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 calling

UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 reaffirms mental health as a global priority that cuts across all programme areas. Since its elevation in 2020, UNICEF has transformed mental health from a siloed concern into a multisectoral imperative, supported by dedicated leadership, sustained investment, and growing demand at country level across humanitarian, development, and high-income contexts. By 2025, UNICEF’s global mental health function had advanced a unified vision and operational framework, influenced key global policy dialogues, and driven country-level implementation of integrated mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services for children, adolescents, and caregivers across sectors. Despite this progress, major challenges persist: high unmet need for mental health services; insufficient financing; limited integration of MHPSS into health, education, and protection systems; stigma and discrimination; and weak institutional capacity in many settings. Addressing these challenges requires cross-sectoral action, systems reform, and scaling of quality, evidence-based, and sustainable MHPSS approaches in both development and humanitarian contexts.

In Colombia, the mental health and psychosocial well-being of children and adolescents represent a critical public health and development challenge. High levels of emotional distress, anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions, combined with exposure to violence, displacement, poverty, social exclusion and humanitarian emergencies, continue to affect the well-being and future opportunities of children and young people. While mental health services and psychosocial support initiatives have expanded in recent years, significant inequities persist in access, quality, coverage and continuity of care, particularly in vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities.

At the same time, Colombia is advancing important policy and legislative reforms that recognize mental health as a fundamental right and call for more comprehensive, community-based and people-centered responses. This creates a strategic opportunity to strengthen the integration of MHPSS across sectors, expand evidence-based interventions, and promote sustainable systems that address prevention, early identification, care and recovery.

Within this context, UNICEF Colombia works with government counterparts, civil society organizations, academia, communities and international partners to strengthen national and territorial capacities for mental health promotion, psychosocial support and mental health care for children, adolescents and caregivers. UNICEF’s work prioritizes evidence-based, community-driven and equity-focused approaches that address the needs of the most vulnerable populations, including those affected by conflict, migration, poverty and other forms of adversity.

How can you make a difference?

Join our team and help advance mental health and psychosocial well-being for children, adolescents and families across Colombia. As a Programme Officer (MHPSS), you will support the design, implementation, coordination and monitoring of UNICEF’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support programme, contributing to national and subnational efforts to strengthen sustainable, community-based support systems. Working closely with government counterparts, partners and UNICEF teams, you will help drive strategic partnerships, provide technical assistance, generate evidence for decision-making, and promote quality, evidence-based interventions. Through a rights-based and multisectoral approach that connects health, education, child protection and social welfare systems, you will contribute to strengthening protective environments, reducing inequalities, building resilience, and advancing policies and programmes that improve mental health outcomes for children and adolescents.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Programme planning, implementation and coordination.
Technical assistance and multisectoral integration of MHPSS
Evidence generation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
Capacity strengthening and knowledge management.
Partnerships, advocacy and technical coordination.
Programme resource and operational management.
Emergency preparedness and humanitarian response.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File JD_Programme Officer (Mental Health and Psychosocial Support)_NOA.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in Psychology, Public Health, Psychiatry, Mental health, Psychosocial Programming or any other related fields is required.
Work Experience: At least 1 years of relevant work experience in Health, Mental Health, Psychosocial Support, Program Management, Humanitarian Response, Psychosocial Programs or any other related fields is required.
Skills: Demonstrating excellent organizational, interpersonal and intercultural communication skills, experience facilitating capacity-building and coordination activities, strong project development and programme management capabilities and the ability to prepare high-quality annual and management reports.
Language Requirements: Proficiency in English and Spanish is required.

Desirables:

Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is desirable.
Master's degree in Mental Health is desirable.
Experience with IASC MHPSS guidelines / Experience integrating MHPSS in emergency response is highly desirable.
Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts is considered 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

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 persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Colombian, Black, Raizal and Palenquero communities, and members of the LGBTIQ+ community 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.

UNICEF staff members holding fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointments who are considered to be on abolished post status may apply for this temporary position and, if selected with a start date before 31 December 2025, may take it up as a temporary assignment, in line with UNICEF guidance on separation due to the abolition of posts or staff reduction. They will retain their fixed-term entitlements but will not hold a lien to their abolished post. For other scenarios where a Temporary Assignment may be possible, please refer to Additional guidance on IP to IP temporary assignments after completion of the full TOD.pdf (accessible to UNICEF personnel only).

The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member's original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.

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.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

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.

Programme Officer (Mental Health and Psychosocial Support), NO-1, TA, 364 days, #00138124, Bogota – Colombia, LACR