UNICEF is seeking for a Consultant to support UNICEF Innocenti’s comparative research on formal youth governance mechanisms in national and multilateral arenas, contributing to the learning, documentation, and synthesis agenda connected to the Leading Minds Fellowship on Climate Education.

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, education

How can you make a difference?  

The purpose of this consultancy is to support UNICEF Innocenti’s comparative research on formal youth governance mechanisms in national and multilateral arenas, contributing to the learning, documentation, and synthesis agenda connected to the Leading Minds Fellowship on Climate Education.

The Research Consultant will provide analytical, research, coordination, and synthesis support across the study’s components, including comparative analysis, pathway tracing, and thematic research examining how children’s, adolescents’, and young people’s priorities are articulated, mediated, and taken up within public decision-making systems. This will include attention to youth-led climate education initiatives emerging through the Leading Minds Fellowship as a practical entry point for understanding how youth participation, evidence generation, and intergenerational governance operate in relation to a concrete policy and systems-change agenda.

Building on the initial phase of global mapping and typology development, the consultancy will contribute to a deeper analytical phase focused on understanding how participation translates into meaningful influence, and under what conditions youth inputs are taken up, reshaped, or excluded from decision-making processes. The work will examine the design, resourcing, and functioning of youth participation mechanisms alongside the institutional response pathways that determine whether and how youth priorities acquire weight in policy, budgeting, and governance outcomes.

The consultancy will contribute to strengthening UNICEF’s evidence base on meaningful child and youth participation and intergenerational governance, with particular emphasis on young people aged 10–24, Global South contexts, climate education, and the connections between national governance structures and multilateral youth representation. It will also explore cross-cutting dimensions including the inclusion of adolescents, accountability and feedback loops, participation under conditions of conflict and constrained civic space, and the role of public investment, institutional location, and demographic context in shaping governance outcomes.

The work will inform UNICEF advocacy, policy guidance, Country Office programming, and climate education engagement by generating comparative evidence, analytical frameworks, and practical insights to support more effective, inclusive, and impactful youth participation in policy and decision-making processes.

Major areas of work and responsibility: Under the supervision of UNICEF Innocenti, the Research Consultant will:
Comparative Research and Analytical Framework Development
Support the development of a comparative analysis on intergenerational governance and participation,examining how children’s, adolescents’, and young people’s priorities acquire weight within public decision-making systems.
Country Case Studies and Pathway Tracing
Support the development of a portfolio of comparative country case studies, tracing participation-to-impact pathways from youth input through to institutional response.
Participation Pathways Research (Multi-Route Analysis) Contribute to the design, implementation, and analysis of research examining participation pathways across different routes.
Cross-Cutting Thematic Analysis: Conflict, Safeguarding, and Civic Space
Support the development of analytical outputs examining how intergenerational governance operates under conditions of conflict, fragility, displacement, and constrained civic space.
Institutional Design, Investment, and Demographic Analysis
Contribute to comparative analysis examining how public investment, institutional location, and demographic context influence the prioritization, visibility, and effectiveness of youth-focused governance arrangements.
Knowledge Products and Policy Translation
Support the development of high-quality knowledge products, including comparative reports, thematic publications, analytical notes, and policy briefs. Contribute to translating research findings into actionable insights and recommendations for government design, institutional arrangements, and public investment strategies.
Country Office Guidance and Practical Tools
Support the development of practical tools and guidance for UNICEF Country Offices, including diagnostic and policy-use toolkits to strengthen engagement with governments on intergenerational governance, mechanism design, legitimacy, age inclusion, response structures, and pathways to policy uptake.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the Terms of Reference here:  Download File ToR Research Consultant TMS.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

  • Education:
  • Bachelor’s in Research, Youth Participation, Training and Facilitation, Evidence Synthesis, Writing or another technical field relevant to the work of UNICEF
  • Years of Experience/ Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required
  • At least 3 years of professional experience in research and/or evidence synthesis with a focus on children and youth. 
  • (A combination of an undergraduate degree and 2 additional years of professional experience may be considered in lieu of master’s degree in Environmental Science/Policy, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Communications, Evidence Synthesis, Research Methods or another technical field relevant to the work of UNICEF);
  • Demonstrated development and implementation of participatory methodologies
    • Be a named author/co-author of at least 3 publications of global scope and policy impact relevance
    • Knowledge and experience of convening in virtual settings, with strong familiarity with digital workspaces, communication tools and conferencing platforms;
    • Experience of engaging in child and/or youth networks;
    • Demonstrated ability to set high standards for quality of work and consistently achieve project goals.
    • Solid writing, analytical, problem-solving, writing and presentation skills, particularly in the context of international work settings.
    • Strong interpersonal skills including developing and maintaining collaborative relationships with internal and external partners.
    • Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
  • Language requirements: Fluency in English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate Care

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 (Talent Management System):

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.

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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.