Programme Specialist, Gender, Skills and Employability (P-3), Generation Unlimited, Nairobi

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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

Building on work across the UN with and for young people, and in line with the UN Youth Strategy, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited focuses on finding new ways to ensure that every young person is in school, learning, training or employment by 2030 — with a focus on those in the greatest danger of being left behind, including girls, the poorest, those with disabilities, young people on the move and those affected by conflict and natural disasters.

This partnership brings together leaders from governments, UN agencies, the private sector, academia, international and civil society organizations, and young people. The partnership identifies, co-creates, resources and scales up innovative solutions to expand opportunity for young people.

The Girls Education Skills Partnership is an innovative partnership bringing together the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, a range of private sector partners and UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited seeking to provide high quality digital and skills training to adolescent girls and young women and connect them to livelihood opportunities.

For every child, a vision……

Join us as the Programme Specialist, Gender, Skills, and Employability, to lead transformative initiatives advancing learning-to-earning opportunities for adolescent girls and young women under the GenU initiative. Reporting to the Deputy Director, Programmes, you will manage the Girls Education and Skills Partnership (GESP), ensuring its successful implementation, monitoring, and alignment across three countries. By driving girl-centered approaches, facilitating resource mobilization, and collaborating with UNICEF and external partners, you will shape skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship programs, empowering young women through impactful, global opportunities.

How can you make a difference?

Coordinate and Manage the Girls Education and Skills Partnership (GESP):

The Programme Specialist will oversee the technical delivery, monitoring, and coordination of GESP across Bangladesh, Nigeria, and India, ensuring effective planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. This includes providing technical support to country teams, aligning activities with programme goals, and engaging with global and country-level stakeholders to fulfill reporting obligations and deliver high-quality programme results. Additionally, the Specialist will drive the implementation of results frameworks and explore opportunities to expand GESP through further programme development and funding.

Advance GenU’s Gender Strategy and Employment Approaches:

The Specialist will lead efforts to mainstream gender approaches across GenU’s ecosystem, prioritizing skills development and employment for adolescent girls and young women. This includes developing an operational framework, enhancing monitoring systems to measure gender-focused outcomes, and advocating for gender-sensitive approaches in public, private, and youth partnership models. The role also involves promoting youth engagement and addressing labor market trends to shape program design and advocacy efforts, while identifying scalable employability solutions for young women in priority countries.

Provide Thought Leadership and Support Resourcing Ambitions:

The Specialist will support global advocacy efforts by promoting GenU’s vision to empower adolescent girls and young women through skills and employment opportunities. This includes contributing to research, sharing best practices, and supporting the development of proposals and concept notes. Additionally, the role will involve strengthening knowledge-sharing, supporting global advocacy campaigns, and providing guidance to short-term staff to ensure effective team performance and programme success.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education

An advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher) in social sciences, international development, or a related field is required.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in managing programs focused on adolescents and girls, including areas such as education, second-decade education, youth skills development, youth employment, entrepreneurship, or civic engagement, is required.

Desirables/Assets:

• Experience integrating gender perspectives into youth-focused programs.
• Proven ability to design and implement initiatives aimed at improving skilling and employment outcomes for adolescent girls and young women.
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s programmatic approaches, policies, and frameworks.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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 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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will 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.

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.

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.

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.