International Consultant

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 education

How can you make a difference?

As custodian to the Pasifika Call to Action, the Pacific Regional Council for Early Childhood Development (PRC4ECD) unites Ministers and Permanent Secretaries from education, health, finance, and social welfare in 15 PICTs (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tokelau, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu), and encourages countries to tailor the Call to Action to their specific contexts, and to drive collaboration among leaders, policymakers, and program implementers to address gaps in health, nutrition, protection, care, and stimulation that affect the development of young children across the region These efforts align with broader regional priorities, such as the 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy, the Pacific Culture Strategy, and sectoral goals set by Pacific Ministers of Education, Health, and Women. Together, these frameworks underscore the importance of parenting engagement as a central element in the holistic development of young children.

Since 2017, The Pacific region has made important progress in strengthening national and regional ECD systems, including through the Pasifika Call to Action on ECD, national ECD policies, multisectoral coordination mechanisms, workforce development, monitoring systems, and support for parents and communities.

The Pacific ECD Forum Leaders have strengthened the regional mandate for Early Childhood Development by endorsing in 2025 ECD as a standing agenda item within the People Centred Development thematic area of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. In 2025, the PIF Women Leaders Meeting endorsed the importance of ECD as a cross-sectoral priority linked to gender equality, social inclusion, resilience, child wellbeing, and long-term human development.

However, the current evidence based on children’s wellbeing remains fragmented across sectors, age groups, data systems, and regional processes. There is no single integrated regional picture of how Pacific children are faring from birth through childhood, nor a clear mechanism to consolidate evidence, identify emerging issues, and support policy action through regional governance pathways. Across the Pacific, young children continue to face significant risks to survival, health and development, including infectious diseases, injuries, malnutrition and limited access to early screening and intervention. Rural children face nearly twice the risk of early mortality compared with urban children, while nearly half of PICTs do not meet the 90% measles vaccination coverage target (ranging from 38% in FSM to 68% in Kiribati). Malnutrition remains a major concern, with anaemia affecting 25–38% of women and 27–49% of children, exclusive breastfeeding ranging from 39.6–77.1%, and minimum dietary diversity from 9.3–54.7%. At the same time, only 70% of Pacific 3
- and 4-year-olds are developmentally on track, compared with 75% in low
- and middle-income countries, while caregiver engagement in early stimulation varies from 77% in Kiribati to 97% in Fiji. These challenges highlight the need for integrated, cross-sectoral approaches that combine health and nutrition interventions with parenting, responsive caregiving, early stimulation, learning and early identification of developmental delays and disabilities1.

Available data point to both progress and persistent gaps in children’s developmental outcomes, foundational learning, health, nutrition, protection, inclusion, resilience, and wellbeing. These issues are shaped by wider social, economic, environmental and climate-related pressures, including poverty, household stress, food insecurity, violence, disability exclusion, digital risks, mental health concerns, neglect of young children due to lack of timely and relevant information, and changing family and community environments.

The ECD Status of the Pacific Young Children Report responds to outcomes of the 2026 PIF Women Leaders Meeting and the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, 2026. Ministers and Delega