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 future.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Connectivity Credits is a Giga initiative designed to create stronger incentives for internet service providers to deliver reliable, high-quality connectivity to schools and other underserved locations.

The approach links measurable connectivity performance to digital incentives. Network performance and service delivery are independently measured and verified, and eligible providers can receive Connectivity Credits when agreed service conditions are met. The platform brings together connectivity measurement, verification, rule-based decision-making, workflow orchestration and digital value transfer.

Connectivity Credits is currently moving from MVP and pilot implementations toward a production-grade platform capable of supporting multiple countries, connectivity providers, measurement systems and funding models.

This consultancy will provide dedicated backend software engineering capacity to support this transition. The consultant will work closely with the product and tech team of Connectivity Credits, who will provide the overall technical direction and architecture, and will be responsible for implementing agreed backend services, event-driven workflows, integrations and supporting deployment infrastructure.

Much of the work is greenfield, although existing MVPs and prototypes will be used as starting points where appropriate. The consultant is expected to work independently once the technical direction is clear, make sound implementation decisions, and translate requirements and technical designs into clean, reliable and maintainable software.

Scope of Work:

The consultant will support the design, implementation, testing and deployment of backend components of the Connectivity Credits platform.

Backend Development

Event-Driven Systems, Rules and Workflows

Integrations

Software Quality

CI/CD, Deployment and Operations

Security

Documentation and Collaboration

How can you make a difference?

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the Terms of Reference here: ToR Connectivity Credits Backend Software Engineering Consultancy TMS text.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Bachelors degree on Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience:

Minimum three (3) years of professional experience in software development, with substantial hands-on backend development experience.
Demonstrated experience developing backend services and APIs using Python and/or TypeScript.
Experience working with distributed or service-oriented applications.
Experience with CI/CD, automated testing and deployment of backend services.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required.
Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

Strong understanding of software design principles, including modularity, separation of concerns and appropriate use of abstractions.
Good understanding of REST APIs, JSON-based integrations and relational data modelling.
Understanding of distributed-system concepts such as stateless services, asynchronous processing, retries, idempotency and failure handling.
Knowledge of containerized application development and deployment.
Understanding of secure software development practices, including authentication, authorization, input validation, secrets management and least privilege.

Ability to work independently within an agreed architecture and make sound implementation decisions.

Desirables:

Experience with Apache Kafka or another event-streaming platform.
Experience with rule engines, workflow engines or workflow-management platforms.
Professional experience with Java.
Experience with blockchain/Web3 systems.

For every Child, you demonstrate Care

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 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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
Cover letter (max. 2 pages) describing relevant experience.
A separate financial proposal Financial proposal Backend Software.docx

Remarks:

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.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Consultancy - Connectivity Credits Backend Software Engineering Consultant,Digital Impact Division,Geneva, CH,6 Months (Remote)