advocacy and Communication Strategy
• Develop an advocacy and communication plan targeting key stakeholders, including lawmakers, policymakers, civil society, and the public on advancing social protection and PFM reforms.
• Advise on branding, key messaging, and alignment with EU and UNICEF communication guidelines.
• Support the development of multimedia and evidence-based communication materials (infographics, policy briefs, videos, press releases).
• Technical Support to Project Activities
• Develop and coordinate strategic advocacy campaigns
• Develop design and formulation of advocacy tools and materials
• Support implementation of advocacy activities by a CSO implementing partner with tailored advocacy tools and briefings.
• Capacity Building
• Facilitate training sessions on evidence-based advocacy for UNICEF SP CO and FOs and selected implementing partners.
• Provide coaching and technical advice to UNICEF implementing partner on how to organize media briefings, dialogues, and storytelling platforms to amplify voices of beneficiaries and champions of social protection.

Tasks/Milestone:

Work Assignment Overview

• To map out key social protection and PFM evidence and interventions (CO, FOs) and key policy messages/asks

Deliverables/Outputs:

Mapping report

Tasks/Milestone:

• To increase skills and knowledge of UNICEF Social Policy team on evidence-based advocacy and to support development of advocacy strategy

Deliverables/Outputs:

2 days workshop (tbc on-site)
Tasks/Milestone:

• Develop a comprehensive advocacy and communication strategy to advance social protection and PFM reforms supported by UNICEF

Deliverables/Outputs:

• Actionable advocacy strategy with advocacy objectives, key messages, tactics and activities (2025-2027), including Federal and state level.

Tasks/Milestone:

• Provide technical inputs into organization of a stakeholders' forum in Abuja and across Abia, Benue, Sokoto, and Oyo states to debate the first draft of a social protection bill.

Deliverables/Outputs:

• A concept note for a stakeholders' forum
• Technical check ins on preparation and implementation
• Communication package finalized with inputs on social media posts, emails, and invitations, press releases.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: ToR_International Consulatnt Advocacy and communication.pdf

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

Minimum Requirements:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Social Sciences, International Relations, Development Studies, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in advocacy, strategic communications, public policy engagement, preferably in development or humanitarian contexts.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing advocacy strategies and communication campaigns in support of child rights, social protection, PFM or related public policy issues.
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s communication and advocacy approaches.
• Experience of working within the EU supported program and projects is a strong asset.

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Purpose Of Activity/Assignment:

• To address these critical gaps and enhance the system’s responsiveness to shocks, a new project jointly implemented by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funding from the European Union was launched in 2024. This EU-UN Joint Programme (EU-UN JP) titled "Supporting Sustainable Social Protection System in Nigeria (SUSI)” aims to strengthen Nigeria’s social protection system at both federal and state levels (Abia, Benue, Oyo, and Sokoto). The project aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s Eight-Point Agenda and is anchored in Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021–2025) and the revised National Social Protection Policy.

Specifically, The EU-UN JP Will Focus On:

• Expanding and strengthening the National Social Register (NSR) to include a greater number of poor and vulnerable populations.
• Building the capacity of government staff and policymakers at national and sub-national levels in social protection systems and delivery.
• Developing a robust policy and legal framework, including the drafting of a national social protection bill for legislative consideration.
• Enhancing the Social Protection Management Information System (SP-MIS) to ensure interoperability across key sectors such as health and education.

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical and operational support to NASSCO/SOCU on expanding and strengthening the National Social Register (NSR) with field activities in 4 states (Abia, Benue, Sokoto, Oyo).

