Programme Specialist - Children's Food Practices and Youth Engagement (P-4), Temporary Appointment,364 days, Global Programme Division, Kenya,Nairobi COE, (Fully Remote) #00138267

Organizational Context

UNICEF works in over 190 countries to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential. The Centres of Excellence (CoEs) provide high-quality technical assistance to Country Offices, Regional Offices, and partners, consolidating expertise to ensure equitable and timely support across diverse contexts, including humanitarian settings.

Job Purpose

The Programme Specialist will provide strategic leadership and technical direction for UNICEF’s Food Systems for Children agenda, focusing on children's food practices, youth engagement, and advocacy. This role is crucial for strengthening food-related practices, behaviours, and social norms that impact child and adolescent nutrition outcomes. The incumbent will lead global initiatives like First Foods Africa and Fix My Food, ensuring technical quality and cross-regional coordination. They will support country offices in generating evidence, building capacity, implementing social marketing and behaviour change approaches, and empowering young people as agents of change in food systems transformation. The position also involves providing technical expertise in social and behaviour change for nutrition programmes, responding to country office requests and contributing to UNICEF’s overall mission for child empowerment and rights.

Responsibilities

Lead global initiatives such as First Foods Africa and Fix My Food, ensuring technical quality, consistency of approach, cross-regional coordination, knowledge generation, and organizational learning. Provide strategic leadership and technical direction for UNICEF’s Food Systems for Children agenda, with a particular focus on First Foods Africa Pillar 3 (Practices), social and behaviour change, social marketing, youth engagement, and advocacy. Lead UNICEF’s global efforts to strengthen food-related practices, behaviours, and social norms that influence child and adolescent nutrition outcomes. Support actions to transform food environments through policy advocacy, youth mobilization, and systems approaches. Provide leadership and technical expertise in social and behaviour change for nutrition programmes, responding to technical assistance requests from country offices. Support country offices in generating evidence, strengthening capacity, implementing social marketing and behaviour change approaches, and engaging young people as agents of change in food systems transformation. Ensure alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan and foster innovation, accountability, and resilient systems to advance child rights and equitable access to basic services.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of professional experience in programme management, social and behaviour change, nutrition, youth engagement, or related areas, with experience in developing countries and in emergency settings desirable.

Skills

Programme Management, Food Systems, Nutrition, Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), Youth Engagement, Advocacy, Social Marketing, Policy Analysis, Capacity Building, Knowledge Management, Cross-cultural Communication, Strategic Planning

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