UNICEF is seeking a short-term software engineering consultant to support the development of the Giga Meter application for health centers, including the integration of internet speed test protocols such as those provided by Cloudflare. The consultant will work closely with the product team, Country Engagement teams, and external partners to design, build, and implement robust software solutions that support the Giga initiative—a joint partnership between UNICEF and ITU—aimed at expanding internet connectivity and monitoring network performance.

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, a digital future   

How can you make a difference?

We are seeking a short-term software engineering consultant to support the development of the Giga Meter application for health centers, including the integration of internet speed test protocols such as those provided by Cloudflare. The consultant will work closely with the product team, Country Engagement teams, and external partners to design, build, and implement robust software solutions that support the Giga initiative—a joint partnership between UNICEF and ITU—aimed at expanding internet connectivity and monitoring network performance.

Scope of Work

• Application Enhancement and Resilience
  • Optimize the Giga Meter for Health Windows application by refactoring and hardening the existing codebase to improve stability and resource efficiency.
  • Strengthen offline resilience and long-duration data capture, ensuring data integrity during extended periods without connectivity.
  • Enhance sync reliability by implementing advanced retry logic, real-time monitoring, and robust failure recovery mechanisms for backend communication.
• Advanced Scheduling and Configuration
  • Extend the measurement scheduling engine to support dynamic updates and complex configuration changes.
  • Improve the application's handling of edge-case scenarios, including missed, delayed, or partial measurement runs to ensure data continuity.
• Network Performance and Cloudflare Integration
  • Refine and optimize Cloudflare speed test implementations based on real-world production data to increase measurement accuracy.
  • Tune the data efficiency of network tests to minimize overhead while maintaining high-fidelity results for latency, jitter, and throughput.
• Quality Assurance and DevOps
  • Expand automated and regression test coverage across the full stack (frontend and backend) to ensure feature stability.
  • Integrate comprehensive testing suites into CI/CD pipelines to streamline the release process and improve deployment confidence.
  • Oversee ongoing deployments and upgrades within Windows environments, ensuring operational stability and minimal downtime.
• Collaboration and Documentation
  • Maintain and update technical and operational documentation to support partner adoption and internal developer onboarding.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical improvements with production learnings and stakeholder requirements.

The assignment is fully remote without travels.

Financial Proposal

Please indicate your ability, availability and your overall rate – or rate per deliverable (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable). Applications submitted without a rate will not be considered.  

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Network Engineering, or related field.
• Work Experience:
  • A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in software development.
  • Knowledge of internet measurement protocols and standards.
• Technical experience:
  • Frontend Development: Ionic, Angular, Capacitor, and Electron for cross-platform desktop application development (Windows focus).
  • Backend Development: NestJS for scalable API services and business logic implementation.
  • Database Management: PostgreSQL for relational data modeling, indexing, optimization, and secure storage.
  • Deployment & Testing: Windows packaging and deployment, functional/integration testing, and CI/CD workflows.
  • Documentation & Standards: Preparing technical documentation, following standards, and adhering to code quality best practices.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Payment details and further considerations:

• Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.
• The consultant is responsible for his/her own health and travel insurance.

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 female 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.

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.