Mission and objectives

UNICEF is supporting health, nutrition, HIV prevention, education, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and protection for children and families caught in the conflict.

Context

UNICEF works across 190 countries and territories to reach the children and young people who are most at risk and most in need. We work to save their lives. To protect their rights. To keep them safe from harm. To give them a childhood in which they are protected, healthy, and educated. To give them a fair chance to fulfil their potential, so that someday, they can build a better world. UNICEF has been supporting the Government of Ukraine to strengthen its central and local level response capacities for a more coherent, resilient and shock-responsive social protection system. In the context of the constrained funding landscape, the Humanitarian Reset and with the full-scale war in its fifth year now, it is important to ensure increased linkages between humanitarian cash assistance and the national social protection system, not only in terms of alignment and complementarity, but also to start to gradually transition humanitarian caseloads to the national shock-responsive social protection system where appropriate. UNICEF and the Cash Assistance – Social Protection Linkages Task Force has supported the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity to revise the existing resolution or legislation of the ‘Humanitarian and Resilience Account’ of the Ministry and test its use for channelling earmarked financial resources to vulnerable and conflict-affected families in need of emergency assistance. We are revising the humanitarian and resilience account to streamline processes and improve the timeliness, effectiveness, and monitoring of channelling funds through government systems for one-time cash assistance, including in emergency responses, to support both humanitarian and development financing. It has been decided that the gradual transition of humanitarian cash to the national social protection system will start with the winter cash response for the 2026-2027 winter period. This assignment will support in the programmatic and operational readiness of the Humanitarian and Resilience Account for timely, large-scale, one-time complementary payments to existing social protection beneficiaries, while maintaining a hybrid model for residual humanitarian caseloads.

Task Description

Supporting the transition to government-led humanitarian cash assistance - Contribute to the design, coordination, and phased implementation of the transition to humanitarian cash assistance through the Humanitarian and Resilience Account of the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine specifically for the 2026-2027 winter cash response, in line with national priorities and humanitarian standards. - Liaise closely with MoSPFU, relevant government entities, donors, UN agencies, and other humanitarian partners to strengthen systems, processes, and accountability mechanisms required for government-led delivery. - Contribute to strengthening the integration of humanitarian cash assistance within broader shock-responsive social protection systems and enhance alignment and complementarity. Coordination, monitoring and partnerships - Support coordination with government counterparts, UN agencies, NGOs, and other partners involved in cash assistance, including engagement with relevant coordination platforms (e.g., Cash-SP Linkages Task Force, Cash Working Group, Shelter Cluster). - Facilitate collaboration between humanitarian and government actors to ensure coherence and complementarity of cash interventions. - Maintain effective working relationships with technical focal points within the Ministry and other key stakeholders. - Provide regular data-driven inputs to support planning, targeting, and monitoring of cash programmes, including the transition to government systems. - Contribute to monitoring and evaluation efforts, including tracking programme performance and documenting lessons learned. Operational delivery elements and implementation support - Provide technical and operational support to ensure alignment between humanitarian cash programming and national social protection systems, with a focus on sustainability and government ownership. - Assist in the development and refinement of operational tools, guidelines, and standard operating procedures for cash delivery through government systems. - Support in developing and finding solutions for operational elements such as de-duplication between government and humanitarian partners for residual caseloads, data sharing, verification, capacity support of local authorities, alignment of transfer value and anything else to facilitate a timely response. Advocacy and knowledge management - Support the use of evidence to inform policy dialogue and advocacy on government-led cash assistance and shock-responsive social protection. - Document good practices and lessons learned from the transition process to inform scale-up and future programming.

Competencies and values

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness • Works Collaboratively with others • Builds and Maintains Partnerships • Innovates and Embraces Change • Thinks and Acts Strategically • Drive to achieve impactful results • Manages ambiguity and complexity

Living conditions and remarks

As it is a national UN Volunteer's assignment, the UN volunteer shall organize his/her accommodation by themselves. Entitlements of National UN Volunteer Specialist > USD 1717 The contract lasts for the period indicated in the vacancy with the possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. This is a full-time contract. Allowances: • Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) USD 1717 (equivalent in UAH) is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost of living expenses. This includes Well-Being Differentials for the period while the ICSC applies hardship classification to duty stations in Ukraine as “E”. • USD 350 entry lump sum, one-time payment. Medical and life insurance: • Medical insurance: The UN Volunteer and eligible PFU dependents will receive UNV provided medical insurance coverage. Coverage for UN Volunteers begins from the Commencement of Service and normally ceases one month after the last day of the UN Volunteer Contract date. • Life Insurance: UN Volunteers are covered by life insurance for the duration of the UN Volunteer assignment. If a UN Volunteer dies during the UN Volunteer assignment, the eligible designated beneficiaries will be entitled to receive a life insurance lump sum. Leave entitlements: • Annual leave: UN Volunteers accrue an entitlement to 2.5 days of Annual Leave per completed month of the UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave up to a maximum of 30 days is carried over in case of a contract extension within the same UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave may not be carried over in case of reassignment or a new assignment. • Learning leave: Subject to supervisor approval and exigencies of service, UN Volunteers may request up to ten working days of Learning Leave per consecutive 12 months of the UN Volunteer assignment, starting with the Commencement of Service date, provided the Learning Leave is used within the contract period. • Certified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers are entitled to up to 30 days of certified sick leave based on a 12-month cycle. This amount is reset every 12-month cycle. • Uncertified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers receive seven days of uncertified sick leave working days in a calendar year. This amount will be reset at the established interval period.