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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfil their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, dedication.

The Operations function supports the Head of the Office on managing the office and monitoring operations and programmes as needed, including risk management while providing advice on best and innovative management practices to enhance office performance. The function is a strategic Business Partner role within the Senior Management team, assuring the best use of UNICEF assets in alignment with sound management practices, office priorities and goals to deliver results for children.

As a Strategic Business Partner and Deputy for the Head of Office, the incumbent will be responsible to lead for results, drive change, provide risk informed, solution-focused analysis, advice and services and contribute to programme and management decisions for delivering results for children in all operational contexts. 

How can you make a difference?

Strategic Operations will accomplish this by:

• Leading by example and supporting the Head of Office on managing the office;
• Acting as Officer in Charge in the absence of the Head of Office;
• Managing services in the functional areas of operations support: budget, financial management and reporting, risk management, facilities management, administration, supply and logistics management, information and communications technology, human resources, and safety and security and convening the other functions to arrive at a unified vision;
• Ensuring processes are in place to identify, promote and empower the potential in staff through career development, opportunities for stretch assignments and succession planning;
• Acting as member of the Country and Senior Management Teams, representing the organizational risk, governance systems and policies perspective in management discussions, and promoting results-based management;
• Understanding business needs for the Country Programme, to anticipate challenges, propose viable solutions, provide creative and innovative ideas aimed at a solution- focused approach to include value for money strategies, all underpinned by quality assurance measures;
• Providing key contribution to CPD, CPMP, AMP and support to Results Based Management and implementation using Value for Money criteria;
• Leveraging technology for results and programme accountabilities, making effective adoption of tools and promoting the fundamentals of ICT management, information security and controls;
• Supporting the country office during external and internal audit reviews and responding to audit observations and monitoring implementation of recommendations.
• Guiding Supply and Logistics strategies and interventions to meet programmatic needs while ensuring Value for Money (VfM), including procurement of fit for purpose products and services, and providing advisory support to governments, national systems and partners on supply chain management;
• Leveraging governance, systems, and tools to provide regular feedback on risks and achievements of operations functions in the country;
• Leading on facility management with a specific focus on inclusive accessibility, eco sustainability and common premises;
• Overseeing business transactions processed by GSSC from a perspective of Efficiency, Performance, Risk Management and Fraud prevention;
• Oversee office capacity and system for the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, including in implementation partnership management.
• Promoting efficiency across systems and processes, where applicable.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

The Deputy Representative, Operations will be entrusted with the following five pillars, the core focus of all operations functions: Valuing People, Valuing Money, Valuing Risk Management, Valuing Systems and Structures, Valuing Partners.

1. Valuing People: Lead, manage and develop people resources to promote technical competence and foster career progression and retention of a “fit for purpose”/ agile workforce

• Promote an environment of management excellence, staff well-being and accessibility and inclusion through implementation of strategies, policies, procedures.
• Provide proactive solutions and expert advice to senior management on people management and office culture.
• Foster operations behaviors that focus on delivering results for children, whilst balancing risk informed decisions, policy compliance and flexibility through which partners’ needs are reliably addressed, to create an avenue for the greatest results.
• Coordinate the human resource development and resourcing strategies to bring about changes in knowledge, skills, abilities and mind sets for Operations staff.
• Keep abreast of industry standards in management and finance. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned with global/regional colleagues to contribute to organizational development initiatives to strengthen management and operations.
• Promote and support Excellence in Operations by refining the evolving profession in UNICEF derived from the five strategic pillars.

