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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, … Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing

This role will be part of the Child Protection in Humanitarian Action Unit. The incumbent will work under the overall guidance of the Senior Adviser Child Protection (Child Protection in Humanitarian Action – CPHA) and the Child Protection Specialist MHPSS as well as the Health Specialist- Adolescent, School, Mental Health, to provide technical guidance to support the MHPSS intersectoral agenda and thought leadership in collaboration with all clusters/divisions/sections at HQ, Regional Offices as well as external partnerships and UN agencies working in MHPSS. The Child Protection Specialist (MHPSS) will work closely with focal points within the Child Protection and Health Sections, other relevant sections at headquarters (such as Education and Adolescent Development, Office of Evaluation, Data Analytics Planning and Monitoring, Innocenti Office of Research and Foresight, Human Resources, and the Office of the Executive Director), country offices (COs) and regional offices (ROs) as well as with key partners (e.g. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), WHO, UNHCR, other UN agencies, subject matter experts, academic research institutions, and multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors) to assist in ensuring that quality MHPSS services are developed, evaluated, and effectively scaled up and integrated globally for children, adolescents, and caregivers . This is a fully remote position with frequent international travel to regional and country offices, international conferences, workshops, and seminars.

How can you make a difference?

Join UNICEF in Advancing Child Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

As UNICEF drives cross-sectoral progress in the development, evaluation, and roll-out of targeted MHPSS interventions, this role offers a unique opportunity to shape the integration of these critical programs across the organization. You will contribute to creating evidence-based MHPSS interventions, tools, and training materials, supporting their implementation and evaluation in diverse settings. Key responsibilities include providing technical guidance to country and regional offices, ensuring quality and sustainability in MHPSS initiatives, and promoting UNICEF’s global leadership in the field through research and thought leadership. This position directly supports UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, with a focus on Health and Child Protection, and offers the chance to make a meaningful impact on the well-being of children and families worldwide.

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

The role involves extensive programme development, planning, and management, with a focus on enhancing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for children and families in humanitarian and development contexts. Key responsibilities include supporting the development of MHPSS proposals and partnerships with a range of stakeholders, including UN agencies, civil society, governments, and academic institutions. This work aims to build innovative, impactful projects that contribute to global evidence and improve practice. The position also involves advising on donor relations, particularly with GIZ and BHA, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and international standards, and contributing to monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on UNICEF’s MHPSS work, both internally and externally.

The role further includes providing technical support for the development and evaluation of new MHPSS interventions, ensuring they incorporate the latest scientific and practice-based evidence. This includes work on interventions like mhGAP for mental health in primary healthcare settings and BLOOM for young children. The position also offers support to regional and country offices in adapting and implementing MHPSS interventions, and ensuring they are integrated with other sectors. Advocacy is a key component, with responsibilities for global coordination, networking, and representing UNICEF at high-level forums to elevate the organization’s leadership in MHPSS for children and families. Additionally, the role involves leading innovation and knowledge management efforts by facilitating the roll-out of new MHPSS interventions, collating evidence on their effectiveness, and ensuring that knowledge is shared and used to improve practice at regional and country levels.

The following minimum requirements:

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: psychology, social work or other relevant social welfare, or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in mental health, social work, MHPSS and/other related areas at national or international levels, most of which were served in humanitarian contexts is required.
• Experience in intervention development and evaluation required.

Desirables/Assets:

• Relevant experience in child protection, human rights and related areas, programme/project development and in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Experience in intervention development, research and evaluation, developing comprehensive training and professional development plans for intervention delivery, and knowledge management experience are desirable assets.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English (verbal and written) is required. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is considered an asset.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will 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.

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.

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.

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.