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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 A Future

Under the supervision and guidance of the supervisor, the Operations Associate provides a broad range of procedural, administrative, and specialized operational support across functions such as administration, finance and budget, people and culture, supply and procurement, and information and communications technology (ICT). The role requires in-depth knowledge of UNICEF procedures, processes, and policies to ensure the smooth and efficient delivery of services, accurate application of rules and regulations, and effective coordination with internal and external partners.

How can you make a difference? 

1. Administration - To provide administrative, logistical, and coordination support to ensure efficient operations and effective delivery of section outputs.

• Maintain office filing and reference systems (physical and digital), ensuring accuracy and timely updates of intranet and internet content.
• Provide timely, accurate information for the preparation of section work plans and project management plans.
• Coordinate office communications and workflows to enhance efficiency, including maintaining the office calendar, arranging meetings, and taking accurate, well-structured minutes.
• Organize logistics for events and conferences, liaising with facilitators, participants, and service providers on venue, agenda, budget, transport, and communication.
• Arrange staff travel in compliance with UNICEF policies, securing best service and cost, and providing guidance on visas, security clearance, and documentation.
• Maintain accurate travel records in UNICEF systems, verify data correctness, and follow up on travel certifications and closure of commitments.
• Assist in budget preparation, monitor utilization, and maintain budget control records.
• Monitor project implementation against milestones and recommend improvements.
• Serve as focal point for verifying completeness and accuracy of monitoring and evaluation data reports.

2. Finance & budget - To provide financial management and budget monitoring support, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules, accuracy in records, and timely reporting.

• Prepare regular and ad-hoc financial and budget reports by compiling and reviewing data, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance for inclusion in statements of accounts and budget adjustments. Resolving discrepancies in coordination with relevant units.
• Maintain financial records and monitoring systems to record and reconcile daily transactions, balances, payments, and statements
• Support year-end closure processes, including preparation of reports on accounts receivable/payable, prepayments, deposits, non-expandable properties and leave balances, ensuring adherence to deadlines.
• Monitor budgets and expenditures, providing analysis and recommendations for decision making and/or corrective action.
• Assist in budget planning and revisions, tracking funding utilization, and monitoring operational and financial closure.
• Process grant and budget transactions in VISION, including registering allotments and tracking expiries, ensuring documentation is complete and audit-ready.
• Collect, verify, and process invoices through UNICEF systems, responding to client inquiries on transaction status as needed.

3. People and Culture - To provide administrative, procedural, and project coordination support across the People and Culture function, ensuring effective delivery of HR processes, data management, and staff engagement activities in line with UNICEF’s values and policies.

• Support strategic HR initiatives by coordinating project timelines, preparing materials, maintaining organizational charts, and ensuring confidentiality of staff data.
• Assist in workforce planning, recruitment, and resourcing processes, ensuring diversity and inclusion objectives are met.
• Monitor performance appraisal completion, support onboarding and learning activities, and maintain related records and reports.
• Coordinate with internal teams, GSSC, and other offices to facilitate workflows, document meetings, and follow up on agreed actions.
• Maintain and update knowledge People and Culture tools, digital platforms, and knowledge repositories for successful implementation and utilization.
• Collect, update, and analyze HR data for reports and dashboards, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timely submission and suggesting improvements where applicable.
• Partner and support the office on people management initiatives such as staff engagement, organizational culture, and wellbeing, including implementation of best practices on flexible work arrangements and inclusive workplace activities.
• Respond to staff queries on People and Culture policies and procedures, escalating complex cases as necessary.

IV. Impact of Results

Administration

Operations Associates maintain internal and external contacts with counterparts in international organizations, bilateral and multilateral institutions, and national governments to organize meetings, workshops, and conferences, and facilitate effective communications within UNICEF at senior levels and with governing body representatives.

Finance and Budget

The role directly impacts the optimal, appropriate, and effective use of resources and the accuracy of financial recording, accounting, and reporting, thereby supporting management oversight, informed decision-making, and quality control. It has a direct influence on the efficiency, compliance, and client satisfaction of specialized supply chain processes, liaising with clients and suppliers to resolve issues on purchase orders, contracts, deliveries, and payments, while ensuring adherence to policies, rules, service standards, and deadlines.

People and Culture

In People and Culture, the Operations Associate contributes to the smooth delivery of HR processes including recruitment, onboarding, performance management tracking, learning coordination, and staff engagement activities, ensuring compliance with policies, confidentiality of staff data, and promotion of diversity and inclusion principles

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Completion of secondary education is required, preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to the field of work.
• Work Experience: At least six [6] years of relevant work experience in administrative support, financial and budget management, and human resources operations is required.
• Skills
  • Work experience, including practical experience in Human Resources with the application of general HR polices, processes and systems is required
  • Experience in the area of finance and accounting is required
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Kazakh, Russian is required.

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

The 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 

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.  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.

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.

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.

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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.