Research Support and Coordination Expert

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

UNICEF’s Programme in Italy was set up in 2016 to respond to a large influx of unaccompanied minors arriving primarily through the Central Mediterranean route.

This assignment will be in the Planet, Participation and Well-being (PPW) research team – one of five research teams that are part of a larger office also including foresight analysis, data and analytics, data governance and programme effectiveness. The overarching aim of the office is to strengthen UNICEF’s global credibility and ability to be a global voice, influencer, and evidence leader for child rights. The PPW team is responsible for two flagship evidence reports – State of the World’s Children and the Innocenti Report Cards – as well as a range of other activity including research on child poverty and on child well-being, behavioural science research and youth engagement.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of Chief, Planet, Participation and Well-being team, the Research Support and Coordination Expert will involve in 5 main types of tasks:

1. Report production: organizing review processes, formatting and light editing of working papers, liaising with external editors and designers.
2. Knowledge management: including helping to organize our Sharepoint folders, organizing, archiving, cataloguing.
3. Project co-ordination: keeping track of time scales, keeping lists and maintaining contact with key stakeholders including advisory groups and internal partners, time scales and reminders.
4. Background research: including literature searches, writing up evidence summaries in order to contribute to reports.
5. Communications and dissemination: working with internal Comms team, drafting comms materials, drafting dissemination plans