UNICEF Innocenti Research Consultant Roster: 2025-2028 Assignments (Closed March 31, 2026)

This page is a historical reference. The UNICEF Innocenti roster of research consultants for harmful practices, gender, rights, and protection closed to applications on March 31, 2026. The official UNICEF Careers page no longer displays the vacancy and currently reports that it cannot provide additional information about the job. UNICEF has not announced a replacement round on the current careers page that was checked for this update.

The opportunity was real, but it is not open now. Do not treat the link below as an active application route, and do not send documents to an unofficial address claiming to accept late applications. If UNICEF opens a new roster, the new notice should be checked from UNICEF Careers rather than assuming that the closed job number or its requirements still apply.

At a glance

The date in the deadline field is the actual closing date published by UNICEF. It is retained because this entry is an archive record, while historicalReference = true makes the status clear to the site. There is no basis for changing the field to rolling: this was a time-limited roster call, not a continuously open application window.

What the roster was for

UNICEF Innocenti’s Gender, Rights, and Protection unit said it was establishing a roster of pre-qualified consultants who could be contracted quickly when suitable research work arose. The roster was not a single permanent job and did not promise an assignment to every accepted applicant. It was a pool from which UNICEF Innocenti could identify people whose skills matched a later Terms of Reference.

The official notice described four broad areas of work. Consultants could conduct evidence reviews and quality appraisals of research on child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), and related interventions. They could draft reports, policy briefs, academic articles, presentations, and other research products. They could provide technical assistance to UNICEF and UNFPA country or regional offices, helping teams use evidence in programming. They could also support evidence-agenda setting through consultations, evidence synthesis, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge-translation tools.

The work was therefore research-heavy and policy-facing. It was not advertised as a general volunteering placement, an internship, or a grant. Candidates needed to show that they could manage defined research outputs, communicate with partners, and work on protection-sensitive topics with appropriate care.

Skillsets UNICEF requested

Applicants could express interest in more than one skillset if they met the relevant requirements. The attached Terms of Reference grouped the roster into these areas:

1. Cash transfers and social protection

This track concerned mixed-methods and implementation research, including a systematic scoping review of cash-transfer programmes addressing child marriage. Relevant work could include developing an evidence-review method, identifying and appraising programmes, building a conceptual framework, and preparing publications, briefs, or presentations.

For the first tier, UNICEF requested at least a master’s degree in a relevant field such as economics, statistics, public policy, demography, implementation science, or public health, plus at least five years of experience in implementation or health-systems research and impact evaluations. The notice also sought thematic expertise in social protection, cash transfers, and gender, as well as strong quantitative and qualitative analysis and policy-writing skills. A second tier required a PhD, at least ten years of relevant experience, and a record of high-quality peer-reviewed publications.

2. Adolescent girls, gender, health, and harmful practices

This track focused on evaluating health and development programmes for adolescent girls, with research related to gender, child marriage, FGM, and maternal or sexual and reproductive health. The work could include systematic review, critical appraisal of evaluations, mixed-methods analysis, and identifying implementation practices that can inform programmes.

The first tier called for a relevant master’s degree, at least five years of experience in research concerning adolescent girls, health, or development, and expertise in gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights, or maternal health. The second tier called for a PhD, at least ten years of relevant experience, and a publication record in peer-reviewed journals. Strong writing and communication were essential in both tiers.

3. Technical research support on harmful practices

This track covered country- and regional-level research on harmful practices and their intersections with violence. UNICEF listed methodological design, data analysis, interpretation, research management, and preparation of articles and presentations among the relevant capabilities.

The first tier required a relevant master’s degree and at least five years of professional experience in research or research-related programmes at national and international level, including at least four years of senior leadership designing and implementing research in public health, gender and development, child rights, or protection. Applicants also needed experience with operational and formative research, qualitative and quantitative methods, research-project management, communication with non-research audiences, and strong written and oral communication. The second tier required a PhD, at least ten years of professional experience, and a record of high-quality peer-reviewed publications.

