Social Policy Specialist - Social Protection Systems, P-4, Fixed Term Position, Global Programme Division, Economic & Social Policy COE, Nairobi, #00133873

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 for as long as we are needed. 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 professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

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

For every child, the right to a Champion,

UNICEF’s fundamental mission is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does—across programmes, advocacy, partnerships, and operations. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF places equity at the heart of its work, ensuring that the most disadvantaged and excluded children have an opportunity to survive, develop, and reach their full potential—free from discrimination, bias, or systemic barriers.

The Global Programme Division (GPD) plays a central role in driving programme excellence across UNICEF. It provides global strategic leadership and policy direction, develops and monitors frameworks and standards, and ensures coherence and alignment across sectors, regions, and partners. GPD generates high-impact, evidence-based solutions and links global policy with country-level action to deliver results for children at scale.

As part of this structure, UNICEF has established Centres of Excellence (CoEs), including in Nairobi, Panama, Amman, and Bangkok, to provide high-quality, demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices and their partners. These centres deliver tailored support in priority areas such as policy reform, programme design at scale, public finance, workforce development, and humanitarian response, while also contributing to global policy standards and knowledge generation.

Within this framework, the Child Poverty Centre of Excellence drives UNICEF’s results in child poverty reduction, inclusive social protection, cash assistance, public finance, and sustainable livelihoods, contributing directly to Strategic Plan Impact Result #3 (2026–2029) on reducing child poverty and expanding access to inclusive, shock-resilient social protection.
How can you make a difference?

The Social Policy Specialist (Social Protection Systems) will contribute to expanding children’s access to inclusive and shock-resilient social protection in all contexts, supporting UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029.

In this role, you will accelerate UNICEF’s support to regional and country efforts to strengthen national social protection systems and programmes through hands-on technical assistance, capacity development, knowledge management, and strategic partnership engagement, with a particular emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa.

You will provide analytical input, oversight, quality assurance, and technical guidance to Country and Regional Offices and their partners, ensuring that social protection programmes are child-sensitive, inclusive, and resilient to shocks, including in fragile and humanitarian contexts.

You will contribute to strengthening policy reform, programme design and implementation, evidence generation, and knowledge sharing, while working closely with regional bodies, UN agencies, and partners to expand partnerships and foster South-South cooperation.

Through this work, you will help build stronger, more equitable national systems delivering sustainable protection for children and families, while enhancing UNICEF’s visibility and credibility as a trusted partner to governments in advancing social protection systems at scale.

The Social Policy Specialist (Social Protection Systems) contributes to UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 by expanding children’s access to inclusive and shock-resilient social protection. The role focuses on strengthening national social protection systems through hands-on technical assistance, capacity development, knowledge management, and strategic partnership engagement, with a particular emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa. The Specialist provides analytical input, oversight, quality assurance, and technical guidance to Country and Regional Offices and their partners, ensuring programmes are child-sensitive, inclusive, and resilient to shocks, including in fragile and humanitarian contexts. The role supports policy reform, programme design, and operational guidance by consolidating and sharing evidence and good practices, while working closely with regional bodies, UN agencies, and partners to expand collaboration, foster South–South cooperation, and advance sustainable and scalable social protection systems for children and families

Responsibilities will include:

1. Capacity Development & Institutional Strengthening
2. Quality Improvement at Scale
3. Policy Reform & Systems Transformation
4. Evidence, Data & Knowledge for Action
5. Equitable Access
6. Programme Management & Results Monitoring
7. Global Facing Functions

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Classified Job Descriptions - Social Policy Specialist_00133873.pdf

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

• Minimum requirements Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Public Policy, Labor and social protection, international relations

• Work Experience: 8 years of relevant work experience in Social Protection, international development, strengthening social protection systems, written analysis/documentation of public policy.
• Experience managing and/or providing advisory support for strengthening social protectionsystems (including policy, programme design and operations) in international development settings
• Experience working in a developing country
• Experience in written analysis/documentation of public policy work
• Skills:
• Excellent oral communication
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellence strategic communication skills across multiple audiences
• Ability to influence others while working in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity
• Strong analytical skills
• Language Requirements: Proficiency in English is required.

Assets:

• Experience in the following areas:
• social protection operational programme design
• policy drafting
• system strengthening
• financing analysis
• policy advocacy
• links to other sectors
• capacity building
• Relevant experience in a United Nations system agency or organization
• Desirables
  1. Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language.
  2. Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

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.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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.