Current vacancies

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfil their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Excellence!

The Representative serves as the accredited representative of UNICEF in the country and reports to the Regional Director for general direction and oversight. The Representative is responsible for establishing dialogue with the Government to develop the framework of cooperation in the country and for working closely and collaboratively with the Government and national institutions, stakeholders and partners, to develop the Government-UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation in active support of  efforts to advance children’s rights as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other international treaties/frameworks, the SDGs, and UN intergovernmental bodies.

As head of a medium size  Country Office, the Representative is responsible for providing leadership and vision to the UNICEF Country Office team in managing and leveraging resources for the achievement of results and realization of the rights of children. The Representative leads and oversees the various programme sectors and operations teams ensuring delivery of quality results in accordance with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework, ethics and integrity. The Representative is accountable for upholding UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability, and ensuring the establishment and maintenance of a non-discriminatory, inclusive  and nurturing working environment for all staff and personnel, to enable them to effectively and efficiently deliver high-quality results for children.

How can you make a difference?

• Developing and planning the Country Programme
• Leading and managing the CO
• Monitoring and quality control of the Country Programme
• Representation and external relations at global/national level
• Support to the Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team
• Resource mobilization and partnerships
• Leading innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
• Safety, security and well-being of staff, programmes and organisational assets

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

Qualification

• An Advanced University Degree in social sciences, international relations, government and public relations, public or social policy, sociology, social or community development or other related fields, is required.                                                       
• A minimum of thirteen (13) years professional development experience that combines intellectual and managerial leadership in development cooperation at the international level, some of which served in developing countries and emergency context is required. Relevant professional experience in any UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Oral and written proficiency in French and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

Person Profile:

• Knowledge and skills to operate in a complex programming environment and in humanitarian, post-conflict, fragile countries;
• Experience in low / middle-income countries with demonstrated ability to build the capacity of the government to develop child rights-based policies, norms and standards as well as to monitor service delivery at the operational level;
• Political savvy with strong analytical skills and ability to distill complex and sensitive issues.
• Ability to strategically position UNICEF as a partner of choice in the development sector, both at the governmental and non-governmental level, to advance national and local initiatives aimed at fulfilling children's rights.
• Proven ability in mobilizing resources (including domestic ones namely from the government) and in building strategic relations with donors and stakeholders;
• Strong communication and advocacy skills;
• International and developing country work experience and field work experience;
• Background/familiarity with emergencies;
• Rights-based and results-based approaches and programming in UNICEF;
• Integration and synthesis of various programme activities in accordance with professional practices and UNICEF programme policy, procedures and guidelines;
• Expert knowledge of advanced concepts in primary discipline, with a broad knowledge of related disciplines, in-depth knowledge of relevant organisational policies and procedures.;
• Ability to strategize, effectively lead teams and achieve results in a complex programmatic, operational and unstable security context;
• Capacity to effectively lead, inspire, motivate and develop a team of international and national staff towards the realization of sustainable programme results in a complex environment;
• Oral and written proficiency in French and English is required to be successful in the position.

Country Typology:

• Duty Station: Yaoundé, Cameroon is a “B”, family duty station;
• Country Income Level: Lower-middle income;
• Office Size: 123 established posts; 4 Field Offices in addition to the Country Office based in Yaounde;
• Current staffing (August 2025): 166 staff (36 IPO, 71 NPO, 59 GS) – 75 women , 91 men  – IPO Programme nationals: 27, IPO Industrial nationals: 09;
• Annual Budget: 57 Million USD
• Good for first-time Representative? This position requires prior experience as Representative, considering the highly complex context; it is not a suitable position for a first-time Representative.
• Schooling: French and American international schools.

Brief country context:

Humanitarian, Economic, and Climate Change outlook:[1]:

Cameroon is a country located in the heart of Central Africa, stretching from the Gulf of Guinea and the equatorial forest to the edges of the Sahel, up to Lake Chad. Estimates from sources like the World Bank place Cameroon’s population around 29 to 30 million inhabitants in 2024 with a predominance of the urban population (59.4%) compared to the rural population (40.5%). Children represent nearly half of the population (49%).

While Cameroon has enjoyed political stability since its independence, the country has been affected by internal and regional tensions for a decade. In 2025, 3 million people, including 1.7 million children, need humanitarian assistance. People in need are affected by the impact of conflict and violence, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks. These drivers of need are closely linked to three major and protracted humanitarian crises: the Lake Chad Basin conflict, the North-West/South-West crisis and the impact of the arrival of refugees from the Central African Republic in the country's eastern regions. These challenges are compounded by underlying factors such as chronic poverty and weak infrastructure, which further deepen vulnerabilities and reduce community resilience. The impact on children and families is profound and includes recruitment into armed groups, displacement, family separations and limited access to essential services, among others.

Cameroon is richly endowed with natural resources (oil and gas, minerals, and precious woods) and agricultural re-sources (coffee, cotton, cocoa, maize, and cassava). The country’s economy is very disparate, encompassing agriculture, the exploitation of natural resources, industry, and services.