4. Research facilitation, synthesis, communication, and uptake

This track was for people who could facilitate research workshops, coordinate stakeholder engagement, conduct key-informant interviews and focus-group discussions, lead evidence synthesis, and create knowledge-translation tools. UNICEF asked for a relevant master’s degree and at least five years of experience in qualitative research or knowledge management, preferably in child protection or gender.

Other requirements included strong analytical and strategic-planning skills, communication and training ability, familiarity with knowledge-management systems, experience planning research consultations, good interpersonal skills, strong English writing, and the ability to work sensitively in an international and multicultural environment. This track had one tier rather than the two-tier structure used in the other skillsets.

Across the roster, UNICEF expected consultants to organise their own work with limited supervision, meet deadlines, build effective relationships across cultures, and write fluent English for non-technical audiences. French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Arabic could be an asset when relevant to an assignment.

Payment and contract terms

The original article did not offer a salary, stipend, grant, or guaranteed total amount. The Terms of Reference specifically required each applicant to provide an indicative all-inclusive daily rate in the cover letter and online application form. It also clarified that contracts offered later would be deliverables-based rather than days-based.

That rate was not a published award. If UNICEF Innocenti identified a roster candidate for a particular request, it would share a specific Terms of Reference and negotiate the candidate’s interest, availability, and fee. Joining the roster did not guarantee a contract. This distinction matters: readers should not infer a fixed payment from the old page, and a future round could use different commercial terms.

What the application required

For the closed round, the official Terms of Reference required applicants to complete an online profile in English and provide the names and contact details of three references. Applicants also had to attach an English CV without photographs, including a list of relevant publications and links, and an English cover letter of no more than two pages.

Applicants were asked to submit at least two evaluation reports from previous consulting assignments if those reports were available. The cover letter had to identify the desired skillset or skillsets, show the tier for which the applicant qualified where tiers applied, state the earliest availability and periods of availability during the roster’s stated assignment period, and include the indicative all-inclusive daily rate. UNICEF warned that an application missing any of the required cover-letter elements would not be considered.

The practical application sequence was therefore:

1. Read the Terms of Reference and the separate skillset annex.
2. Select only the skillsets and tiers supported by your actual education and experience.
3. Complete the UNICEF online profile in English, including three references.
4. Prepare a no-photograph English CV with relevant publications and links.
5. Write a focused cover letter of no more than two pages covering skillset, tier, availability, and daily rate.
6. Add at least two prior consulting evaluation reports when available.
7. Submit through the UNICEF Careers vacancy before March 31, 2026.

That sequence is preserved for historical accuracy, not as a set of steps readers can use to apply today. The original vacancy is closed, and the current destination does not expose the application form.

How selection worked

UNICEF described an initial screening after the first month following the announcement, with further screenings every quarter while the roster remained open. Candidates were reviewed against the qualifications and competencies for each selected skillset. The technical assessment awarded up to 20 points for education, 40 for relevant professional research experience, 25 for research outputs and other high-quality products, and 15 for relevant work with UNICEF, other international organisations, or national partners in UNICEF regions.

Candidates needed to meet the minimum skill and experience requirements and receive at least 70 points. UNICEF also reserved the right to require a technical test during pre-selection. Successful candidates could be included in the consultant roster for three years and considered for assignments between September 2025 and May 2028, but roster inclusion still did not guarantee a contract.

What readers should do now

There is no current application action for this specific job number. Keep the page as a reference if you want to understand the kind of evidence, publications, consulting history, and writing expected by UNICEF Innocenti’s Gender, Rights, and Protection unit. For a live opportunity, search the current UNICEF Careers vacancies page and verify the closing date, contract terms, eligibility, attachments, and application route on the new official notice itself.

Do not reuse the old March 31, 2026 deadline as if it were a new opening. Do not assume that the 2025-2028 roster period means applications remain open, either: that period described the window in which accepted roster members could be considered for assignments. Until UNICEF publishes a new call, this entry should be read as an archive of a closed consultancy roster.