2. Valuing Money: Champion strategic resources to achieve organizational goals and ensure Value for Money (VfM)

• Optimize identification and use of resources in various concrete Value for Money (VfM) areas, including eco-efficiency and inclusivity, common premises, costing, results-based budgeting financial monitoring etc.
• Educate Business Units on their role in generating and reporting on VfM with the goal of strategically expanding its use to major UNICEF functions.
• Lead the financial oversight management, monitoring and reporting of all the country programme budget - and where applicable private sector fundraising budgets; make analysis and recommendations for Representative and other Senior Management colleagues take risk informed decisions.
• Advise and lead in the valuing of resources through programme financing modalities such as budgeting and pre-financing modalities for supplies, cash-based transfer etc. along with key government counterparts
• Oversee Supply outcome results related to Supply and Logistics Management and stay abreast of and promote the global strategies and their implementation.

3. Valuing Risk Management: Enhance Risk Management to increase organizational performance and strengthen internal control.

• Ensure the office is equipped with the right skills and tools and up-to-date information to make operational and programmatic risk informed decisions and improve performance, with the support of the enterprise Governance, Risk and Compliance (eGRC) platform.
• Put in place mechanisms for early detection of major risks in programme implementation and develop/propose mitigation measures to address the issues in a proactive manner as possible.
• Facilitate mitigation of risks of engagement with external partners via appropriate, risk-informed due diligence, including oversight of the office approach to environmental safety and security as applicable to donors / partners, and support to implementing partners.
• Maintain UNICEF organizational resilience and enhance staff safety and security by ensuring operational disaster risks address threats through well-formulated and tested business continuity plans, and Emergency Preparedness and Response to humanitarian situations.
• Review internal controls and policies/guidance included in the Regulatory Framework, provide oversight of appropriate implementation of policies and procedures and provide feedback on policy and internal controls as appropriate.
• Identify and implement mandatory anti-fraud systems, processes and actions, and share anti-fraud achievements within the country offices.
• As alternative office focal point for PSEA, ensure the office is equipped with the right skills and tools for the prevention, detection and reporting of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse, including engagement with OIAI and partners as may be required.

4. Valuing Systems and Structures: Ensure further operational centralization and optimization for maximized efficiency gains.

• Review key Operations processes to minimize cost, simplify and reduce duplication of work and maximize efficiencies while creating an environment of smarter controls to render the organization agile, resilient and ready to respond to programme needs.
• Facilitate compliance with systems by building awareness and capacity of users explore new ways of working - including in the context of SG Reform – and continuously improve IT-enabled business processes to increase productivity and collaboration, better knowledge management, and ensure effective use of UNICEF assets.
• Put some clear focus on the ICT for development to ensure that efficient and adequate tools and systems are available to support programme implementation.
• Provide key contribution to CPMP and review operational structures in collaboration with Regional Chiefs of Operations and the Strategic Business Support unit in DFAM.

5. Valuing Partners: Strengthening internal and external-facing partnerships and leveraging UNICEF’s oversight and understanding of financial management across all areas of the office.

• Provide technical expertise and recommendations on HACT implementation, including, advice approach to undertaking spot checks, follow-up actions required on result of financial assurance activities; the use and collaboration with the Supreme Audit Institution; and use of micro-assessment results including the appropriate level of capacity building in financial management.
• Partner with Programme by providing advice and recommendations on programme budgeting through involvement in programme document and support the financial impact analysis and determination of refund and amounts owing to the CSO.
• Support UNICEF Office resource mobilization partners from donor negotiation and formulation of partnership agreements and contracts through written financial reporting, resolve discrepancies and ensure donor accountability and transparency.
• Foster a positive and enabling operations environment that supports private sector fundraising and solution-focused engagement (where applicable).
• Engage as effective stakeholders in the UN Reform, supporting Business Operating Services (BOS) and proactively paving the way for a potential “one back office” in country offices.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

Qualifications: 

