Support global action for better nutrition outcomes for children and women. UNICEF is recruiting a Programme & Planning Specialist (P‑3) to strengthen programme planning, performance monitoring, and knowledge management within its Child Nutrition and Development team. Based in Nairobi within UNICEF’s Global Programme Division, this role offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of global strategy and country implementation—supporting technical assistance, partnerships, and evidence‑driven decision‑making to advance UNICEF’s Nutrition Strategy 2030 and deliver results at scale.

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 Future

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF’s Global Programme Division (GPD) provides global leadership to drive programme excellence, policy coherence, and innovation across the organization. Through its Centres of Excellence, GPD links global strategies with country‑level implementation, offering high‑quality, demand‑driven technical assistance to governments, UNICEF offices and partners worldwide.

This position is based in Nairobi, one of UNICEF’s global Centres of Excellence, and sits within the Child Nutrition and Development Section of the Global Programme Division. The Nutrition Practice supports countries to design and deliver equitable, inclusive and high‑impact nutrition programmes for children, adolescents and women, in line with UNICEF’s Nutrition Strategy 2030 and the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026–2029.

Working closely with Country Offices, Regional Offices and headquarters colleagues, the team provides technical support across policy reform, programme design and delivery, public finance, workforce development, innovation, and evidence and knowledge management. Through this work, UNICEF strengthens national systems to prevent all forms of malnutrition, ensure early detection and treatment of acute malnutrition, and promote resilient, child‑centred nutrition outcomes at scale.

Join UNICEF’s Global Programme Division as a Programme & Planning Specialist and contribute to shaping effective, high‑impact child nutrition programmes worldwide. In this role, you will support strategic planning, coordination and knowledge management for the Child Nutrition and Development team, ensuring that priorities are clearly translated into actionable plans, results are tracked, and learning is captured and shared.

You will strengthen programme planning and review processes, support corporate reporting and performance monitoring, and enhance knowledge management and dissemination across global, regional and country levels. Acting as a key liaison between the Nairobi Centre of Excellence and assigned Country and Regional Offices, you will facilitate the intake and coordination of technical assistance requests, strengthen feedback loops, and support partnerships. Through this role, you will help ensure UNICEF’s technical assistance on nutrition is responsive, coherent and aligned with organizational priorities and global commitments.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File Classified Job Descriptions - Programme & Planning Specialist.pdf

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

Minimum requirements

  • Education: Master’s Degree/ An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field is required.
  • Work Experience: A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in strategic planning, partnerships management, and knowledge management, including at international level. 
  • Skills: Programme planning, Knowledge management, Results monitoring, Data analysis, Stakeholder coordination, Strategic communication, Results-based management, Reporting, Performance monitoring, Partnership coordination, Digital collaboration tools
  • Language Requirements: Proficiency in English is required. 

Desirables

  1. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
  2. Developing-country experience, UN system experience, additional UN language, maternal health, neonatal health, humanitarian preparedness
  3. 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

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.

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.

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Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.