Programme Officer - Child Rights and Digital Business (P-2), Programme Group, Business Engagement and Child Rights (BECR), Switzerland, Geneva, Assignment 364days

Contract

This is a P-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 2 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 108,691 USD and 147,629 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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.

Note: "****Ideally, this position will be based in Geneva****. However, the position has the option for a fully remote work modality. This will be determined based on the preferred candidate's location and availability to relocate. In the event that a remote work modality is selected, no installation to the duty station will be applicable and relevant entitlements will be adjusted based on lower of the two costs between the remote work location and the duty station."

For every child, a fair chance

The work to strategically leverage the role of the business sector to achieve, accelerate and scale up results for children is a core strategy of UNICEF programming, advocacy, and private sector agenda. The Programme Group Leadership Team (PGLT) provides strategic oversight and coordination of the Programme Group (PG) to ensure multisectoral approaches and horizontal integration across programmes. As part of the 2022-25 Strategic Plan, mobilizing the role, influence and investment of business has been outlined as key change and programming strategy to achieve and accelerate outcomes for children. Promoting sustainability standards and influencing business policies and practices to respect and integrate child rights is integral aspect of this agenda and known as Child Rights and Business (CRB).

The newly established Business Engagement and Child Rights (BECR) Team in Programme Group (PG) is a direct expression of the organizational commitment to ensure that UNICEF:

• Maximizes the role of business as a stakeholder, a consideration, and a strategy in programming, by leveraging of the multiple ways in which business can impact on, contribute to, and influence child rights outcomes.
• Engages with and on the world of business in a way that is driven by and aligned with the child rights agenda and programme priorities in support of delivering results for children.

Strategically the BECR Team’s work focuses on providing global leadership and coordination on the following:

• Preventing, mitigating and transforming adverse business impact on child rights through policy work, evidence generation and by influencing the business sustainability environment (CRB).
• Leveraging programme-led technical collaborations and engagement with business through strategy development, engagement scoping and opportunity cultivation.
• Integration of Business Engagement strategies through policy, guidance and technical tools and systems.
• Build institutional knowledge and capacity on the different UNICEF business engagement strategies and workstreams across UNICEF (HQ, RO and CO), particularly among programme, planning and advocacy networks, and across National Committees.

How can you make a difference?

The Programme Officer on Child Rights and Digital Business is placed within the Business Engagement and Child Rights (BECR) in PGLT. The post will be an integral function to the delivery of innovative and fast-moving initiatives in the realm of child rights and business in the digital environment, involving collaboration with a broad variety of stakeholders and partners. The Officer reports to the Programme Specialist (Child Rights and Digital Business), BECR.

Under the supervision of the Programme Specialist (Child Rights and Digital Business), the Programme Officer is responsible for UNICEF’s global CRB contribution to the Responsible Innovation in Technology (RITEC) Project. The Officer also has additional duties in relation to supporting existing workstreams on promoting responsible business conduct in the digital age.

The Officer coordinates and supports UNICEF National Committees, Regional, and County Offices in their efforts to engage industry, governments, and other stakeholders on industry’s responsibility to respect and support children’s rights and well-being in the digital environment. The Specialist has duties in the creation and dissemination of industry tools and resources (primarily the RITEC Guide for Business), knowledge management including internal communication, and external stakeholder engagement including donor relations and grant reporting.

The Specialist facilitates the administration and achievement of concrete and sustainable contributions to national and international efforts to create a digital environment that both respects children’s rights and supports their well-being, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) project delivery

• Lead delivery of CRB components of the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) project, in close coordination with the Programme Specialist (CRB), aimed at promoting the design of digital play experience that support child well-being. Tasks include designing and implementing global and national/regional advocacy efforts, project management and partner coordination, research, drafting of technical and communications outputs, and grant reporting.
• Drive delivery of UNICEF’s ‘RITEC Guide for Business’ based on research outputs and broader stakeholder engagement. Duties include producing Guide drafts, consulting with experts and industry practitioners, consolidating feedback, and ensuring final production of outputs (coordinating as necessary with service providers for editing; layout; comms planning).
• Plan and deliver public events and speaking engagements at global or national level to promote RITEC project findings and core advocacy messaging. Ensure effective outreach and dissemination of the final outputs including the ‘RITEC Guide for Business’.
• Coordinate and strategically engage with RITEC project stakeholders, including companies, international organizations, and policymakers. Provide in-depth technical support to grant partners in ROs, COs, and Natcoms to ensure timely delivery of RITEC project activities.

Support to global initiatives on child rights and business in the digital environment

• Participate in strategic cross-divisional discussions and initiatives relating to ICT sector engagement, ensuring connection and coherence with the RITEC project. This includes participating in and supporting related agendas associated with child well-being and responsible business conduct in the digital environment (themes include child rights due diligence and child rights impact assessments in the digital environment, children’s data governance, digital marketing and advertising, and online child sexual exploitation and abuse).
• Actively participate in the conceptualization, drafting, finalization, and dissemination of relevant child rights and business guidance and resources, including a new digital Child Rights Impact Assessment tool, ensuring alignment and coherence with the RITEC project. Tasks include desk-based research and key informant interviews, writing of technical or communications outputs, and coordination of expert consultations.
• Provide technical inputs to documents or projects led by other UNICEF divisions (e.g. internal guidance for CO programme teams) or external initiatives on responsible digital business practices, as required.
• Keep abreast of developments and trends to formulate, design and prepare project proposals in alignment with global CRB goals for the technology space, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s overall Strategic Plan.

Capacity building and knowledge exchange

• Coordinate monthly or bi-monthly experience sharing and knowledge exchange meetings involving colleagues active on or interested in becoming more strategically engaged on the RITEC project or child rights and business in the digital environment more broadly.
• Respond to requests for technical support and capture case studies of impactful UNICEF initiatives in different countries or regions, with a focus on the RITEC project and relevance to programmes.
• Devise capacity building offerings based on feedback and requests from colleagues in different offices.

Awareness raising and advocacy.

• Actively participate in external awareness raising activities, including public speaking engagements; event planning; and conference session proposal writing. As required, lead the development of awareness raising resources including blog posts, op-eds, updates to external website pages, publication Q&As, or related tasks.
• Maintain internal communications platforms (e.g. SharePoint and Yammer) with relevant RITEC and digital CRB content for awareness raising among colleagues in COs, ROs, and natcoms.
• Monitor and analyze relevant industry and regulatory trends to inspire and propose novel approaches and initiatives aimed at influencing responsible business conduct in the digital environment.

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

• A first level university degree in one of the following fields is required: business, international development, human rights, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
• Minimum 2 years of work experience in one of the following is required: business and human rights, children’s rights in the digital environment, video game design, law and digital technologies, child online protection, sustainability[JGB1] , or related area.
• Experience working in an international environment on topics related to responsible technology, children’s rights and well-being in the digital environment, or experience within the technology sector will be highly valued.
• Strong research background and writing skills are required.
• 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 values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability (CRITA), and sustainability

Please click Here to view UNICEF's core values and Here to view our competency framework.

UNICEF competencies required for this post are.

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

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 including 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, 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 promoting 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.

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 may also be 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.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page. If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

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