Join UNICEF’s Public Finance for Children (PF4C) Unit within the Child Poverty Centre of Excellence in Amman and help advance equitable and sustainable financing for children worldwide. As a Social Policy Specialist, you will provide technical support to UNICEF offices and partners on child-responsive budgeting, public financial management, fiscal policy, social sector financing, and evidence-based policy reforms. Working with governments, development partners, international financial institutions, and UNICEF country and regional teams, you will contribute to strengthening public systems, building capacity, generating knowledge, and scaling innovative approaches that improve outcomes for children. This is an exciting opportunity to influence policies and investments that help reduce child poverty and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
The Global Programme Division (GPD) plays a central role in driving programme excellence across UNICEF by providing global strategic leadership, policy direction, technical expertise, and support to country-level implementation. Within this structure, UNICEF has established Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Nairobi, Panama, Amman, and Bangkok to provide demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, governments, and partners. These centres deliver support across key areas including policy reform, public finance for children, programme design at scale, institutional strengthening, workforce development, and humanitarian response.
The Child Poverty Centre of Excellence in Amman contributes to UNICEF’s strategic results on child poverty, social protection, cash assistance, public finance, and livelihoods. Working closely with UNICEF Country Offices, governments, regional bodies, and development partners, the Centre supports efforts to reduce multidimensional child poverty and promote inclusive and resilient economic and social policies that advance children's rights. Its work contributes directly to Impact Result #3 of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and to Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 10.
Within the Centre, the Public Finance for Children (PF4C) Unit supports governments and partners to strengthen public financial management systems, promote child-responsive budgeting, improve fiscal equity, and increase sustainable investments in children. The Unit works on budget analysis, social sector financing, domestic resource mobilization, SDG financing, debt and tax reform, climate and humanitarian financing, and evidence-based advocacy to ensure that public resources are allocated and used effectively to advance children's rights and well-being.
Join the Public Finance for Children team in the Child Poverty Centre of Excellence in Amman and help advance children’s rights through child-responsive, equitable and efficient public budgeting. You will provide technical assistance, strengthen staff and partner capacity, generate and share evidence, and support UNICEF Country and Regional Offices in leveraging public resources to achieve better and more equitable results for children. You will also contribute to the renewed Public Finance for Children framework and collaborate with governments, international financial institutions, UN agencies, donors, civil society and research partners to integrate children’s rights into financing decisions.
Key accountabilities:
- Capacity Development and Institutional Strengthening
- Quality Improvement at Scale
- Policy Reform and Systems Transformation
- Evidence, Data and Knowledge for Action
- Equitable Access
- Programme Management and Results Monitoring
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JD_Social Policy Specialist_P4
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in in Economics, Social Sciences, International Relations, Public Policy, Political Science, or another relevant technical field.
- Work Experience: 8 years of relevant work experience in applications and advisory related to PFM and financing for children from a child rights perspective, in the applied, national and international social development settings is required.
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Skills:
- Experience in Public Financial Management (PFM), Child-Responsive Budgeting, Public Finance for Children (PF4C);
- Experience in policy analysis and advisory;
- Experience in capacity development and training;
- Strategic Communication and Partnership Building;
- Capacity to translate technical knowledge into provision of accessible technical assistance and to provide capacity development of partners and staff;
- Experience in written analysis/documentation of public policy work.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.
Desirables:
- Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language;
- Demonstrated capacity in strategic communication, including public speaking and effective engagement in key international events, advocacy platforms, or high-level policy dialogues;
- Publication record in areas related to child rights budgeting;
- 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, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of serious misconduct.
UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable. Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks.
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 are conditional on the selected candidates willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.
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.
In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.
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.