• An Advanced University Degree (Master’s and above) in one of the following areas is required: Business management; Financial management; Accounting; Public Finance; and related operations function (Supply Chain, Human Resources, Information Technology, International Business, Project management, etc.) or a full professional accounting designation (CA, ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA, CPFA, Expert Comptable) from an internationally recognized institute/body of accountancy with valid membership in good standing is required.
• A minimum of thirteen (13) years of professional experience, at the national and international level, is required, specifically in advocating and implementing strategic organizational initiatives in one or more operations management area including budget; financial management and reporting; facilities management; administration; supply and logistics management; information and communication technology; human resources.
• Prior experience in the development sector or UN system/ international NGOs would be an asset.
• For country offices with a significant private sector fundraising operation, prior experience working with or in the private sector, and supporting private sector fundraising, is desirable
• Additional experience in one or more of the following areas, would be desired: Audit and investigations; Safety and security; Grant Management; Enterprise Risk Management
• Experience in a UN system agency, large private or public company, or experience working in a developing country and/or humanitarian/ emergency context is an asset.
• Experience in working with corporate ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) and IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) is highly desirable.
• Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement.
• Experience in managing successful client-oriented work units is an asset.
• Experience in co-creating policy is desirable.
• Prior experience working with diverse stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnership is highly desirable.
• Previous hands-on experience in strategic and managerial leadership is required.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.
• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

Person Profile: 

• Experience in managing and leading large teams in a sensitive and complex environment with an equal focus on results and nurturing and supporting team members.
• Strong expertise in risk management
• Proven ability to conceptualize, innovate, plan and execute ideas as well as to transfer knowledge and skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships, both within and outside the organization.
• Commitment and day to day role-modeling of the values Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability.
• Politically savy with solid leadership, managerial and people skills.
• Strong negotiation skills, maturity and sensitivity to work with multiple stakeholders.

Country Typology:

Country Income Level: Kabul is a low-income country.

Duty Station: Kabul is an “E”, non-family, and emergency duty station.

Office Size: 532 staff with 12 field offices (5 main and 7 outposts) and staff based in Uzbekistan.

Annual Budget: $1,000,000,000

Working and living conditions: In UN or UNICEF owned/rented compounds

R&R every 4 weeks (this may change to 6 weeks depending on the situation)

Schooling: N/A

Brief country context: 

Afghanistan a landlocked country has a population estimated at 44.5 million (OCHA 2023), with around 15.4 million (6-17 years, school-aged children), and around 8 million children under the age of five. It has an important geostrategic location, with significant regional dynamics that affect its politics and security, which has led to suffering from the consequences of four decades of conflict. The change in administration in August 2021 to the Taliban led De-facto Authority (DfA) and the pull-out of international forces marked a significant decrease in military operations in the Country, though security threats persist with pockets of attacks from several armed groups.

The country continues to face weak governance, deep inequities in resource distribution, international conditionalities and sanctions, and a high proportion of the population with poor access to basic social services. Afghanistan continues to face human right challenges due to the impact of the DFA’s policies on adolescent girls’ and women’s rights to education and employment. In 2026, over  21.9 people, including 11 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance due mainly to the residual impacts of a protracted conflict, extreme climate shocks, earthquakes and the country's severe economic decline, which is characterized by high unemployment and a fragile recovery. This is worsened by decline in humanitarian funding, restriction on women and girls, and the return of over 6 million Afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan since 2023.

Afghanistan is the third largest recipient of overseas development assistance and is highly aid-dependent (OECD, 2021), and according to the Word Bank, 54 percent of Afghans live below the poverty line. Following the DFA 2021 takeover, the Afghan economy went into a free fall for months after the abrupt cut of development aid. Late in 2022, the economy began stabilizing with DFA restrictions on smuggled imports, limits on banking transactions, and inflow of humanitarian aid, and in 2023 the economy witnessed stabilizing exchange rates and the rise of trade in exports.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values 

Competencies 

• Builds and maintains partnerships (level III) 
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (level III) 
• Drive to achieve results for impact (level III) 
• Innovates and embraces change (level III) 
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (level III) 
• Thinks and acts strategically (level III) 
• Works collaboratively with others (level III) 
• Nurtures, leads and manages people (level III) 

To view our competency framework, please visit here. 

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 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. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. 

Remarks: 

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. 

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also 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 cancelled.