Discover a unique home-based consultancy opportunity with UNICEF as a Play and Heal Design Coordinator, where you can contribute your creative and strategic design expertise to help vulnerable children heal through play in crisis-affected regions. This role, based remotely with a duty station in Amman, supports mental health initiatives in Lebanon, Northwest Syria, and Türkiye. Keywords: UNICEF consultancy, remote child protection job, play-based healing, creative humanitarian design.
Background & Job Description
UNICEF, a global leader in child rights advocacy, is calling upon experienced design professionals for a home-based consultancy position titled Play and Heal Design Coordinator. This role supports the innovative “Play and Heal” project, which integrates creative play into emergency responses and mental health interventions for children affected by natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
The project targets vulnerable children affected by the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye and Northwest Syria, as well as those experiencing prolonged conflict in Lebanon. UNICEF recognizes play as a vital therapeutic outlet for young minds and has partnered with the LEGO Foundation to co-develop this intervention. This position will lead the creative strategy and pilot testing of play-based tools and training materials that address emotional recovery and resilience-building for children.
This consultancy allows professionals with experience in product and graphic design, mental health support, and child-focused programming to contribute meaningfully to global humanitarian work from a remote setting.
Remote Opportunity: UNICEF Seeks Play and Heal Design Coordinator to Drive Innovative Child Protection Initiative
Tasks
The consultant will oversee the development and testing of design assets and ensure their alignment with play-based methodologies and therapeutic goals. Responsibilities include:
- Creative Oversight: Lead content validation and refinement of toolkits, ensuring intuitive and clear materials in line with the Play and Heal concept. Supervise design agency outputs.
- Play-Based Integration: Shape training content and activity cards that embed therapeutic play techniques, ensuring consistency with the project’s mental health objectives.
- Pilot Testing: Design pilot processes, create user feedback tools, and translate insights into design and content updates.
- Strategic Communication: Draft final narrative summaries, contribute to project documentation, and support the creation of visual promotional materials.
Key Deliverables:
| Deliverable | Days Required |
|---|---|
| Technical and creative oversight to the design agency | 8 days |
| Content validation and preparation for design agency handover | 4 days |
| Editable activity template and 30+ new activity ideas | 10 days |
| Integration of play-based approaches into training and workbook | 8 days |
| Development of 3 research tools and pilot feedback report | 12 days |
| Protocol guide and training presentation for country teams | 10 days |
| Two-page narrative on Play&Heal design journey | 2 days |
| Promotional video (4 min) and A3 poster | 7 days |
Qualifications
Education and Certification
- Master’s Degree in Product Design, Graphic Design, Project Management, or related field.
Experience
- Minimum 7 years of experience designing child-focused communication tools and products.
- Proven track record in developing play-based interventions, especially within humanitarian or emergency contexts.
- Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects under tight timelines.
- Experience in human-centered design and familiarity with mental health support for children is highly desirable.
- Fluency in English is mandatory; Arabic is an advantage.
Additional Information
- Location: Home-based, with Amman (Jordan) listed as the duty station.
- Contract Type: Consultancy.
- Application Deadline: 05 May 2025 (Jordan Standard Time).
- Advertisement Date: 28 April 2025.
UNICEF Core Values and Requirements
The ideal candidate will uphold UNICEF’s CRITAS values: Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability. Selected consultants must also commit to UNICEF’s safeguarding and ethical standards, including zero tolerance for discrimination, exploitation, or abuse.
Reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities are available upon request. Consultants are required to manage their own taxes, insurance, and visa requirements. COVID-19 vaccination may be requested for field-related functions but is not required for this remote consultancy.
Important: This position is open to individuals only and not companies or agencies. Consultants will not be considered staff members of UNICEF and will not receive UN staff benefits.
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