Part-time home-based (in Europe) consultancy with ECARO: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Specialist

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For every child, the right to health 

Health is a crucial aspect of the development of children and adolescents, encompassing both physical and mental well-being. Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which individuals realize their potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community. The health and well-being of children and adolescents are critical for their development and future success. However, estimates indicate that around 11.2 million (13%) children and young people aged 19 and younger in the EU suffer from mental health conditions. Mental health issues among children and adolescents have far-reaching consequences, affecting their physical health, educational outcomes, and overall quality of life.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) is an institutional priority for the UN, and for UNICEF. The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026-2029 identifies MHPSS as a priority area for children, caregivers and parents and young people, building upon existing programming through child protection, education and health with a focus on addressing inequities related to gender, and disabilities.
Leveraging its convening capacity and institutional role, UNICEF can drive system-level change by modernizing MHPSS within health, education, and social services. UNICEF’s ability to mobilize partners and support reforms in mental health and psychosocial support enables the strengthening of child-centered systems, influencing national policies, fostering meaningful youth participation, improving public budget prioritization for children, leveraging public-private partnerships, and generating evidence to inform decision-making.
UNICEF has increasingly been called upon by governments to help modernize and strengthen mental health services for children and adolescents. The EU has engaged UNICEF’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) to support governments in improving and integrating mental health services for these groups.
The European Commission launched an action on ‘Promoting a comprehensive, prevention-oriented approach to children’s health’ (DP/CR-CA-24-26) with UNICEF under the EU4Health Programme for the period 2021-2027. The main objective is to promote good physical and mental health and prevent health problems in children and adolescents through impactful actions across various settings, enhancing the understanding of how to improve children’s health and how to address effectively the most pressing health challenges, thus also supporting countries in implementing the flagship actions and other initiatives of the Commission Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health with a specific focus on children and adolescents (aged 0-19).
Under that initiative, a Toolkit for Child and Adolescent Health and Mental Wellbeing Promotion will be designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for 27 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway, and specifically for policymakers engaged in improving child and adolescent health and wellbeing. A selected number of countries that have expressed their interest and have areas for improvement, with a balanced geographical representation, will be supported in the national adaptation and use of some parts of the toolkit. The support will include facilitation of consultation among stakeholders at the national level and technical assistance for the national policy development phase.
Via dedicated collaboration activities with countries, UNICEF will facilitate knowledge sharing, capacity building and policy dialogue among the participating countries to improve cooperation and synergies in the implementation of other initiatives and actions related to child health promotion.

How can you make a difference? 

