The position aims to strengthen financial inclusion and livelihoods within UNICEF-supported social protection programmes to enhance women’s economic resilience, access to financial services, and sustainable wellbeing outcomes.

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?

UNICEF’s Social Policy Section supports governments to design, implement, and strengthen equitable, shock-responsive, and child-sensitive social protection systems, including cash transfer programmes, public finance for children (PF4C), social registries, and complementary services that address multidimensional child poverty and vulnerability.

Within this mandate, the Social Policy Section plays a central role in linking income support with human capital outcomes, particularly for women, children, and adolescents, through integrated approaches that combine cash transfers with financial inclusion, livelihood pathways, access to basic services, and social behaviour change interventions. These approaches are critical in fragile and humanitarian contexts where economic shocks, displacement, and conflict disproportionately affect women’s economic agency and household resilience.

As a Social Policy Officer (Financial Inclusion and Livelihoods), you will contribute to UNICEF’s strategic objectives by strengthening the financial inclusion and economic resilience components of social protection programmes, including MCCT+, HCT, and other social protection-based interventions. You will focus on promoting safe, inclusive, and gender-responsive access to financial services, linking beneficiaries to appropriate livelihood and income-generation opportunities, and supporting government and partner systems to sustain impacts beyond cash assistance.

In this role, you will work closely with government counterparts, financial service providers, implementing partners, and internal UNICEF sections (Programme, CIU, Supply, Finance, Child Protection, SBC, Health, and Nutrition) to ensure coherent, well-coordinated, and risk-informed delivery.

Summary of Key Functions and Accountabilities

Under the supervision of Social Policy Specialist, the Social Policy Officer (Financial Inclusion and Livelihoods) will:

  1. Programme Design and Implementation
    • Support the design and implementation of financial inclusion and livelihood components within social protection and cash transfer programmes, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Social Protection Framework, PF4C approach, and national policies.
    • Contribute to the integration of financial literacy, savings, and responsible financial behaviours within MCCT+, HCT, and related programmes.
  2. Financial Inclusion and Payment Systems
    • Support the assessment, selection, and monitoring of financial service providers (FSPs), including banks, mobile money operators, and digital payment platforms, with a focus on accessibility, consumer protection, and gender sensitivity.
    • Promote safe and inclusive access to accounts, digital IDs, and payment mechanisms for women and vulnerable populations, in coordination with CIU, Supply, and Finance teams.
  3. Livelihoods and Economic Linkages
    • Support the identification and facilitation of appropriate livelihood pathways and economic linkages for beneficiaries, including referrals to skills development, income-generation initiatives, and complementary government or partner programmes.
    • Coordinate with partners and line ministries to strengthen linkages between cash assistance and longer-term economic resilience interventions.
  4. Risk Management and Safeguarding
    • Integrate financial inclusion and livelihood activities with GBV risk mitigation, PSEA, child safeguarding, and social and environmental standards, ensuring alignment with UNICEF and donor requirements.
    • Support the strengthening of grievance redress mechanisms (GRM) related to payments, financial services, and partner conduct.
  5. Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting
    • Contribute to monitoring frameworks, PDMs, and analytical work related to financial inclusion and livelihood outcomes, including gender- and age-disaggregated analysis.
    • Support donor reporting, lessons learned documentation, and knowledge products related to financial inclusion and economic resilience within social protection programmes.
  6. Coordination and Capacity Building
    • Support coordination with government counterparts, implementing partners, and financial service providers to strengthen national capacity for inclusive social protection delivery.
    • Contribute to capacity-building efforts for partners, community structures, and field teams on financial inclusion, livelihoods, and responsible cash delivery.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File TOR - Social Policy Officer (FI Livelihoods) TA- AC..pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

  • Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in Social Science,Economics,Development Studies,Public Relations/Communication,Social Services, social policy, economics, development studies, public policy, finance, social protection and any other related fields.
  • Work Experience: At least 2 years of relevant work experience in Social Policy, social protection, financial inclusion, livelihoods, cash transfer, digital payments, monitoring and evaluation, risk management, gender mainstreaming, stakeholder engagement, capacity building. and any other related fields.
  • Skills: Experience in Financial Literacy, Analytical skills, Payment systems, Risk mitigation, Stakeholder coordination, Programme implementation is required.
  • Language Requirements: Fluency in both Arabic and English is required.

Desirables:

  • Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
  • Experience working with government institutions, NGOs, or international organizations is required; prior UNICEF or UN system experience is an asset.
  • Experience in humanitarian contexts, experience with digital payments digital payments, experience with financial service providers, familiarity with digital financial services, familiarity with financial literacy approaches, familiarity with inclusive payment systems, gbv risk mitigation, experience with mobile money.
  • 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 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.

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.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female 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.

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.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

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.

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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.