National Consultant for Strengthening UNICEF’s Innovative Finance Initiative, 4.5 months based in Jakarta (for Indonesians only)

UNICEF Indonesia seeks to hire an individual consultant to support innovative finance work at the UNICEF Jakarta office and explore potential expansion of innovative finance at national and sub-national levels. The consultancy is expected to last approximately 4.5 months.

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.

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For every child, protection

UNICEF Indonesia seeks to hire an individual consultant to support innovative finance work at the UNICEF Jakarta office and explore potential expansion of innovative finance at national and sub-national levels.

How can you make a difference? 

Building on the financial innovation efforts in Indonesia initiated in 2021, these initiatives emphasize UNICEF Indonesia’s commitment to advancing its role in mobilizing and leveraging innovative financing to support child rights at both national and subnational levels. From 2021 to 2025, UNICEF Indonesia has provided innovative finance for children (IF4C) support to the Ministry of Finance Indonesia through the Accelerating SDGs Investment in Indonesia Joint Programme (ASSIST JP). At the subnational level, UNICEF has assisted the East Java Provincial Government in developing the Integrated Subnational Financing Framework (ISFF) – a report that documents and analyzes 17 financing schemes from both public and private sectors, with a combined value of approximately IDR200 trillion (around US$12 billion). These schemes could help close East Java’s SDGs financing gap, estimated at IDR1,700 trillion (around US$103 billion), while supporting the implementation of the province’s Medium-Term Subnational Development Plan (Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah Daerah/RPJMD). Currently, UNICEF is collaborating with three East Java municipalities with notable fiscal and economic potential—Surabaya City, Kediri Regency, and Bojonegoro Regency—to identify and operationalize innovative financing opportunities for child rights. With technical review, quality assurance, and clear implementation guidelines, these efforts can produce practical, scalable results that align well with local development priorities.

Building on the success of the ISFF in East Java and the experience of leveraging Islamic Social Funds in Aceh, UNICEF Indonesia is now advancing an initiative to streamline these efforts at the national level. The approaches pioneered in East Java and Aceh—such as ISFF and faith-based financing—can be adapted and replicated in other provinces, taking their local characteristics, under the central government's and national partners' leadership and coordination.

Equally important, as UNICEF Indonesia works to streamline Innovative Finance for Children (IF4C) at the national level, developing a strategic roadmap and a contextualized social policy framework is imperative. This framework should consolidate key learnings, guide future innovations, and foster cross-sectoral collaboration, enabling UNICEF’s IF4C initiative to be scaled nationwide. Technical assistance will be essential to streamline IF4C efforts and design the roadmap, ensuring that UNICEF’s IF4C agenda can be effectively implemented.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Term of Reference here: ToR - Innovative Finance Initiative _TMS.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Master’s degree in economics, Finance, Business, or related fields.
• Minimum five years of academic/research/ professional work experience in economics, finance, public policy, social policy, or related fields.
• Strong understanding of national and subnational government planning and budgeting.
• Familiarity with UNICEF programming and experience working under UNICEF mandates (preferred).
• Strong experience coordinating/collaborating with the private sector (preferred).
• Strong experience coordinating and liaising with various local/city government offices (preferred).
• Exposure to Research Organizations (preferred).
• Excellent communication, writing, and speaking skills in Bahasa Indonesia and English.
• Computer skills, including internet navigation, teleconferencing, file sharing, and various office applications.

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:  

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  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.

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.