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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 good health

How can you make a difference?

SHINE, Sustainable Health Investment through National Economists, is a UNICEF approach developed by the Health Economics and Financing Section within the Centre of Excellence for Child Survival and Development, launching on 1 October 2026. It embeds nationally recruited health economists for four years inside government, working alongside the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance on the decisions that determine how children's health is financed: primary health care costing, essential benefit package design, donor transition planning, domestic resource mobilisation, health insurance design, budget advocacy and public financial management and other topics as suitable depending on the context. The founding cohort covers 20 countries across all regions, with 24 funded placements.

The programme is now in its start-up phase, with the first country offices confirmed and recruitment opening country by country. It has a decision memorandum, a strategy paper draft and a set of communication products, but it does not yet have a programme document: a single reference setting out the theory of change, the inputs and outputs, the results architecture, the indicators, the reporting arrangements and the starting point, the risks parameters, partners, future etc… in a form that a country office, an evaluator and a contributing partner can all use.

Two elements are time-critical. The results architecture needs to be settled once, at the outset, so that twenty country offices are not asked for information in twenty different forms. Second, is the coordination with all 20 countries, following up with them on the next steps after they receive funding, develop comms document about SHINE in French and English, and get them ready to distribute by October. The purpose of this assignment is to address those two urgent and immediate needs.

Scope of Work:

Under the guidance of the Senior Adviser and Global Lead, Health Economics and Financing, and drawing on the decision memorandum, the strategy paper draft and the material the Section will provide, the consultant will undertake the following:

1. Programme document and results architecture

Draft the SHINE programme document as a single reference usable by a country office, an evaluator and a contributing partner. It will contain the background and problem statement; the theory of change, with the causal chain made explicit and the assumptions named; the results architecture setting out inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact; the indicators at each level, with targets, means of verification and assumptions; the risk parameters and register; the partnership arrangements and the outlook beyond the founding cohort; and the governance, accountability and reporting arrangements. Prepare the operational definition of each indicator: what is counted, what qualifies and what does not, the evidence required to substantiate a claim, the data source and the reporting frequency. Particular attention to the principal outcome indicator, the documented use of analysis in a national decision, which requires a defensible definition before the first claim is made. Design a single quarterly reporting instrument for country offices, aligned with reporting they already produce, so that no office is asked twice for the same information. Test it with two offices and revise. Draft the accompanying reporting guidelines: who reports what, to whom, when and in what form.

2. Country coordination and readiness for launch

Maintain the follow-up with the twenty participating country offices on the steps that follow the transfer of funds: the Fund Reservation, the adaptation of the terms of reference, the publication of the post, the designation of the human resources and technical focal points, and the confirmation of the positioning in the ministries. Track the status of each office against these steps and flag those falling behind. Prepare a short country pack for each participating office, drawing on the material the Section will provide, so that offices open a single document rather than search a correspondence chain. Develop the SHINE communication products in English and French, ready for distribution by October: the programme summary for government counterparts, the note for country office use, and the material required for the launch. Adapt the existing material rather than create it afresh where it already exists. Establish the SHINE document structure on SharePoint, with the folder architecture, naming conventions and access permissions, so that material produced from the start is filed consistently.

3. Handover

Prepare a handover pack covering what has been established, what remains open with each country office, and where every file sits.

Work Assignment Overview	Deliverables/ Outputs (SMART)*	Delivery deadline
Work Assignment Overview	Deliverables/ Outputs (SMART)*	*Exact date to complete the deliverable**	Input days**
Launch communication products and assignment workplan	Communication products developed in English and French and cleared for distribution: the programme summary for government counterparts, the note for country office use, and the material required for the launch, adapted from existing Section material where it exists. Assignment workplan agreed with the Senior Adviser. Status baseline of the twenty participating country offices against the post-transfer steps	29 September 2026	7
Programme document, first stage, and indicator definitions	Outline and background sections of the programme document agreed with the Senior Adviser. Draft indicator definitions covering each output and outcome indicator: what is counted, what qualifies and what does not, the evidence required to substantiate a claim, the data source and the reporting frequency. Updated country status tracker	13 October 2026	6
Programme document, complete	Complete SHINE programme document: theory of change with the causal chain and assumptions made explicit; results architecture setting out inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact; indicators with targets, means of verification and assumptions at each level; risk parameters and register; partnership arrangements and outlook beyond the founding cohort; governance, accountability and reporting arrangements	27 October 2026	8
Reporting architecture, country packs and handover	Quarterly reporting instrument for country offices, tested with two offices and revised. Reporting guidelines setting out who reports what, to whom, when and in what form. Country pack prepared for each participating office. SHINE document architecture established on SharePoint. Final country status tracker and handover pack covering what is established, what remains open with each office, and where every file sits.	10 November 2026	5

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

Minimum Qualifications required*:

☐ Bachelors

☒ Masters

☐PhD

☐ Other

Enter Disciplines:

An advanced university degree in management of international programmes or, MBA, public administration, monitoring and evaluation, public policy or a closely related field.

Years of Experience/ Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required*:

Work Experience:

– A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in programme design and management, including the preparation of programme documents, theories of change and logical frameworks for multi-country programmes.

– Demonstrated experience preparing operating procedures and onboarding materials that field offices actually apply.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of French is an asset, given the composition of the country portfolio

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

Expertise in health economics is not required. Technical content is provided by the Section and the consultant is expected to structure it rather than generate it. Familiarity with health or health financing programming is an asset in understanding the material.

– Demonstrated ability to write programme documents that are read and used rather than filed. Applicants are asked to submit one programme document, theory of change or logical framework they have authored, or the relevant extract.

– Advanced Excel. Familiarity with SharePoint is an asset.

– Ability to work accurately and largely unsupervised over a short assignment, and to raise a clarifying question early rather than deliver the wrong thing on time.

Desirables:

Prior UN or UNICEF experience is a strong asset, particularly familiarity with country office reporting cycles and UNICEF results reporting standards

Demonstrated experience defining indicators and designing reporting arrangements that work across a number of offices

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…

(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

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role].

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 are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel.
Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service

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.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

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.

Consultant - Programme Manager, SHINE (Sustainable Health Investment through National Economists), COE, Nairobi