Technology for Development Specialist – P3  

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, a champion 

The purpose of this role is to coordinate and support the demand for Technology for Development programmatic support. UNICEF Programmes increasingly leverage digital means for effective programme delivery, systems strengthening and monitoring. The T4D Specialist will work with programme teams in the identification, assessment and integration of ICTs and digital innovation into UNICEF programming; strengthening internal capacity to lead and support T4D-related initiatives; identifying and engaging with key partners; building business relationships; applying reusable and replicable technical buildings blocks; and maximizing the potential for the scale-up and sustainability of technology and digital innovation for UNICEF programming. The T4D Specialist under the supervision of, the Deputy Representative Operations works closely with Programme staff and in close liaison with Regional Office ICT and T4D teams, and the central ICT Division where applicable. The T4D Specialist may supervise local staff members or oversee the work of consultants.

How can you make a difference?

1. Digital/Data Solution Implementation

• Guidance and Design of T4D Interventions
  • Provide guidance and technical support to the Country Office in the identification, selection, concept design, deployment and sustainability of T4D interventions to address bottlenecks towards the achievement of programme results.
• Solution Procurement and Evaluation
  • Guide the review of technical solutions to ensure UNICEF standards and Technology Playbook are followed; contribute to project management processes, generation and review of terms of reference and vendor selection.
• Deployment Advice and Support
  •  Advise on the implementation strategy of digital technology initiatives, including technical oversight, troubleshooting and the documentation of challenges and resolutions.
• Business Relationship Management
  • Coordinate business and programme relationship services to define high-level requirements; document and match requirements and guide the design, development and deployment of appropriate T4D solutions that are in line with the UNICEF Technology Playbook.

2. Strategic Oversight and Policy Compliance

• Participation in Programme and Management Processes
  • Integrate digital development and technology innovation into the programme planning lifecycle. Align with programme priorities and participate in planning meetings to ensure T4D functional accountabilities.
• Digital Development and Technology Innovation Strategy
  •  Guide on implementation of the technology and digital innovation strategy for the Country Office. Bring visibility to T4D gaps, opportunities and scale-up strategy in support of Country Office priorities. Work directly with section chiefs to co-create strategies on how technology and innovation can support the country programme.
• Quality Assurance
  • Oversee quality assurance during planning and deployment of T4D initiatives; participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation and support mechanisms for T4D.
• ICT Emergency Preparedness and Response
  •  Coordinate the ICT emergency preparedness activities within the Country Office as frequently as required by the office. Manage creation of the Country Office level disaster recovery plan and utilize ICT emergency preparedness checklist.
• Compliance with T4D Best Practices
  •  Convene Country Office T4D Governance Committee and ensure compliance of T4D initiatives with the Principles for Digital Development ( and UNICEF and UNICEF Technology Playbook. Contribute to system strengthening, including governance in country, infrastructure.

3. Resource Mobilization

• Develop Partnerships and Networks
  •  Develop partnerships and networks ensuring strong engagement with partners such as local solution providers, innovators, NGOs, cultural and religious organisations, private sector, local media, ICT authorities, communications commissions, and academia to build and provide a space to nurture and test new and innovative technologies and build local capacity.
• Advocacy and Communication
  •  Represent the Country Office in external, inter-agency or partner forums on digital development and technology innovation.
• Proposal and Donor Development
  • Identify and explore opportunities for resource mobilisation and new partnerships. Lead proposal and donor development efforts.
• Transfer and Skill-sharing for Programme Partners
  •  Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing and transfer of knowledge, skills and tools to foster and facilitate technology-enabled programming.
• Standards and Procedures for Ownership
  • Coordinate with stakeholders to advise on standards, procedures and partnerships for T4D interventions and their transition to relevant government and civil society Institutions.
• Guide Programme Partners
  •  Provide technical and operational guidance to a wide range of stakeholders and partners on UNICEF policies, practices, standards and norms on technology for development.
• Document Localized Partners and Profiles
  • Oversee development of catalogue of potential country specific T4D partners and their profiles/areas of engagement to promote and enhance UNICEF goals for outcomes for children through Technology for Development.