Scope Of Work:

The Consultant will work under the supervision of Social Policy Manager and in close collaboration with NASSCO, SOCUs and relevant stakeholders at federal and state levels. The key responsibilities include:

• Technical Support for Enumeration and Data Collection
• Provide technical assistance to SOCUs in developing enumeration plans, including household listing, community targeting, and data collection workflows.
• Support training and capacity-building activities for SOCU enumerators, supervisors, and data validators on standardized tools and protocols.
• Monitor field-level enumeration and data collection activities in selected states to ensure adherence to NSR guidelines and quality standards.
• Operational Coordination and Planning
• Assist in the development and implementation of state-level micro plans for NSR expansion, including logistics,timelines, and human resource planning.
• Facilitate coordination between NASSCO, SOCUs, and local government authorities to ensure smooth implementation of enumeration activities.
• Support documentation of implementation progress, challenges, and lessons learned at both federal and state levels.
• Quality Assurance and Data Integrity
• Support field visits and validation exercises to assess data quality and consistency.
• Review and analyze enumeration reports and data outputs from SOCUs, identifying gaps and recommending corrective actions.
• Strengthening Inclusion and Shock responsiveness
• Implement strategies to enhance inclusion of marginalized and hard-to-reach communities /WARDs in the registry (e.g., persons with disabilities, displaced populations).
• Support initial assessments for integration of shock-responsive modules or temporary registries where applicable.
• Reporting and Knowledge Sharing
• Prepare monthly progress updates, technical briefs, and end-of-assignment reports highlighting achievements, bottlenecks, and policy recommendations.
• Document good practices and innovations from states implementing successful registry expansion strategies.

Work Assignment Overview

Task/Milestone

• Finalize implementation plan with NASSCO/SOCU on the NSR expansion in 4 states, including timeline, key milestones and targets

Deliverables/Outputs:

Implementation plan with NASSCO/SOCU
Task/Milestone

• Establish implementation processes for the NSR expansion with NASSCO/SOCU

Deliverables/Outputs:

Organigram and roles/responsibilities allocation matrix
Task/Milestone

• Develop and agree with NASSCO/SOCU asset management guidelines for data collection equipment

Deliverables/Outputs:

Asset management guidelines

Task/Milestone

• Support implementation of poverty mapping with NASSCO/SOCU

Deliverables/Outputs:

Poverty mapping report per state

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: ToR_National social protection consultant (social Registry).pdf

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

Minimum Requirements:

• An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Social Policy, Economics, Statistics, Public Administration, Development Studies, Demography, or a related field from a recognized institution.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the design, implementation, or monitoring of social protection programs, poverty reduction, or community-based targeting mechanisms.
• Proven experience in supporting social registry development, large-scale household data collection, or community enumeration exercises.
• Demonstrated experience in working with government institutions, especially at federal and subnational levels, and familiarity with national social protection systems and structures such as NASSCO and SOCUs.
• Experience providing technical assistance and conducting capacity-building activities for data collection teams or local officials is an asset.
• Familiarity with shock-responsive social protection systems, social registries, cash transfer programs, and inter-agency coordination mechanisms is highly desirable.
• Experience working with international development partners (e.g., UN, World Bank, EU, bilateral donors) on social protection or humanitarian-development nexus programming is a strong asset.

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Background:

• The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, leaving no one behind. In partnership with the government and other stakeholders, UNICEF aims to deliver good quality nutrition services at scale, to build resilience and protect the most vulnerable, particularly during the First 1000 Days of Life, from pregnancy to when a child is two years of age. Currently, Nigeria is off track to achieving the nutrition targets of the World Health Assembly 2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The focus, in keeping with UNICEF Nigeria’s new Country Programme Strategy (2023-2027), is to (i) strengthen the enabling environment, including data, to inform policy and programming; (ii) strengthen systems, especially the health, food and social protection system to deliver high-quality services; and (iii) address social and behavioural practices that influence diets and practices.
• The Child Nutrition and Development programme supports the government to implement high-impact nutrition interventions through the health, food and social protection systems in an integrated fashion and at scale in both emergency and development contexts. Over the years, coverage and scale of interventions such as micronutrient supplementation for children and pregnant women, treatment of acute malnutrition, and nutrition counselling have increased significantly. Currently, UNICEF is supporting the government to roll out the Nigeria Health Logistics Management Information System (NHLMIS) as well as the District Health Information Management System (DHIS 2) for routine data collection.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF seeks to hire a systems strengthening consultant to support the implementation of key activities as part of the acceleration plan for 2025. This will ensure the implementation of key interventions under the systems strengthening output.

