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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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, wellbeing

Reporting to the Deputy Director, and as a part of a dedicated team in the Division of People and Culture (DPC), you will provide overall strategic leadership for the Staff Wellbeing function of the organization. 

If you are creative and passionate about promoting a healthy and balanced work-life of employees, this is the chance to make a difference through leading our strategy to manage and ensure support to our global staff working globally. The incumbent will lead the Section, developing and reviewing its strategic priorities, using an evidence-based approach in consultation with key stakeholders. They will ensure collaborative, multidisciplinary/multi-stakeholder project teams, focus groups and a network of champions are established for priority actions, and support in the achievement of clear targets and meeting of implementation timelines.  They will ensure KPIs are met, and prepare monitoring reports for senior management for outputs delivered by global, regional and office entities, through utilization of data generated from the global People and Culture community and the Staff Wellbeing team, and in particular Staff Counsellors.  The incumbent will also lead global Staff Wellbeing projects, communicating key initiatives and maintaining a knowledge hub of information, frameworks and tools to support Staff Wellbeing outcomes, in close collaboration with key stakeholders. 

The Chief of the Staff Wellbeing function plays an integral role in emergency preparedness, during emergencies and in challenging contexts. Frequent travel to various UNICEF offices is therefore required, including those in hardship, emergencies/humanitarian contexts, and in high security phases.

How can you make a difference? 

The incumbent will establish strategies to ensure psychosocial support and deliver Staff Wellbeing outcomes by:

• Providing strategic leadership for Staff Wellbeing across UNICEF globally.  This includes people, financial and resource management to the Staff Wellbeing Section and strategic guidance to the global Staff Wellbeing team;
• Leading the development, implementation and coordination of the corporate Staff Wellbeing Strategy aimed at improving staff wellbeing globally, in close collaboration with the global People and Culture community, including staff counsellors;
• Supporting the design and implementation of innovative and integrated workplans for the Staff Wellbeing function globally, monitoring regional and country interventions and performance, as well as the impact of the Staff Wellbeing Strategy on the global workforce;
• Collaborating closely with other Sections within and outside People and Culture for professional exchange, raising awareness and advocating for Staff Wellbeing issues at the highest organizational levels and ensuring effective implementation of programmes;
• Providing strategic support to the Director, and Deputy Director, People and Culture in the implementation of the UN System Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy;
• Leading the implementation of recommendations of UNICEF’s Executive Board and the network of UN organizations, prioritizing follow-up actions and reporting;
• Collaborating with the relevant centres of expertise in the Division of People and Culture to prioritize support and advice to leadership and managers in offices on healthy people management practices, progressive policies and best practice approaches for supporting staff and encouraging resilience;

• Developing staff support strategies to managers during major organizational change and following emergencies and other crises;
• Overseeing the process of referrals for good mental health management, guiding supervisors and senior management where appropriate;
• Identifying and extending the network of staff support programmes for external mental health providers and exploring national Employee Assistance Programmes for our global workforce, using a minimum standards approach;
• Identifying mental health champions and overseeing the implementation of the Peer Support Volunteer programme globally;
• Ensuring the provision of individualized and group psychological counselling as needed;
• Coordinating with UNDSS, UN agency counsellors and Peer Support Volunteers, to ensure the provision of a network of adequate psychosocial support, particularly during emergencies and humanitarian crises; and
• Maintaining close collaboration with the Staff Wellbeing colleagues in other UN agencies with similar programmes, sharing experiences and resources.

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced University degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in a discipline relevant to mental health services (psychology, allied health disciplines, public administration, public health/health care, occupational health), human resources, management or business administration, or related area is required. OR
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields of studies with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Additional training or certification in staff support, and traumatic/critical incident management as well as a broad range of related fields, such as family counselling, training, stress management, alcohol/substance abuse etc., will be an added advantage.
• Work Experience: A minimum of ten (10) years of professional experience in human resources management and staff support, mental health, counselling, and related areas; of which five (5) years should be international experience (preferably gained within the UN system or the international development/humanitarian aid sector).
• Strategic leadership and critical thinking, with hands-on experience in national programme contexts.
• Previous work experience in managing matrixed, and dispersed multi-cultural teams is desirable.
• Language Requirements: 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…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)
• Nurtures, leads and manages people (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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 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’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. 

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.

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.