Current vacancies

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 Support

How can you make a difference?

The Public Partnerships Division (PPD) leads UNICEF to secure quality public sector income for all children, promotes international development and humanitarian resources for child focused outcomes, and facilitates UNICEF’s intergovernmental and interagency engagement to champion child rights. The Division does this through its core functions of income, influence, insights and stewardship by: maintaining and expanding flexible resources for children from a diverse range of key international development and humanitarian partners; leading UNICEF’s engagement with public sector partners globally; providing strategic insights and analytics on public partnerships; undertaking evidence-based influence & engagement with public sector partners to raise income and to champion child rights; providing global strategic direction, guidance and oversight of the public partnerships function.

The Senior Operations Associate provides office management, budget and human resources support to the PPD Europe Pillar, one of the 3 PPD geographic pillars, spanning over 3 locations- Brussels, Berlin, and Copenhagen.

Under the supervision and guidance of the Director, PPD Europe Pillar, the Senior Operations Associate is responsible for fulfilling the following functions and tasks in Support to Income, Influence, Insight and Stewardship.

• Undertake a broad range of functions relevant to administrative support services, including supervisory responsibilities over other GS admin support functions, as required.
• Oversees Common Services hosted in the UNICEF Brussels hub, ensuring smooth and cost-efficient support to hosted Divisions as required.
• Monitor budget and financial expenditures of the PPD Europe Pillar, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations, keeping supervisor informed and advised on actions for decision/follow up.
• Provide support with respect to the review, analysis and preparation of the budget plans and its revisions.
• Prepare supporting documents (narrative and supporting tables) with respect to finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals.
• Monitor expenditures and comparing with approved budget; prepare adjustments as necessary.
• Assist in preparation of budget performance submissions and finalization of budget performance reports, analyzing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Verify accuracy of financial data, ensuring consistency of data in previous allotments to new allotments issued.
• Advise and assist in all aspects related to preparation of reports, compilation of data and answering queries on adjustments made to ensure financial compliance, accuracy and completeness of data for its inclusion into statement of accounts and adjustment of budgets.
• Maintain financial records and monitoring systems to record and reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data for day-to-day transactions and reports.
• Select and enter data from a wide variety of documents, verifying and ensuring accuracy by checking sources, making necessary calculations and assuring inclusion of all relevant data.
• Design and prepare financial monitoring reports, BI tools and perform regular and ad-hoc analysis of budget, prepare reports for audits or other reasons.
• Initiate correspondence to verify financial data and answer queries and obtain additional information on accounts and financial transactions, as required.
• Support capacity development activities by preparing training materials and participating in exercises.
• Maintain and ensure that PPD has proper internal control and segregation of duties.
• Act as PPD focal point for monthly and year-end financial closures, including review and follow up with PPD sections/outposted offices and DFAM on open commitments, GR/IR, GL reconciliations and monthly reporting.
• Plan and assist in the end-to-end recruitment process of staff, interns, individual and institutional consultants, and vendors.
• Mobilize support to staff, including career counselling, and psychosocial services and counselling.
• Develops training activities to ensure effective performance and efficiency in admin services management. Implements effective staff learning and development programme activities for capacity building. Contributes to workshops for staff’s competency building, staff learning and development, career development.
• Support effective working relations with other agencies, local authorities and implementing partners on issues relating to  administrative matters through information exchange, collaboration, and harmonization. Cooperate with other UN agency counterparts in the UN reform initiatives (including common services and premises agenda, etc.)

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD - Senior Operations Associate - G7.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• • 1. • Education: Secondary Education in Administration, Management, Finance, Human Resources and any other related fields.
       • Work Experience: At least 7 years of relevant work experience in Administration, Clerical support,. and any other related fields.
       • Skills: Data management, Time management, Problem Solving, Teamwork.
       • Language Requirements: English - Proficient

Desirables:

1. • Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
   • SAP HR, Microsoft Office, UNICEF SAP HR, WEB HRIS
   • Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

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

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
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

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.  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. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

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.

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.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

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.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category. (I think this is standard and it will be there anyway)

Candidates must be nationals of EU countries or in possession of a valid work permit. Please note that General Service (GS) staff are locally recruited staff and candidates are personally responsible for any travel and accommodation arrangement. (I think this is the new sentence which must be added specifically)

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.