With a per capita income of $1,706, Cameroon is considered a middle-income country. Its economy is solidified by the diversity of production sectors and by GDP growth (3.3%), which is higher than demographic growth (2.3%) and generating potential resources for development, as well as a tax pressure (12.6% of GDP) allowing investment in social policies impacting human capital. However, despite this good economic situation, poverty remains present and has been gaining ground over the past decade (2014-2022): it affected 37.7% of households in 2022, compared to 37.5% in 2014. An increase in the rate is observed in urban areas as it doubled between 2014 and 2022, rising from 8.5% to 21.6%. There is a strong disparity between regions, with the Centre, South, and Littoral regions having an incidence of less than 25%, while three regions exceed 50% (Far North 69.2%; North 61.1%; North-West 66.8%).

Cameroon has a Human Capital Index (HCI) of 0,4, which means that a child born in Cameroon today will be 40% less productive in adulthood than if they had received a complete education and good health. While this score is below the averages for Sub-Saharan Africa, national averages mask substantial inequalities: Cameroon has one of the largest gaps in HCI between the richest and poorest quintiles of its population. Moreover, a large part of the population suffers from multiple deprivations, particularly children. Indeed, 47.5% of children aged 0 to 17 suffer from at least four of the ten dimensions of deprivation (Nutrition, Health, Protection, Housing, Access to water, etc.), endangering their future development. 27.3% of children in rural areas are severely deprived compared to only 3.0% of children in urban areas.

Thus, nearly 6 million children do not see their rights fully guaranteed, even though Cameroon ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in January 1993, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in September 1997.

Among the 45 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to children, 28 would require sustainable and considerable effort to be achieved. Deprivations and various inequalities particularly affect girls and women. In 2022, the Human Development Index for women remained lower than that for men. These differences are notably marked in education, but also in per capita income and a higher representation in the informal labor market.

According to UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Index, Cameroon ranks among the ten countries globally where children are the most exposed to climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses. The country assembles within its territory many climates and ecosystems of tropical Africa, with its territories in the Sahelian zones severely affected by drought, desertification and seasonal floods, its territories in the coastal zones threatened by the acceleration of costal erosion and rising water levels and its territories in the Congo Basin affected by deforestation and depletion of biodiversity. 

In addition to disasters related to climate change, Cameroon is also exposed to coastal erosion on its littoral, and to the constant diminution of forests in the Congo Basin area even if deforestation rates are slower compared to the Amazon or the Gulf of Guinea. This vital lung for the planet is exposed to anarchic exploitation of timber, depriving local and indigenous communities who are already among the most vulnerable from their vital resources. It is important to note that climate change accelerates environmental degradation, including coastal erosion and deforestation, meaning that climate action and environmental protection interact, and cannot be disconnected.

The above-mentioned events have already resulted in substantial human and socio-economic losses in Cameroon, impacting the well-being of thousands across the country, especially children. Heatwaves  also deeply affect children whose physiology cannot tolerate high temperatures and long-term temperatures exceeding 35 degrees. In the Northern regions of Cameroon (Far North and North) heatwaves are becoming more and more frequent affecting both the health of children and their capacity to concentrate during school hours.

Key Results for Children (KRC):

The Country Office prioritized three KRCs: Immunization; Prevention of Stunting and; Birth Registration.

With respect to immunization, the percentage of children 0-11 months vaccinated with 3 doses of DTP-containing/Penta vaccine nationally reached 82% and routine immunization continues to suffer from the severe shockwave COVID 19 pandemiC. However, the country was able to improve its solar powered cold chain, extending it to reach remote areas. The country has maintained its polio-free status thanks to active surveillance and regular polio campaigns. Due to security reasons, the functioning of immunization services is uneven. Vaccination rate has hence dropped in crisis-affected regions.

With respect to the prevention of stunting, vitamin A supplementation to children aged 6 – 59 months has maintained satisfactory levels. The introduction of vitamin A in routine reservices is yet to be effective. Exclusive breastfeeding has slightly progressed and remained a challenge especially in rural areas.

Over the last two years, Cameroon has made considerable effort on Birth registration. The progress achieved includes, the increased in the number of health services with birth registration services, a new law on birth registration introducing digitalization as a sustainable solution to expand and scale up birth registration in the country and the commitment of local authorities, as part of the decentralization process, to allocate adequate resources to birth registration. However, the weak data collection system makes it difficult to assess the progress made in this area.

For every child, you demonstrate…

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

Competencies  

• Builds and maintains partnerships (level III)  
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (level III)  
• Drive to achieve results for impact (level III)  
• Innovates and embraces change (level III)  
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (level III)  
• Thinks and acts strategically (level III)  
• Works collaboratively with others (level III)  
• Nurtures, leads and manages people (level III)  

To view our competency framework, please visit here.  

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. 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.  

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.  

Remarks:  

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.

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.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.