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 grow 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the guidance of the Chief Field Services, the Chief Field Office (CFO) is accountable for managing and leading the total programme commitment of a field office within a country programme. The CFO represents UNICEF in his/her Area of Responsibility (AoR), leads and oversees the various program sectors and operational service teams ensuring the delivery of quality results in accordance with UNICEF’s programme of cooperation, country programme management plan and overall vision set forward by the Representative through Country Management Team (CMT) as well as provide coordination and support to UN security system at the state level.

In fragile and humanitarian contexts, UNICEF action is guided by its global Policy and Framework for humanitarian action: the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action.

The incumbent will be responsible for the following areas of major duties and key end results.

1. Effective management of UNICEF presence, staff and assets in the Area of Responsibility.
2. Leadership of UNICEF team in the Field Office, with a focus on empowerment, creating a possible workplace culture and upholding of UNICEF’s CRITAS values
3. Effective knowledge management systems adopted and utilized to strengthen area/country programme management.
4. Situation Analysis prepared and updated; critical programme intervention points and measures identified; and programme work plans, recommendations and reports prepared. Gender/sex disaggregated data and inputs relevant to the country programme are provided as an integral part of programming
5. Programme funds optimally used and adequate oversight provided.
6. Programme implementation delivered with a focus on converging, convening and cagalyzinag response for children. Monitoring and evaluations effectively conducted to improve programme performance, and programme status reports timely prepared.
7. Rights based and results based programming approach fully incorporated into all phases of programme and project processes.
8. Commitment and institutional capacities of the national and local partners effectively gained and established.
9. Rights perspective and advocacy at the national, community and family levels incorporated in policy analysis for establishing and elevating UNICEF’s credibility in national and international policy debates.
10. Effective partnerships and collaboration achieved and maintained for advocacy, technical cooperation, programme development/management/coordination, resource mobilization and leverage for children, information sharing and networking.
11. Support UN coordination and security management at state level provided

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 

 Chief Field Office NOD - Raipur #52060, Jaipur #131717 & Bhubaneshwar #131719.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: social sciences, international relations, public administration, government and public relations, public or social policy, sociology, social or community development, or another relevant technical field.

Two years of additional relevant work experience that was gained after obtaining a bachelor’s degree may be accepted in lieu of advanced degree.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of eight years of professional work experience in programme management, planning, monitoring and evaluation, project administration or another relevant area is required.

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of the local language of the duty station is considered an asset.

Desirables:

• Experience managing, supervising staff, or leading complex partnerships and networks and capacity to work effectively with teams, is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience working in a developing country and in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Familiarity/ background with regional or national context, and with politically complex settings and strong counterparts in development programming.
• Relevant experience in humanitarian context.

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…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• 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)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

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:

• This recruitment aims to fill three (3) vacant Chief of Field Office (CFO) positions based in UNICEF’s field offices in Raipur, Jaipur, and Bhubaneswar, India. Applicants are required to indicate their preferred duty station(s) in their application.
• This position is open to Indian Nationals only. 
• This VA is open to internal UNICEF staff only i.e. UNICEF staff holding permanent, continuing, and fixed term appointments.  
• For the purpose of this vacancy, internal candidates on abolished posts, performing at the level of the post or a level higher in the relevant functional area, or an internal candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, will be given first consideration.
• Per the UNICEF Staff Selection Procedure, alternate recommended candidate(s) from this selection process may be placed in the Talent Group which may be used to fill similar positions in the future. Therefore, all eligible candidates are encouraged to apply.
• All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 
• The selected applicant will have an initial two (2) year fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds.
• 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, interested and eligible candidates meeting the required qualification and experience are encouraged to apply. For achieving UNICEF’s active commitment towards an ever more diverse workforce and fostering an inclusive work environment, we particularly welcome applications from:
  • Women, trans* and gender non-conforming people
  • Persons with disabilities
• 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.
• UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited / recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/. 
• 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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.