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, results
UNICEF became operational in Greece in early 2016 as an outposted team from the Regional Office of Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to respond to the significant influx of refugee and migrant children and their families at that time. Following several years of engagement with national stakeholders, UNICEF and the Government of Greece made a decision in January 2020 to formalize the agency’s presence in the country under the form of a Greece Country Office. This office falls under the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia located in Geneva, which supports the work of 21 Country Offices within its geographical scope, reporting in turn to global headquarters in New York. Within the framework of an expanded mandate for all children in Greece, UNICEF and Greece moved towards an even greater collaboration and partnership in order to address the needs of all vulnerable, marginalized and left-behind children in the country.
In the context of the Country programme for Greece (2022-2026) approved by the UNICEF Executive Board in March 2022, UNICEF and the Government of Greece have agreed on national targets for children, concerning health, education, social protection, child protection, justice and youth employability. Regarding the Health and Nutrition agenda, and within the context of the National Action Plan on Public Health (2021-2025) and the National Prevention Programme ‘’Spyros Doxiades’’. UNICEF is scaling up programming to address the high prevalence of childhood obesity in the country through the following pillars:
i. advancement of an enabling environment including strengthening regulations, policies, and strategies to promote healthy diets, practices, and services for the prevention of childhood obesity,
ii. programmes that strengthen the primary prevention of childhood obesity, including actions to improve
nutrition in infancy and early childhood, prevention intervention programs at the school and community/municipal level, as well as developing awareness raising campaigns for social and behavioral change,
iii. interventions to enhance secondary and tertiary prevention and response programmes,
iv. establishment of a European Regional Initiative on Childhood Obesity as a platform to enable exchange of lessons learned, good practices, and proven effective approaches to address childhood obesity among and within EU member states,
v. development of strategies and programmes focusing on achieving social and behavioral change so that children and their caregivers across Greece make more informed lifestyle choices.
With 28.9% unemployment rate among youth 15-24 years old in 2022, Greece had the second highest youth unemployment rate in the EU. Greece also ranks among the 4 EU countries (Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece) with the highest percentage of young people 15-29 neither in Employment, nor in Education and Training (NEET). Most alarmingly, in 2021 Greece had the highest NEET rate in the EU for youth with tertiary education (26.8%) and the second highest for youth with upper-secondary and post-secondary education (19%). Furthermore, Greece has a very low rate in all three pillars of the European Skills’ Index (ESI): skills development (5th to last), skills activation (4th to last) and skills matching (being the last). This clearly indicates a mismatch between formal education and skills, in particular soft skills, required for youth to access the labour market.
Hence, there is an urgent need to create stronger links between young people’s skills and the labour market, and to improve their access to quality training, job counselling opportunities, internships, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurial initiatives. For the most vulnerable groups, including young refugees and migrants, and youth living in rural or remote areas, the need for 21st century skills, job orientation and career coaching is even more evident to improve their chances of finding and retaining employment.
How can you make a difference
The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of youth and adolescent development and participation programmes and the achievement of concrete and sustainable results from these programmes contribute to the achievement of UNICEF goals in the country to promote the full and active participation of youth and adolescents in determining their essential needs, promoting their rights to a safe environment and protecting their rights to survival, development and well-being in society. This in turn contributes to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide programme services for mothers and children that promotes greater social equality and inclusion in the country.
?
- Programme planning, management, monitoring and delivery of results
- Facilitate the development of youth and adolescent development and participation programme strategies through research, analysis and reporting of related information.
- Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, including through field visits and programme reviews with government and other counterparts, and report on critical issues and bottlenecks for timely action to achieve results.
- Monitor and report on the use of youth and adolescent development and participation programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity.
- Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, implementing partners, and other stakeholders on the application and understanding of UNICEF youth and adolescent development programming to support delivery of results.
- Support the roll out of UNICEF global initiatives on youth in Greece such as Generation Unlimited, UPSHIFT, Fundoo, U-Report, in cooperation with the relevant UNICEF teams, including with the Office of Innovation.
- Networking and partnership building
- Support working partnerships with relevant government counterparts, national stakeholders, including the private sector, and global partners to exchange expertise and to identify courses of action to achieve objectives in the areas of youth engagement, skills development, entrepreneurship and employability, including through exploring cost-effective professional education and entrepreneurship orientation schemes, and expanding job placement opportunities through apprenticeships and job shadowing.
- Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances; and outputs, including project proposals for the purpose of mobilizing resources for the GCO youth programming.
- Participate and/or represent UNICEF in appropriate multi-stakeholder discussions and planning on youth empowerment related issues.
- Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
- Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
- Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
- Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders.
- Draft relevant policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration.
- Apply/introduce innovative approaches and good practices on youth development, including on engagement and participation, skills development, entrepreneurship and employability to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: A university degree in one of the following fields is required: Education, Business, Technology, Communications, Social Sciences, International Relations, International Development or another relevant technical field.
- Work Experience: At least 1 years of relevant work experience in in planning and management in youth and adolescent development related areas, advocacy/ campaigning and communications focused on young people, innovation, entrepreneurship, business development or other relevant fields, is required. .
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Greek is required
Desirables:
- Experience in supporting the development and implementation of youth engagement strategies, with specific, measurable and timebound objectives and performance indicators.
- Experience in working on youth employability, social innovation and multi-stakeholder engagement including the private sector, is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated experience in designing content for youth audiences and/or moderation of youth focused platforms.
- Knowledge of child safeguarding and ethics of working with children and youth.
- Relevant experience in a UN system agency or international organization, is an asset.
- Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.
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 is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.
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’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.
Visa residence requirements: i.e.: UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.
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.
