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

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does – in programmes, advocacy, and operations. UNICEF’s equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment into action by ensuring that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop, and reach their full potential.

The Global Programme Division (GPD) plays a central role in driving programme excellence across UNICEF, providing global strategic leadership, policy direction, and technical expertise. Through its Centres of Excellence—located in Nairobi, Panama, Amman and Bangkok—UNICEF delivers high-quality, demand-driven technical assistance to country and regional offices, supporting policy reform, scalable programming, and institutional strengthening.

Within this global ecosystem, the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) catalyzes action for girls’ education and gender equality in and through education. By influencing global policy, promoting evidence-based solutions, and facilitating cross-sector collaboration, UNGEI advances gender-transformative education systems worldwide.

This position contributes directly to UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 5 (gender equality), supporting efforts to ensure inclusive, resilient, and equitable learning opportunities for all children and adolescents.

How can you make a difference?

Under the guidance of the Senior Education Adviser for Gender and Equity (UNGEI), the Education Specialist (Gender Equity) will lead strategic initiatives and provide high-quality technical assistance to UNICEF regional and country offices, governments, and global partners to advance gender equality in and through education.

You will play a central role in strengthening national education systems to achieve gender equality, supporting Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning (GRESP), fostering gender-transformative leadership, and addressing harmful gender norms and school-related gender-based violence. You will also contribute to advancing gender equality in education in emergencies and protracted crises, while supporting capacity-strengthening initiatives across UNGEI’s global network.

In this role, you will provide strategic leadership and coordination for global initiatives such as the Gender at the Centre Initiative (GCI) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Gender Technical Assistance Initiative, working closely with governments, donors, and partners to deliver impactful and sustainable results.

You will generate and apply evidence to inform policy and programming, lead research and learning agendas, and support the development and dissemination of global standards and analytical tools for gender-responsive education systems. You will also engage in high-level advocacy, partnerships, and global platforms to influence policy and mobilize action for girls’ education and gender equality.

Working collaboratively across UNICEF and UNGEI platforms, you will strengthen partnerships with governments, civil society, and youth movements, contributing to a coordinated and results-driven effort to remove gender-related barriers across the education lifecycle.

Through your leadership, you will help embed gender-transformative approaches into education systems, policies, and programmes, contributing to improved access, learning outcomes, and skills for girls and marginalized learners globally. Your accountabilities include:

Leadership, Management, and Coordination
Techincal Advisory Services and Support
Research, Learning, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Advocacy, Networking, and Programme Partnership Building
Programme and Staff Management, Monitoring of Results

Under the guidance of the Senior Education Adviser for Gender and Equity (UNGEI), the Education Specialist (Gender Equity) leads strategic initiatives and provides high-quality technical assistance to advance gender equality in and through education across UNICEF programmes and partnerships.

The role drives key global initiatives, including the Gender at the Centre Initiative (GCI) and the GPE Gender Technical Assistance Initiative, while supporting governments, partners, and UNICEF offices in strengthening gender-responsive education systems and policies.

The incumbent provides technical advisory services on gender-responsive planning, contributes to research, evidence generation, and monitoring, and supports advocacy and partnership-building to influence policy and scale impact.

Working collaboratively across UNICEF and UNGEI platforms, the Specialist promotes integrated, gender-transformative approaches, addresses harmful gender norms and school-related gender-based violence, and contributes to sustainable results for girls and marginalized learners globally.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File Education Specialist-Gender Equity (UNGEI), P-4.pdf

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

Minimum requirements

- 1. - Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Education, International Business Relations, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Gender development, women's studies and any other related fields.
    - Work Experience: At least 8 years of progressively responsible professional experience leading policy, programme, advocacy, or research initiatives that advance gender equality in and through education.
    - Skills: Gender-responsive education sector planning, Policy advisory and systems strengthening, Partnership and stakeholder coordination, Research and evidence generation, Advocacy and global coalition building, Programme management and delivery.
    - Language Requirements: Proficiency in both English and French is required.

Desirables

Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
Experience with complex, multi-country, multi-donor interventions with strong research and
learning agendas.
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
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

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.

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.

Education Specialist-Gender Equity (UNGEI), (P-4), Fixed Term, #00133295, Global Programme Division, Kenya - Nairobi COE