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 be heard

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

The purpose of this activity is to engage an experienced Steering Group member in an advisory, mentoring, and coaching role to strengthen the effectiveness, continuity, and sustainability of the U-Report Steering Group and its Youth Leadership Network.

Under the supervision of the UNICEF Adolescent Development Manager, the mentor will provide guidance and structured mentoring support to Youth Consultants and Steering Group members, enhancing their capacity to design, implement, and lead U-Report activities.

The activity aims to reinforce youth leadership by offering strategic advice, facilitating knowledge sharing and reflection, and supporting coordination with UNICEF focal points, while ensuring that decision-making and ownership remain youth-led. It also seeks to improve the quality and impact of U-Report polls, campaigns, and engagement strategies through informed feedback and capacity building.

Overall, this role contributes to fostering inclusive and meaningful youth participation across all thematic areas, while providing continuity and institutional memory to sustain and strengthen the long-term impact of the U-Report initiative.

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of UNICEF Adolescent Development Manager, the U-Report Steering Group Mentor will provide guidance and mentoring support to the Youth Consultants and members of the Steering Group.

The consultant will not serve as a peer youth representative but rather as a mentor, supporting the Steering Group with strategic advice, capacity building, and knowledge sharing, while ensuring that youth leadership and youth-led processes remain central to the initiative.

The mentor will:
• Provide mentoring and guidance to Youth Consultants in the implementation of U-Report activities.
• Support the development of youth leadership and participation capacities within the Steering Group.
• Provide strategic input and feedback on U-Report polls, campaigns, and engagement strategies.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing, reflection, and learning among Steering Group members.
• Support coordination between Youth Consultants and UNICEF focal points when needed.
• Encourage inclusive and meaningful youth participation across all thematic areas.

While Youth Consultants are expected to engage directly with young activists as peers (generally aged 24 years or younger), the Mentor role is designed to provide continuity, institutional memory, and mentorship, supporting the effectiveness and sustainability of the youth-led structure.

Work Assignment Overview	Deliverables/Outputs	Delivery Deadline	Input Days
1. Attend Steering Group mentoring and meetings	Provide 8 documented contributions (e.g. written inputs, chat summaries, or post-meeting reflections)	31 December 2026	0.25 days per 8 mentoring session = 2 days
2. Attend check-ins with assigned UNICEF Programs	8 brief written inputs (1–2 pages each OR bullet summaries)	31 December 2026	0.25 days per 8 meeting = 2 days
3. Co-design U-Report polls	6 finalized poll questionnaires and 6 short design notes (rationale, target group, expected insights)	31 December 2026	1 day per 6 polls = 6 days
4. Provide strategic input on U-Report polls and engagement strategies	6 short recommendation notes (key findings + suggested actions)	31 December 2026	1.5 days per 6 drafts = 9 days
5. Youth engagement and partnerships support	6 coaching session summaries for Youth Consultants	31 December 2026	0.5 days per 6 coaching sessions = 3 days
6. Participate in key Online/Face-to-Face fora and meetings	3 short event reports (key outcomes, lessons learned)	31 December 2026	0.5 days per 3 events = 1.5 days
			23.5 days

Estimated Duration of the Contract

23.5 working days between 20 July - 31 December 2026.

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultants will be home-based in Italy with 2 national travels (2 days of outstation travel) are foreseen at the moment.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

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

Minimum requirements:

High school diploma.
Active participation in UNICEF or other UN agencies activities.
Strong interpersonal, teamwork and drive for results skills.
Good writing skills.
Fluency in Italian essential (verbal and written).
Must own a mobile phone with reliable access to bandwidth sufficient to hold video calls.
Must live in Italy.
Contextual understanding of community issues specifically issues among youth with a migratory background.

Desirables:

Basic background of working/volunteering in the community.
Proficiency in English or French

Applicants are requested to submit 1-2 samples of content designed for youth. Samples should be authored by applicants. Applications without samples will not be considered.

Please submit a full CV, work samples of content designed for youth and a financial proposal (in USD) in your application. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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

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:

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Home-based in Italy: U-Report Steering Group Mentor (23.5 working days) - ECARO, O/P Rome