4. Portfolio Coordination and Project Management

• Portfolio Coordination
  • Coordinate in deploying a portfolio approach and developing a digital roadmap for adapting common solutions prioritised for UNICEF programming (e.g. Digital Public Goods). Use UNICEF’s INVENT global online portfolio for T4D and innovation to record solutions and their status.
• Project Management
  • Manage projects and initiatives, ensuring timely delivery throughout the lifecycle from assessment through to implementation and ongoing operations, while ensuring consistent stakeholder engagement.

5. Knowledge Management

• Share Lessons Learned
  • Identify, capture, and share lessons learned from T4D for integration into broader knowledge development planning, advocacy and communication efforts.
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
  • Collaborate with Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation focal points to ensure documentation and clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for innovation and T4D projects including baseline data collection, on-going monitoring, as well as first phase data collection and analysis.
• Contribute to Peer Support Networks
  •  Contribute and share to regional and global digital development and technology innovation networks and activities.

6. Digital Capacity Building

• Utilise Data for Evidence Generation
  • Identify data needs of programmes and partners and propose solutions. Build capacity of programme staff and partners in analysing the large amounts of data generated through T4D initiatives including the use of data visualization techniques and analytics tools.
• Provide Training to Stakeholders and End-users
  •  Lead capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies, capacity and knowledge within the programmes on digital development. Train UNICEF staff, partners, government counterparts and other end users in digital development and technology innovation.

7. Digital Innovation

• Identify and Assess New Technology and Digital Innovations
  •  Guide programme sections to identify and assess new T4D initiatives, or new phases of on-going initiatives, with immediate potential to improve UNICEF programming. Coordinate with programme sections to identify significant product, organizational and process opportunities.
• Build Awareness around Innovation and Frontier Technology 
  • Develop staff capabilities in appropriate use of frontier technology and innovations such as UAVs, wearables, IoTs, mobile money, blockchain etc. Maintain up to date knowledge of the latest trends and developments.

8. Business Analysis

• User Centric Design
  • Utilise human/user-centric design methods to support user-acceptance testing, evaluation, documentation and analysis (e.g. design thinking)
• Landscape Mapping
  • Maintain an inventory of technology and innovation interventions, assets, resources and networks.

9. Leadership and People Management 

• Strategically Lead, Supervise, Develop, and Empower Staff under Supervision
  •  Promote culture of performance management, providing timely guidance, feedback and support to supervisees. Promote a team environment of staff well-being, accessibility and inclusion.
• Monitor Work Progress
  •  Ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards. Develop work plans and targets based on strategic division and organizational priorities.

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

• An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) is required in Digital Transformation, Business Analysis, ICT Management, Computer Science, Innovation, Digital Development, International Development or another relevant technical field. A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in a relevant field combined with 7 years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in Information Communication Technology for Development in a large international organization or corporation is required, including:
  •  Experience identifying, designing and implementing solutions for large-scale projects with technical components ? including supervising external vendors and software developers; responsibility for business analysis, budgets, contracts, project management and procurement, etc.
  • Experience with ICT, mobile and web-based technologies, particularly designing or deploying tools appropriate to the region
  •  Exposure to UNICEF, UN or other INGO programmatic areas, including health, nutrition, child protection and/or education.
  •  Experience in applying technical solutions to address programmatic issues Experience in the following areas is desirable:
• Experience in open source, mobile and emerging technology applied to UNICEF programme areas
  •  Experience working in T4D/ICT4D program design, service design, and field deployment/implementation in developing countries
  • Experience with RapidPro, Primero, DHIS2, ODK and other global public good technologies, and deploying, maintaining and scaling these technologies.
  • Software programming experience, with focus on writing new code to deliver enhancements, new functionality, and defect resolution as well as proficiency with source code and continuous integration solutions (such as GitHub, Circle/Travis, Jenkins, etc.)
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• 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

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. 

Remarks:.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

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). 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 cancelled.

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.

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.

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