Programme Officer, Child Friendly Cities and Communities

UNICEF ensures more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation. We have done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else. We get things done. And we’re not going to stop until the world is a safe place for all our children.

The Child Friendly Cities and Communities programme brings The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) together with Local Government and other institutions to put children’s rights at the heart of communities and public services in the UK. The programme is part of UNICEF’s global Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) and aims to create local systems and services that are child-centred, rights-based and responsive to the voices and experiences of children and young people.

The Programme Officer will work alongside the wider CFC team to realise UNICEF’s vision of putting children’s human rights at the heart of cities, communities and public services. This includes supporting local authorities and other organisations by devising and delivering child rights training, facilitating effective planning sessions, and providing credible guidance and oversight during the implementation of programme projects and activities.

Prospective candidates will be committed to children’s human rights and achieving positive change for young people in the UK. Experience of implementing social change, community development and/or organisational development programmes or policies within either Local Government, the public sector or NGO/charity sector is essential.

Act now and visit the website via the apply button to apply online.

Closing date: 5pm, Friday 29 September 2023.

Interview date: Tuesday 17 October 2023 via video conferencing (MS Teams).

In return, we offer:

• excellent pay and benefits (including flexible working, generous annual leave and pension, big brand discounts and wellbeing tools)
• outstanding training and learning opportunities and the support to flourish in your role
• impressive open plan office space and facilities on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
• an open culture and workplace with colleagues who share our values, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children.
• the opportunity to work in a leading children’s organisation making a difference to children

Our application process: We use a system called "Applied" that anonymises your responses and focuses on your actual skills that are relevant to this role. This benefits you by giving you a greater chance of expressing your skills in this objective selection process.

We are gradually moving back to our offices in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London and we anticipate most colleagues will work one or two days a week. The post holder can expect to spend up to 40% of their time travelling across London, Midlands, and the South of the UK. We will happily discuss other flexible options to suit your circumstances.

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, disabled candidates, and from men, because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at this level at UNICEF UK. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for children.

UNICEF UK promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching business needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

We welcome a conversation about your flexible working requirements, personal growth, and promoting a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

The successful candidate will be required to apply for a criminal records check. A criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the role and the circumstances of your offences.

We only accept online applications as this saves us money, making more funds available for us to help ensure children’s rights.

If you require support in completing the online form or an application form in an alternative format, please contact Supporter Care on 0300 330 5580 during office hours.

If you do not hear from us within 14 days of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please note that we only provide feedback to shortlisted candidates.

Registered Charity Nos. 1072612 (England and Wales) SC043677 (Scotland)