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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 education

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF is a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for the rights of every child. Child rights begin with safe shelter, nutrition, and protection from disaster and conflict, and traverse the life cycle: pre-natal care for healthy births, clean water and sanitation, health care, and education. UNICEF has spent nearly 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Working with and for children through adolescence and into adulthood requires a global presence whose goal is to produce results and monitor their effects. UNICEF also lobbies and partners with leaders, thinkers, and policymakers to help all children realize their rights—especially the most disadvantaged.

The focus of HR positions at this level is on the provision of specialized transactional HR activities pertaining to recruitment and placement, administration of entitlements, staff development, career development, job classification, and/or performance management. Specialized activities pertain to the application of HR regulations, rules, and procedures in the context of, on a day-to-day basis, there typically being more complications that arise with a broader variety of solutions that are not always clearly covered in general guidelines, thus requiring a greater capacity to adapt and interpret. These positions, consequently, require in-depth knowledge of the subject matter and the capacity to carry out tasks with strong independence.  Thus, managerial oversight for these positions is limited to ensuring results are fulfilled according to work plans and facilitating any issues that arise outside of established patterns.

How can you make a difference?

Reporting to the Human Resources Specialist, the Human Resources Associate will support the ROSA recruitment Hub in providing administrative, procedural, and operational support and assistance to the efficient implementation of a broad range of Human Resources functions for all categories of staff in his/her office, ensuring accurate and timely delivery that is in compliance with UNICEF HR rules and regulations.  

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

A. Support in recruitment and placement

• Prepares and circulates internal and external advertisements.
• Liaises with candidates in the various stages of the recruitment process.
• Prepares formal acknowledgment, offer, and regret letters.
• Initiates and follows up on reference checks and academic verifications and ensures the completion of other background checks.
• Monitors the life cycle of the recruitment process to update the supervisor as necessary.
• Participate in interviews as HRBP and or panel writer for assigned recruitment cases.
• Timely update Recruitment Tracker for assigned cases.
• Compiling weekly and monthly progress reports.

B. Support in organization design and job classification

• Participates in the review of GS positions-specific JDs, ensuring effective application of ICSC methodology.
• Drafts and edits of job descriptions are to be submitted for classification for review by the supervisor.
• Follows up and liaises with HQ and RO over the status of requests to ensure timely completion.
• Prepares documents to be submitted for classification to RO and NYHQ, ensuring completeness of documentation
• Monitors the life cycle of all job classification requests to facilitate recruitment and organization planning.
• Compiles and analyses information and statistics related to posts and staff for reports on staffing trends.
• Analyze, research, verify, and compile data, which facilitates the preparation of workforce planning reports for a supervisor to review against benchmarks, i.e. Gender and geographical balance and other recruitment-related key performance indicators.

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

• Completion of secondary education, preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to the work of the organization.
• A minimum of six years of progressively responsible experience in Human Resources administrative or clerical work is required.
• Demonstrated experience in recruitment or supporting recruitment activities is required.
• Experience in organizing interviews and or drafting selection reports will be an added advantage.
• Basic knowledge of Talent Management System (TMS) is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidtes from underrepresented groups 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.

UNICEF staff members holding fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointments who are considered to be on abolished post status may apply for this temporary position and, if selected with a start date before 31 December 2025, may take it up as a temporary assignment, in line with UNICEF guidance on separation due to the abolition of posts or staff reduction. They will retain their fixed-term entitlements but will not hold a lien to their abolished post. For other scenarios where a Temporary Assignment may be possible, please refer to Additional guidance on IP to IP temporary assignments after completion of the full TOD.pdf (accessible to UNICEF personnel only).

The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member’s original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.

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.