Legal Social Policy Expert

Host entity: UNICEF Ukraine

Volunteer type: National

Areas of expertise: Community development, Emergency preparedness, crisis response, Communication, advocacy, public information

Application deadline: 09/11/2026

Mission and objectives

UNICEF is supporting health, nutrition, HIV prevention, education, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and protection for children and families caught in the conflict.

Assignment context

UNICEF works across 190 countries and territories to reach the children and young people who are most at risk and most in need. We work to save their lives. To protect their rights. To keep them safe from harm. To give them a childhood in which they are protected, healthy, and educated. To give them a fair chance to fulfil their potential, so that someday, they can build a better world. UNICEF has been supporting the Government of Ukraine to strengthen its central and local level response capacities for a more coherent, resilient and shock-responsive social protection system.

In the context of the constrained funding landscape, the Humanitarian Reset and with the full-scale war in its fifth year now, it is important to ensure increased linkages between humanitarian cash assistance and the national social protection system, not only in terms of alignment and complementarity, but to also start to gradually transition humanitarian caseloads to the national shock-responsive social protection system where appropriate.

UNICEF and the Cash Assistance – Social Protection Linkages Task Force has supported the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity to revise the existing legislation of the ‘Humanitarian and Resilience Account’ (HRA) of the Ministry and test its use for channelling earmarked financial resources to vulnerable and conflict-affected families in need of emergency assistance. The revision of the HRA aims to streamline processes and improve the timeliness, effectiveness and monitoring of channelling funds through government systems for one-time cash assistance delivery, including as response to emergencies, allowing for both humanitarian and development financing.

It has been decided that the gradual transition of humanitarian cash to the national social protection system will start with the winter cash response for the 2026-2027 winter period, which is a government-led response supported by donors and humanitarian partners, and this assignment will support in the programmatic and operational readiness of the Humanitarian and Resilience Account for timely, large-scale, one-time payments to existing social protection recipients, while maintaining a hybrid model with direct delivery for residual humanitarian caseloads.

Task description

The main role of this assignment is to support the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity, UNICEF, donors and other humanitarian partners in the gradual transition of humanitarian cash assistance to the national social protection system. Aligned with efforts to strengthen government ownership and ensure sustainability, the role will support the design, coordination, and implementation of this transition. The assignment will contribute to establish the systems, processes, and partnerships required for a gradual, accountable, and efficient approach toward government-led shock-responsive social protection. This could include, but is not limited to, the below responsibilities, and additional tasks will be agreed between the UNV Expert and UNICEF as part of the assignment inception.

1. Supporting the gradual transition to government-led cash assistance

• Contribute to the design, coordination, and phased implementation of the transition to humanitarian cash assistance through the Humanitarian and Resilience Account of the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine, in line with national priorities and humanitarian standards.
• Liaise closely with MoSPFU, relevant government entities, donors, UN agencies, and other humanitarian partners to strengthen systems, processes, and accountability mechanisms required for government-led delivery.
• Contribute to strengthening the integration of humanitarian cash assistance within broader shock-responsive social protection systems and enhance alignment and complementarity.

2. Coordination, monitoring and partnerships
• Support coordination with government counterparts, UN agencies, NGOs, and other partners involved in cash assistance, including engagement with relevant coordination platforms.
• Facilitate collaboration between humanitarian and government actors to ensure coherence and complementarity of cash interventions.
• Maintain effective working relationships with technical focal points within the MoSPFU and other key stakeholders.
• Provide regular data-driven inputs to support planning, targeting, and monitoring of cash programmes, including the transition to government systems.
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluation efforts, including tracking programme performance and documenting lessons learned.

3. Operational delivery and implementation support
• Provide technical and operational support to ensure alignment between humanitarian cash programming and national social protection systems, with a focus on sustainability and government ownership.
• Contribute to the drafting and review of regulatory legal acts and legislative approval procedures.
• Assist in the development and refinement of operational tools, guidelines, and standard operating procedures for cash delivery through government systems.
• Support in developing and finding solutions for operational elements such as de-duplication between government and humanitarian partners for residual caseloads, data sharing, verification, capacity support of local authorities, alignment of transfer value and anything else to facilitate a timely response.

4. Advocacy and knowledge management
• Support the use of evidence to inform policy dialogue and advocacy on government-led cash assistance and shock-responsive social protection.
• Document good practices and lessons learned from the transition process to inform scale-up and future programming.

Skills and experience

Seven years of experience in cash transfers, social protection, law, public administration, local governance or related fields is required.
Experience working with regulatory legal acts, drafting proposed regulatory legal acts, and knowledge of government legislative approval procedures is required.
Requires excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work inclusively and collaborative with a range of partners, including government, donors, UN agencies, and other humanitarian actors.
Experience in collaborating with the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity is considered an asset.
Experience with national or local government authorities is considered an asset.

Competencies and values

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness
• Works Collaboratively with others
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships
• Innovates and Embraces Change
• Thinks and Acts Strategically
• Drive to achieve impactful results
• Manages ambiguity and complexity

Living conditions

As it is a national UN Volunteer's assignment, the UN volunteer shall organize his/her accommodation by themselves.

Entitlements of National UN Volunteer Expert >> USD $ 2,616USD

The contract lasts for the period indicated in the vacancy with the possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. This is a full-time contract.

Allowances:
- Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) USD $ 2,616 (equivalent in UAH) is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost of living expenses. This includes Well-Being Differentials for the period while the ICSC applies hardship classification to duty stations in Ukraine as “E”.
• USD 350 entry lump sum, one-time payment.

Medical and life insurance:
• Medical insurance: The UN Volunteer and eligible PFU dependents will receive UNV-provided medical insurance coverage. Coverage for UN Volunteers begins at the Commencement of Service and normally ceases on the last day of the UN Volunteer Contract.
• Life Insurance: UN Volunteers are covered by life insurance for the duration of the UN Volunteer assignment. If a UN Volunteer dies during the UN Volunteer assignment, the eligible designated beneficiaries will be entitled to receive a life insurance lump sum.

Leave entitlements:
• Annual leave:  UN Volunteers accrue an entitlement to 2.5 days of Annual Leave per completed month of the UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave up to a maximum of 30 days is carried over in case of a contract extension within the same UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave may not be carried over in case of reassignment or a new assignment.
• Learning leave: Subject to supervisor approval and exigencies of service, UN Volunteers may request up to ten working days of Learning Leave per consecutive 12 months of the UN Volunteer assignment, starting with the Commencement of Service date, provided the Learning Leave is used within the contract period.
• Certified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers are entitled to up to 30 days of certified sick leave based on a 12-month cycle. This amount is reset every 12-month cycle.
• Uncertified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers receive seven days of uncertified sick leave working days in a calendar year. This amount will be reset at the established interval period.

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.