Senior Advisor (Economic and Social Policy and Gender Equality), Panama

Senior Advisor (Economic and Social Policy and Gender Equality), P-5, Fixed Term Position, Programme Group, #

Position type: Fixed Term Appointment

Location: Panama

Division/Equivalent: Programme

School/Unit: Global Programme Division

Department/Office: Economic & Social Policy

Categories: Gender Development

This is a re-advertisement, candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children''s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job - it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Future

The Global Programme Division (GPD) plays a central role in driving programme excellence across UNICEF. It provides global strategic leadership and policy direction, develops and monitors frameworks and standards, and ensures coherence and alignment across sectors, regions and partners. GPD generates high-impact, evidence-based solutions and serves as a hub of specialized expertise, offering technical guidance on policy reform and scalable programming.

GPD leads UNICEF''s policies, standards and negotiations for programme, ensuring the organization''s assets and priorities are aligned with and contribute to child development goals. In addition, GPD strengthens country-level implementation through integrated technical support, linking global policy with on-the-ground action to deliver results for children at scale.

As part of this structure, UNICEF has established Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to provide high-quality, demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, and their governments and partners. Located strategically in Nairobi, Panama, Amman and Bangkok, the CoEs bring together cross-cutting expertise across time zones. Global Programme Practices in CoEs function as a single point of entry for support, delivering tailored assistance in priority areas such as policy reform in matters that advance the wellbeing of children, at-scale programme design, public finance, workforce development and institutional strengthening, and timely humanitarian response while promoting resilient development.

In so doing, the CoEs also contribute to global policy standards ensuring that UNICEF''s support is grounded in practical knowledge.

UNICEF''s mission, centered on equity and inclusion, is advanced by the Global Programme Division (GPD), which drives programme excellence through Centres of Excellence (CoEs). The Child Poverty Centre of Excellence contributes to reducing child poverty by working on social protection, public finance, and livelihoods. Its work on youth economic opportunities focuses on policy reform, public-private partnerships, and youth engagement. This contributes directly to UNICEF''s Strategic Plan , specifically Impact Result #3, for which the Economic and Social Policy Section and Generation Unlimited (GenU) share accountability for enabling 33 million young people to access economic opportunities.

The Senior Advisor (Economic & Social Policy and Gender Equality) holds a dual mandate to provide high-level strategic leadership. The role advances gender-sensitive economic and social policies—such as child poverty reduction and social protection—while ensuring the systematic integration of gender equality and adolescent girls'' empowerment across all initiatives.

• Policy Leadership & Advisory:
  Pro…