UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfilling their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a better future

UNICEF works to ensure the rights of all children in the East Asia and Pacific Region.  This means the rights of every child living in this country, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion or ethnicity, to:

• survival – to basic healthcare, peace and security;
• development – to a good education, a loving home and adequate nutrition;
• protection – from abuse, neglect, trafficking, child labour and other forms of exploitation; and
• participation – to express opinions, be listened to and take part in making any decisions that affect them

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office is seeking an individual consultant to assist the Country Offices in developing a Child Rights-Based PFM Strategy and strengthening the capacity of UNICEF CO staff (social policy and sectors) to strategically engage in PFM processes that support upstream policy engagement towards effective and efficient financing for children.  

Specifically, the consultancy aims to:

1. Conduct targeted tailor made trainings and capacity-building workshops for UNICEF staff and Government partners, specifically for Vietnam and Mongolia Country Offices.

• Trainings shall aim at enabling UNICEF to effectively apply PFM tools and approaches to support upstream policy advocacy and systems strengthening for children in specific country contexts.

2. Facilitate strategic consultations with UNICEF and key partners to generate actionable inputs and recommendations that would inform the development of each Country Office’s PFM Strategy and country programme.

3. Support to the development of the Country Office Child-Rights Based PFM Strategy.

• For Vietnam CO: Drafted comprehensive PFM Strategy document outlining clear objectives, proposed sectoral PFM interventions, and an implementation roadmap under its new country programme (2027-2031).
• For Mongolia CO: Draft strategy report and blueprint articulating UNICEF positioning and objectives on PFM, key sectoral priorities, and identified accountabilities drawn from recommendations and workshops to guide the development of the Country Office PFM Strategy and the next Country Programme.

Work assignment (remote/home-based modality, not office-based), Expected deliverables and Delivery schedule:

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Conduct targeted and tailor made trainings and capacity-building workshops for UNICEF staff (and partners)

• Develop a tailored training curriculum on child-rights-based PFM aligned with CO priorities and staff needs
• Facilitate office-wide training sessions covering key PFM concepts and their application in the country context
• Conduct specialized workshops for programme teams to strengthen their understanding and application of relevant PFM tools depending on sector priorities

2. Conduct of strategic consultations with UNICEF and key partners

• Preliminary consultation with UNICEF staff and review of existing CO child-rights-based PFM vision, priorities, and strategies. Review and examine findings and recommendations from the Regional PFM Landscape Assessment and the social sector budget briefs to identify gaps, challenges and opportunity
• Facilitate in-depth consultations with relevant programme sectors and Senior Management to define strategic directions and focus area (programme sectors to be engaged will depend on the specific context, prioritization, and level of PFM-related programming within each CO)
• Clarify roles, responsibilities, and expected results for each sector or team, particularly identifying which PFM work shall be led by the section vis-à-vis Social Policy
• Identify and assess sector-specific resource needs (human, technical, and financial) to operationalize the PFM Strategy.
• Consolidate sector roadmaps into an integrated office-wide implementation plan, with identified target time frame and results

3. Support to the development of Country Office Child-Rights PFM Strategy and Blueprint
   1. For Vietnam: Draft the Country Office Child-Rights PFM Strategy for Vietnam; validate and finalize the strategy through internal review and feedback processes
   2. For Mongolia CO: Draft strategy report and blueprint capturing key recommendations  from workshops to guide the development of the Country Office PFM Strategy. Recommendations based on the social sectoral budget briefs to emphasize shared and key sectoral priorities, strengthen cross-sector alignment, and sustained public finance engagement with government partners and other development partners. Strategy document and blueprint to serve as critical starting points for fostering collective ownership across the entire Country Office, including Senior Management.

Duration of Contract:   12 December 2025 – 30 January 2026 (25 working days)

Duty Travel: Travel to COs: In-person capacity development of trainings (2 days for office-wide and 3-5 days for sector-specific, if needed)

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

1. Advanced degree in economics, social science, public policy, development studies or related field

2. A minimum of eight years’ experience in public finance management and public policy

3. Familiarity with concepts on public finance, social sector budgeting, PFM systems and processes

4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

5. Proven ability to synthesize complex information into strategy development and concise publication

6. Experience working in the Asia Pacific region

Interested candidates are requested to submit CV, full contact information of minimum 3 references, availability, and proposed daily professional fee in USD by 4 December 2025.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background 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. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.