UNICEF is seeking a specialized consultant to strengthen its newly established Health Economics and Financing (HEF) Section. This role integrates knowledge management, communications, and advocacy into a single pipeline to centralize evidence, streamline messaging, and drive resource mobilization for child health priorities. The consultant will drive impact by anchoring initiatives like the HEF Specialists Placement Initiative and the HEF Lab across institutional levels and external partnerships.

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 Health

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to provide specialised knowledge management, communications and advocacy expertise to strengthen the newly established UNICEF Health Economics and Financing (HEF) Section. UNICEF's new Strategic Plan identifies "Financing to Scale" as a central pillar, positioning the organisation to mobilise and strategically allocate resources across child health priorities. In the past years, Health Economics and Financing (HEF) activities have been carried out by multiple divisions and sections across Headquarters, Regional and Country Office levels, as well as within and outside the Programme Division. These efforts have produced strong, valuable evidence that has led to impactful policy engagement in several countries.

The Health Economics and Financing Section was established within the Global Health Practice, in the Health Centre of Excellence (CoE), and is now consolidating, harmonising, and strategically positioning a structured evidence repository, complemented by knowledge review, exchange, and dissemination.  The Section is also setting up a system to build and strengthen the capacity of UNICEF staff in the HEF area.

This assignment is organised around three thrust areas that are designed to reinforce one another rather than operate in isolation. Knowledge Management consolidates HEF evidence, expertise and lessons so they are readily available and well governed. Communications translates that evidence into consistent, accessible messaging for internal and external audiences. Advocacy then converts that messaging into visibility, partnerships and investment, anchored by the “HEF Specialists Placement Initiative” (HEF SPI) . Together, the three areas form a single pipeline: knowledge is generated and organised, communicated clearly and consistently, and ultimately used to influence decision-making and resource mobilisation for child health financing.

The consultancy will produce a defined set of knowledge management, communications, and advocacy products and systems, anchored by the HEF SPI as its flagship advocacy vehicle and the HEF Lab as an innovation and engagement space, reflecting the scale of investment behind them and amplified across Country, Regional and Headquarters offices, as well as in UNICEF's engagement with other UN agencies and external partners. The assignment is from 5 October 2026 to 31 May 2027.

Scope of Work

 Knowledge Management

  • Maintain and periodically refresh the roster of health economics and financing experts: verify availability, update expertise profiles, and add new experts as needed so the roster remains deployment-ready.
  •  Keep the HEF Repository current by integrating new products, datasets and reviews as they are produced; introduce basic content governance (tagging and metadata standards) and track usage across HQ, ROs and COs.
  • Build the templates, taxonomy and searchable log needed to capture, categorise and disseminate lessons from technical reviews, and run one pilot cycle to test them end to end. Routine operation of the loops passes to the Section beyond the period of this assignment.
  •  Design a recurring format (for example a community of practice or a peer-learning series) for HQ, ROs and COs to exchange HEF knowledge and practice with one another, secure the first cohort of participants, and convene one inaugural session. The recurring cycle passes to the Section beyond the period of this assignment.
  • Manage dynamically knowledge products generated through the HEF Specialists Placement Initiative, including using AI to direct findings to most relevant stakeholders.

2) Communications

• Develop an annual editorial calendar aligning the newsletter, website updates and major HEF milestones (forums, fellowship placements, report launches) across the assignment.

• Draft, coordinate review of, and disseminate a recurring HEF newsletter (proposed cadence: quarterly, minimum 2 issues within the assignment period) covering key activities, evidence and partnership updates, archived on the HEF Hub (SharePoint) and circulated to HQ, RO and CO stakeholders.

• UNICEF does not maintain a dedicated HEF website; HEF content is hosted within the UNICEF corporate website. Initiate the process of establishing a dedicated HEF page on the UNICEF corporate website: define the content architecture and requirements, secure the necessary clearances, agree the workflow for review and refresh with the corporate web team, and prepare a submission-ready first set of content. Full build, launch and recurring refresh continue beyond the period of this assignment.

• Develop a storytelling content plan covering HEF work, fellows and partnerships for broader, non-technical audiences, and produce one completed piece under that plan, whether a feature story, a short video or an audio item. Further production continues beyond the period of this assignment.

• Establish the process for the HEF Lab as an innovative space within the HEF Hub (SharePoint) to surface and test new ideas in health economics and financing. This covers the concept note, governance arrangements and operating workflow, agreement with the HEF Hub owners, and the initial structure for a live, interactive engagement page and a dedicated HEF Fellows section profiling fellows by country placement, focus area and published papers, linked to both the HEF Repository and the Fellowship and Embedded Expertise Programme. Full build-out and launch continue beyond the period of this assignment. As the HEF Hub is an internal platform, external-facing visibility for the Fellowship Programme is addressed separately through the UNICEF corporate website.

3) Advocacy

• Anchor HEF advocacy around the established Fellowship and Embedded Expertise Programme, positioning it as a flagship investment that demonstrates UNICEF's leadership in health economics and financing, rather than a routine capacity-building activity. This includes amplifying fellows' and embedded experts' placements and results across Country Offices, Regional Offices and Headquarters through joint storytelling, cross-office spotlights and shared visibility products; securing external-facing visibility for the Programme through dedicated content on the UNICEF corporate website, developed in coordination with the corporate Communications Division, since the HEF Hub is an internal platform only; interfacing with other UN agencies, multilateral partners and donors (for example WHO, the World Bank, Gavi and the Global Fund) to profile the Programme in inter-agency forums and donor dialogues, positioning UNICEF as a convening authority on HEF talent and evidence; and packaging Programme milestones and results into a flagship narrative that demonstrates return on investment and supports continued and expanded funding. • Develop and begin implementing a plan to build networks and partnerships and represent UNICEF's HEF work in relevant global and regional forums. This includes mapping priority stakeholders and forums, developing a calendar of key engagement moments for 2026 and 2027, and organising one webinar showcasing HEF Fellows and their work to internal and external audiences.

• Produce audience-ready advocacy assets, including briefs, key messages, talking points and social media content, aligned with major HEF moments (forums, launches and fellowship milestones), working hand in hand with Country, Regional and Global Communications teams to ensure materials are reviewed, adapted for local context, and channelled through established corporate communications processes.

• Map the global HEF data-generation process and produce one case study or brief showing how analysis informs decision-making, advocacy and funding dialogue. Further case studies follow beyond the period of this assignment.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete TOR here: Download File TOR TMC0005140.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in knowledge management, communications and advocacy is required.
Skills:
1. Strong writing and content development skills, with a track record producing newsletters, website content and multimedia/storytelling materials for a technical or policy-facing audience, is highly desirable.
2. Experience designing or running fellowship, mentorship or embedded-expertise programmes, and using them for advocacy or profile-building, is an asset.
3. Experience amplifying programme results across Headquarters, Regional and Country Offices, and interfacing with other UN agencies, multilateral partners or donors, is highly desirable.
Desirable experience
1. Experience developing and implementing an engagement, networking or partnerships plan, including representation in global or regional forums, is highly desirable.
2. Prior experience with the UN or an international organisation, and familiarity with SharePoint or similar collaborative digital platforms, is desirable.
*Listed requirements will be used for technical evaluation in the competitive process.

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 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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (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.

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.

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.