The consultant will report to the ECARO Regional Health Adviser and collaborate closely with the Project Manager, UNICEF’s CP and ADAP teams, Regional Office’s ECD Specialist, Nutrition Specialist, and Immunization Specialists, as well as with the DG Sante Project Manager and the Project Steering Committee. The primary responsibility is to provide comprehensive support to ensure the successful implementation of the programme overall. The consultant will play a key role in the research phase, technical consultations, identification of best practices, modelling, capacity building, and knowledge dissemination to improve MHPSS service provision for adolescents.
Tasks:
• Contribute to institutional capacity-building efforts by identifying existing actors and networks in mental health (academia, professional bodies, EU institutions, alliances, and coalitions) to maximize synergies and collaborations around child and adolescent mental health.
• Provide strong Technical Assistance (TA) for the modernization and improved access to mental health services for children and caregivers. This includes supporting the development of policies, laws, and capacity-building plans at national level to promote the integration of MHPSS services.
• Assist in gathering and, when necessary, generating evidence on mental health services and psychosocial support to inform policies and efforts in countries and provide guidance in the EU. The available evidence will also be used to develop policy tools that strengthen capacity and enhance the financial sustainability of mental health programs in EU member states.
• Support the development of a comprehensive, evidence-based EU Toolkit for Child and Adolescent Health and Mental Wellbeing Promotion, a practical resource to enhance the development, implementation, and evaluation of health-promoting policies and programs for children and adolescents, with a focus on the most vulnerable (such as children at risk of poverty or social exclusion, refugees and migrants, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities such as Roma, in line with the European Child Guarantee).
• Facilitate the adaptation and adoption of tools in selected EU Member States to enhance Mental Health services for children.
• Support ECARO Regional Office efforts in advancing policy dialogue among EU Member States, Norway, and Iceland to strengthen public health initiatives and health system delivery platforms, aiming at promoting comprehensive child and adolescent health, including mental health, with a focus on reaching all children, especially the most vulnerable and to foster cooperation on the implementation of actions addressing common challenges.
• Contribute to the enhancement of a common public health narrative by providing access to evidence and guidance for a comprehensive, prevention-oriented approach to children’s health.
• Support the HA and Project Manager in monitoring and reporting to DG Sante the project progress, identifying bottlenecks, and proposing corrective actions as needed.
• Contribute to the documentation of lessons learned and ensure the project’s commitments to DG Sante/donor institutions are met, helping to ensure the accountability and success of MHPSS efforts.
The consultant must be adaptable, as the scope of work may evolve to address emerging needs and priorities.
In the event that UNICEF ECARO establishes a Centre of Excellence for Child and Adolescent Mental Health to provide sustained technical support to policymakers and implementing institutions across the health, education, and social services sectors, the consultant will be actively involved in its initial setup and foundational planning.
Working Modality: Part time. Total of 150 working days over the period of 18 months. Home-based in Europe with estimated 5 international trips during contract duration. Initial contract will be issued until end of 2026 only with a possibility to be extended further. Work Assignments Overview Deliverables/Outputs Delivery deadline and number of working days 1. Continuous knowledge sharing and advocacy across the EU to influence policy and programmatic systematic changes for the benefit of children 1.1 Organize minimum 4 meetings with academia, ministries, Steering committee, implementation partner in Europe, to facilitate knowledge sharing, promote best practices, and advocate for policies that improve mental health outcomes for children and adolescents.
1.2 Organize 10 events meetings/ workshops/conferences existing actors and networks in mental health in Europe (academia, professional bodies, EU institutions, alliances, and coalitions) to maximize synergies and collaborations.
1.3 Support coordination of the MHPSS multi-sectoral activities in the EU
1.4 Develop at least 10 briefing notes to support HA to lead strong joint advocacy, and communication, outreach, including convening efforts of RO for Child and Adolescent Mental Health MHPSS mental health for children, adolescents, and caregivers 50 working days
from January 2026 to August 2027 2. Provide MHPSS technical support in conducting a needs assessment and a review of interventions, policies, and programs for children and adolescents to identify needs and gaps. The review will also include case studies to demonstrate successful interventions. Support mapping of policies and practices related to MHPSS identifying gaps and best practices, and effective solutions in the context of child health promotion, disease prevention and management of health, specifically reviewing targeted interventions for vulnerable group.
Expected outputs under this deliverable include:
2.1 Needs assessment, in alignment with UNICEF CAMH service mapping tool developed in alignment with UNICEF-WHO service guidance.
2.2 Policy overview with inventory of best practices describing the functioning of promising interventions in different country settings (could be at national or sub-national level) is developed.
2.3 Documented case studies to illustrate practical applications and outcomes as well as identified gaps and opportunities is developed. 10 working days from January March 2026 3. Support the area of mental health in development and implementation of a comprehensive, evidence-based Toolkit for Child and Adolescent Health and Mental Wellbeing Promotion. Contribute to the identification and adaptation of relevant resources guidelines and frameworks, as well as define and develop additional resources to design a logical and user-friendly structure of the Toolkit based on identified gaps. Ensure the toolkit structure draws on existing global frameworks and standards, e.g. UNICEF multisectoral GF, WHO–UNICEF joint guidance, IASC MHPSS layered model, and applies these to EU governance structures
Expected outputs under this deliverable include:
3.1 A commented list of current resources such as guidelines, frameworks, policies, program assessment and design instruments, M&E frameworks etc in Mental Health is developed.
3.2 Outline of the toolkit with suggested structure and typology of resources is developed.
3.3 Final draft of the toolkit submitted for review 30 working days from January 2026 to September2026 4. Support and policy development and technical assistance Technical assistance (TA) for the modernization and better access to mental health services for children and caregivers, provided for at least 5 countries who have requested UNICEF support in cross-sectoral development of policies, laws, and capacity-building plans, through the adaptation and adoption of the tools included in the toolkit.
Expected outputs under this deliverable include:
4.1 At least 5 online and in person technical assistance interventions provided to piloting participating countries;
4.2 Support drafting of the Policy Implementation plans in MHPSS and minutes of the national meetings.
4.3 Report on the process of the Toolkit piloting with key lessons learned and recommendations for large-scale adoption

30 days

From April 2026 to August 2027

30 days From June 2025 to August 2027

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• Advanced degree in psychology, medicine, social work, or other relevant mental health background.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional work in mental health working in design, development, evaluation and implementation of MHPSS programmes for children and young people.
• Experience working with EU institutions or intergovernmental processes
• Experience in conducting assessments, developing monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks for MHPSS programming, developing protocols and SOPs.
• Experience in Child Health and /or MHPSS project management in Governmental bodies, NGO’s, INGO’s and UN Organisations is a strong asset.
• Experience in EU policies in Child Health and MHPSS is a strong asset.
• Fluency in English is required
• Fluency in other European languages is a strong asset.

Desired:
• Experience in developing guidance documents, conducting capacity building and knowledge dissemination activities.
• Demonstrated experience in developing M&E frameworks and quality assurance mechanisms related to the field of MHPSS.
• Experience working with UN/international organizations

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

[add the 8th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role]. 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:  

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. 

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.