Under the overall guidance of the Nutrition Manager – System Strengthening Abuja, the consultant will,

• Provide sound technical support for the integration and delivery of nutrition services (prevention and treatment) at the national and sub-national levels.
• Strengthen national capacity for quantification, forecasting, delivery and reporting of nutrition commodities at the national and sub-national level.
• Provide support to the nutrition programme through efficient management of organizational resources and monitoring of results

Expected Results:

The consultant will contribute to the following system strengthening results;

• Draft and finalize MNCHW Round 1 Report (including data validation)
• Round 2 of Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) conducted across all 36+1 states, with improved integration (bundling of services)
• Multiple micronutrient supplements are incorporated into national and state-level implementation plans and state annual operational plans.
• At least ten states have the capacity and use the Nigeria Health Logistics Management Information System to report on nutrition commodities.
• DHIS-2 campaign module deployed at the national level and all 36 states + FCT.

Scope of work

• The consultant will undertake key activities as outlined below (but not be limited by them).

Round 2 of Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) conducted across all 36+1 states, with improved integration (bundling of services)

• Facilitate the delivery of Vitamin A Capsules (VAC) and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) commodities to all states of the federation.
• Facilitate the implementation of the 2025 round II bi-annual MNCHW.
• Initiate the procurement and freight of Vitamin A Capsules
• Track VAC/MMS commodities for round II MNCHW implementation.
• Review the overall monitoring plan and make recommendations for MNCHW round II.

Multiple micronutrient supplements are incorporated into national and state-level implementation plans and state annual operational plans.

• Support the finalization process of the national MMS scale-up road map development and costing of MMS.
• Facilitate state-level roadmap domestication and costing with a focus on states with existing resources.
• Support the capacity strengthening of health workers on MMS integration and service delivery.

At least ten states have the capacity and use the Nigeria Health Logistics Management Information System to report on nutrition commodities.

• Facilitate NHLIMS operational needs assessment and support addressing the gaps to enhance operationalization.
• Facilitate national forecasting and quantification exercise for nutrition commodities (Vitamin A capsule, MMS, Deworming, RUTF, etc) for the year 2026.

DHIS-2 campaign module deployed at the national level and all 36 states + FCT.

• Facilitate reporting of nutrition service delivery (Campaign and Routine) through DHIS-2
• Facilitate the finalization and dissemination of revised NHIMS tools to the sub-national level.
• Lead the coordination of partners to support the government in the printing and dissemination of the revised NHLIMS.

Deliverables and Timeline

Deliverable 1 (August – September 2025)

• MNCHW round 1 data validation conducted.
• MMS costed roadmap finalized.
• At least five targeted states have developed their costed road map and implementation plans.
• Second round distribution of MMS and VACs completed.

Deliverable 2 (October-November 2025)

• Third-party and federal monitors recruited, trained and deployed for MNCHW round 2.
• Monitoring of MNCHW conducted using the online platform and DHIS 2.
• NHLMIS rolled out in at least ten targeted states.

Deliverable 3 (December 2025 – January 2026)

• Needs assessment for IT equipment conducted and equipment procured.
• National forecasting and quantification exercise for nutrition commodities done.
• Government staff trained on the NLMIS

Deliverable 4 (February - March 2026)

• MNCHW round 2 data validation conducted.
• Ten states using the NLHMIS for supply monitoring.
• End of assignment report submitted.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• A bachelor’s degree in public health nutrition/public health or project management or any field relevant to global health

Experience:

• A minimum of five years’ progressively responsible professional work experience relevant to implementation of national/international development programmes.
• Experience working in public health/food security/nutrition-related activities.
• Experience identifying and defining nutrition issues/problems within a country.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Experience in health/nutrition program/project development, especially within a UN system agency or organization, is an asset.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word
• Experience in Nigeria’s Health System
• Experience in project management
• A master’s degree will be an advantage.