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 l

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Since 2015, UNICEF has been working to strengthen and develop sustainable social services for children in Abkhazia, Georgia. An informal Community-Based Child Protection Mechanism (CBCPM) has been developed in 69 target communities by supporting community-based social service providers including para-social workers who collected evidence on child well-being issues, provided support to vulnerable children and their families and empowered local communities to address the social service needs of children. Also, Child Development Centers (CDCs) were supported to address the needs of boys and girls with disabilities. At the same time, a social work programme was launched and assistance has been provided to thousands of vulnerable children and families from the region.

The development of social work practice in Abkhazia revealed a number of concrete deficiencies and gaps in the field of child protection. An underdeveloped psychological service is one of the issues constantly being raised by the local social workers and other stakeholders. The number of professional psychologists is very limited and, in some of the districts, psychological services are largely absent. Furthermore, the training and qualifications of most of the psychologists are inconsistent: with few receiving formal education.

In view of the above, in 2022, UNICEF launched a number of targeted activities to strengthen the psychological service for children and their families in Abkhazia. First, a group of local psychologists received on-the-job training and enhanced their competencies in areas such as rehabilitation of child victims of violence, work with children with challenging behavior, etc. Following that, supportive supervision was provided to support the effective functioning of the psychological service in at least three districts of Abkhazia. UNICEF also continued to support social workers dealing with cases of violence against children and other complex child protection cases, providing professional supervision on various aspects of work, including on the provision of psychological aid.

All of the mentioned areas of work require further technical support, and there is a need to address staff turnover, to improve the quality of the provided services for children and their families.

Scope of Work:

UNICEF seeks to engage an international consultant or a group of international consultants to support the training of professionals involved in the provision of psycho-social support to children.

The consultancy is planned to be implemented remotely. At the same time, if the situation with entry procedures and operational context allow, trips to Abkhazia will be considered for face-to-face activities and coordinated at a later stage.

Interested individual experts should apply for the whole scope of the consultancy indicating the daily fee and the lump sum in the Cover Letter. In case of groups of experts, each group member should apply individually referencing all other members in the application and specifying which components of the TOR each of the members of the group will be covering (with estimated number of days), so that together they cover the entire scope of the TOR.

Duration: 1 September 2025 to 28 February 2026.

Travel: Most of the tasks under the consultancy will be implemented remotely.

If the operational context allow, trips to Abkhazia will be considered for face-to-face activities and coordinated at a later stage, including a contract amendment.

Location: Home-based.

Work Assignment Overview

1. Provide training for local psychologists

Based on the assessment of the needs of psychologists, and considering staff turnover in the psychological service and the need to engage additional staff, the consultant(s) will, in close coordination with UNICEF, update the previously developed training programme and deliver approximately 24 full training days (192 hours) for up to 15 psychologists. Several other interested specialists (e.g. children’s crisis center staff) may join specific sessions.

As part of the programme revision and enhancement, the following areas will be prioritized:

1. Methods of psychological work with emotional and behavioral disorders in children, mainly using cognitive-behavioral and art therapy;
2. Methods of psychological work with complex disorders in children;
3. Increasing the effectiveness of group psychotherapy with children (principles and methods of group work, assessment of effectiveness, indications and contraindications);
4. Psychological support in alternative care, including:
• Psychological support of the child before, during, and after placement in alternative care;
• Psychological support of foster parents;
• Work with biological families of children placed in alternative care.

Deliverables:

• Quality training materials covering the listed topics.

Timeline: 1 September 2025 – 30 November 2025
Estimated duration: 40 working days

2. Develop guidelines for supervision and provide external supervision to the social workers and psychologists working with children

The consultant(s) will develop supervision guidelines and conduct 160 hours of supervision sessions for individual or group formats, addressing urgent psychological and mental health issues related to children supported by local professionals. Sessions may include the discussion of concrete cases and suggestions on how to elaborate, adjust, or revise work plans for children and families. Additionally, supervision will support the mental health and wellbeing of psychologists and social workers, helping to prevent professional burnout. It may also be used to support the onboarding and training of new social workers, should staff turnover occur during the consultancy period.

Deliverables:

• 160 hours of quality supportive supervision sessions for social workers and psychologists;
• Guidelines for supervision.

Timeline: 1 September 2025 – 28 February 2026
Estimated duration: 25 working days

Minimum Qualifications required:

• Advanced (Masters)  university degree in psychology, counselling, psychotherapy or psychiatry;

•     At least 8 years’ experience of provision of psychological aid to children, including rehabilitation of victims of violence against children; at least 3 years’ experience working as professional supervisor;

•     Proven experience in providing training in the above field;

•     Experience in working with helplines or similar support services for children and adolescents;

•     Deep understanding of UNICEF approaches and recommendations in the field of child protection and psycho-social support of children; experience of work with UNICEF will be an asset;

•     Excellent communication skills;

•     Working knowledge of English and Russian languages.

 

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 

[add the 8^th competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role]. 

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 [Insert candidates from targeted 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.

 

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.