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.

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF’s Digital Impact Division, in partnership with Safe Online, is implementing the Children AI Safety and Security Rubric (CAISSR), a global initiative to operationalize child safety and protection from technology-facilitated harm, including CSEA, within AI system development and deployment.

The CAISSR will provide a structured, actionable framework enabling governments, technologists, and humanitarian actors to assess, benchmark, and improve child safety safeguards in AI systems, particularly in low-resource and vulnerable contexts.

The project will run until June 2027 and includes research, rubric co-design, pilot implementation, and global dissemination.

To support delivery, UNICEF seeks an experienced Project Manager to support project implementation across technical, policy, and advocacy workstreams. The consultant will support effective execution and tracking of activities including stakeholder coordination, milestone tracking, pilot delivery, and reporting, working closely with subject matter experts across AI, cybersecurity, and programme.

Scope of Work: Under the guidance of the Project Coordinator, the Project Manager will support end-to-end delivery and coordination of the CAISSR project, including:

1. Project management framework design and operational support

2. Stakeholder engagement and partnerships support

3. Rubric development and pilot organization

4. Monitoring, reporting, and risk management

5. Communications and dissemination support

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: ToRTMC0004010.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s in Business, International Development, Computer Science, Data Science, Innovation or a related field
Work Experience:

Minimum 5 years of project or product management experience delivering complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives across technical, policy, and/or research domains
Proven ability to manage end-to-end delivery of programmes involving multiple workstreams (e.g., research, product/framework development, pilot implementation, dissemination)
Demonstrated experience working on AI, digital governance, cybersecurity, or technology policy initiatives, including familiarity with risks related to AI systems (e.g., safety, security, misuse)
Experience managing pilot implementations or field testing, including stakeholder coordination, data collection, and synthesis of results into actionable recommendations

Skills:

Understanding of AI lifecycle concepts (design, development, deployment, evaluation) and where safety and safeguarding measures apply
Ability to work across technical and non-technical stakeholders and translate complex concepts into clear outputs (briefs, frameworks, reports)
Strong knowledge management and documentation skills, including ability to structure and maintain workplans, trackers, knowledge products, and reporting outputs
Experience defining and tracking KPIs, monitoring frameworks, and visualization using dashboard and reporting tools (Power BI)
Strong written communication skills, with demonstrated ability to produce high-quality reports, donor updates, and externally facing knowledge products
Proactivity and strong attention to detail

Language Requirements: English is required. Another UN language is desirable
Desirables:

Understanding of child rights, safeguarding, and digital safety issues, particularly in relation to online harms or technology-facilitated risks
Familiarity with UNICEF, UN system, or international development environments, including working across HQ, regional, and country office structures

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 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, TMS (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
Cover letter
A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) Financial proposal TMC0004010.docx

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

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.

Project Manager AI Rubric Consultancy, DID, Digital Guardrails/AI Office, 10.5 months, UNICEF Valencia, Remote with travel, # 594247