Mental Health Technical Assistance Consultant, Programme Group, MHPSS, NYHQ, remote. Req

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.

UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

Duty Station:
Programme Group - MHPSS

Duration: 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026

Home/ Office Based:
Remote

Hosted within the Health Centre of Excellence, the Mental Health (MH) Technical Assistance Consultant will be supervised by the Mental Health Policy and Advocacy Officer. The consultant serves as a core technical resource for multisectoral Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) programming across high‑income and upper‑middle‑income country contexts, with an estimated 80 % level of effort devoted to dedicated technical assistance for National Committees for UNICEF (Nat Coms).

The remaining level of effort will support broader learning, thought leadership on high‑income country (HIC) typologies, and time‑bound gap‑filling technical support to Country and Regional Offices in non‑humanitarian contexts, as feasible and agreed.

The main function of this role is to provide technical guidance, capacity strengthening, and strategic coordination to Nat Coms to ensure UNICEF’s mental health programming is coherent, evidence‑informed, and responsive to diverse country contexts. Support includes the formulation, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of advocacy and programming strategies related to mental health and child rights in high‑income countries, in line with UNICEF’s Programme Guidance for PHICs and the global MHPSS portfolio.

This ensures efficient and effective programme management and achievement of goals through advocacy, legal and policy development, and networking. The consultant will also advance multisectoral and system‑strengthening approaches that promote equitable access to MHPSS, build community and institutional resilience, and improve coordination across UNICEF sectors, offices, and partners.

In collaboration with UNICEF Programme Group (PG) and Private Fundraising and Partnership (PFP) colleagues, the consultant will also support the field testing and capacity building associated with the Mental Health in High‑Income Countries (HICs) Toolkit, and guide Nat Coms in applying its recommendations for effective policy advocacy, social and behavioral change (SBC), evidence generation and partnership engagement with key actors including local governments, civil society organisations (CSOs), the private sector (including with The Global Coalition on Mental Health, as it relates to engagement with Nat Coms).

This includes supporting the development of Theories of Change (ToCs), facilitating knowledge exchange and learning platforms, and advising the integration of mental health priorities into Nat Coms’ strategic and joint partnership plans. The consultant will also support Nat Coms in the development and delivery of their mental health work across their Child Rights Schools, and Child Friendly Cities (CFCI) programmes, as well as provide guidance on how to meaningfully and safely engage children in the topic of MHPSS.

Ultimately, this consultancy ensures that UNICEF’s global MHPSS portfolio operates as a coherent and mutually reinforcing system, building stronger mental health foundations for children, caregivers, and communities worldwide.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity…