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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 a Future

UNICEF is striving for a work environment where staff wellness, resilience and work-life balance are integrated parts of the organizational culture. 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 Regional Staff Counsellor (P-4) in the Latin America Caribbean region 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; facilitating the provision of immediate support following a traumatic incident. As the Latin America Caribbean region is prone to emergencies, there is a need for frequent support across the region.

The Regional Staff Counsellor will work in coordination with the network of UN counsellors globally. Frequent field missions and/or virtual sessions as well as close collaboration with Country Offices are required.

How can you make a difference? 

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

1. Under the technical guidance of the Chief Staff Wellbeing, and the supervision of the Regional Chief of People and Culture, the Regional Staff Counsellor will facilitate the development, implementation and coordination of a corporate framework aiming at improved staff well-being regionally and possibly 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 boost 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 statistics and trends on issues related to staff well-being, whilst maintaining confidentiality. Alert the Regional Chief of People and Culture on trends that may be of concern in offices or offices requiring targeted support or managerial intervention. Capture lessons learnt and best practices for dissemination as appropriate.

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

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An Advanced/Postgraduate University Degree or equivalent in psychology, counselling, psychology, clinical psychology, psychiatry (medical or nursing), marriage and family therapy, or social work with evidence of training in mental health counselling is required.

A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

• Work Experience: At least eight years of national and especially international professional experience in staff support, mental health, cross cultural communications, counselling, and related areas, preferably gained within the UN system or international development/humanitarian aid sector.

• Skills: Psychosocial assessment, Training and Technical Supervision, Critical Incident Stress Management, e-learning and Webinars experience.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Spanish is required

Desirables:

• Proficiency in French or Portuguese is an asset.
• Knowledge of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) principles is desirable.
• 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 counselling, training, remote counselling is a strong asset.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts is preferred.

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 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.