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 fulfill 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, mental health

UNICEF is striving for a work environment where staff wellness, resilience, and work-life balance are integrated parts of the organizational culture.

The UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) is disproportionately affected by various hazards leading 12 to18 of the 21 countries in the region to respond to declared and undeclared emergencies every year. In addition, and due to the nature and location of their work, UNICEF staff are frequently exposed to high levels of day-to-day, cumulative stress, including those stressors related to their workload as well as the demands related to living and working in multicultural, often unstable, and insecure environments. 

The Staff Counsellor (P-4) will contribute towards the development of a corporate framework for Staff Well-Being and promote its implementation at the Regional level. The framework will identify activities aimed at: raising awareness about healthy work practices; improving the work-life balance of UNICEF staff; facilitating the provision of assistance to staff/family experiencing work-related and/or personal problems; and facilitating the provision of immediate support following a traumatic incident.

ESARO currently has a cadre of three Staff Counsellors across the entire region, with one dedicated to a country office (Somalia country office). Given the high number of emergencies, there is a need for frequent support across the region, including in French and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The Regional Staff Counsellor will work in coordination with the network of UN counselors globally. Frequent field and virtual missions and close collaboration with Country Offices are required. 

How can you make a difference?

Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director and the Technical Supervision of the Chief Staff well-being based in Istanbul (P-5), the Regional Staff Counsellor (P-4) is expected to provide expertise to the management and staff of the regional and country offices, to support the overall well-being of UNICEF staff and their families, as well as teams in UNICEF offices in the region.

1. Under the technical guidance of the Chief Staff Wellbeing, and the supervision of the Deputy Regional Director, the Regional Staff Counsellor will facilitate the development, implementation, and coordination of a corporate framework aiming at improved Staff Well-Being globally.

2. Facilitate the provision of effective psycho-social support to staff, leadership, managers and individual staff, prioritizing emergency locations with the aim to mitigating stress and boosting protective factors.

3. Provide Critical Incident Stress Management to groups and/or individual staff following critical incidents. A holistic approach to critical incident management is used and may include services such as practical support, psycho-education, psychological first aid, strategic advice to leadership, family support and individual or group interventions.

4. Training and awareness raising on Staff Well-Being related topics.

5. Monitoring and oversight:  Provide on a quarterly basis, an overview of statistics and trends on issues related to staff well-being, whilst maintaining confidentiality.  Alert the Deputy Regional Director on trends that may be of concern in offices or offices requiring targeted support or Managerial intervention. Capture lessons learned and best practices for dissemination as appropriate.

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

• Advanced University degree in counseling, clinical psychology, or related mental health profession.
• Minimum eight years of international professional experience in staff support, mental health, cross-cultural communications, counseling, and related areas, preferably gained within the UN system or international development/humanitarian aid sector.
• A first university degree, or professional certification, in addition to ten years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Valid and unrestricted licenses or certifications, or registrants/members in good standing of legitimate  professional organizations, and whose continued international work outside their jurisdictions does not jeopardize their licenses, certificates, or organizational membership;
• Professionals who are presently without a license but could be eligible for licensure or registered membership in an appropriate organization with consideration to their education, training, experience, and expertise but may require extra support and/or supervision and/or further training, or work in countries where registration, licensure, and certification are not available. 
• Additional training or certification in staff support and traumatic/critical incident stress management, as well as a broad range of related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, family counseling, training, and remote counselling.
• Knowledge of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is desirable.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergencies is considered an asset.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and French is required. Working knowledge of Portuguese or another UN 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

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 (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable males from industrial countries are encouraged to apply.

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). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.