Where are the job opportunities with UNICEF's regional offices?

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact hiring needs across UNICEF’s global operations — and is driving demand for new hires in a wide spectrum of disciplines. WASH is among the primary areas of expertise the pandemic has exacerbated a need for, but it’s not the only one. For UNICEF’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa, the pandemic response is requiring additional support around immunization efforts, said Paul Badiane, chief of human resources for the region. Badiane’s team is increasingly receiving requests from clients for this type of assistance. The lockdowns and school closures over the past year mean more specialists are also needed in the areas of child protection and education. “We are trying to reimagine education, and we need education specialists to see how we can approach a new way to [deliver that],” Badiane said. Beyond the coronavirus response, Bandjougou Magassa, regional chief of human resources for UNICEF West and Central Africa, said there will always be a need for health expertise due to recurring emergencies there, such as the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, in the Middle East and North Africa region, staffing needs are impacted by conflicts and the presence of armed groups, Badiane said, and professionals with skills in communication management are needed. Language skills are also in high demand. While Badiane’s team needs Arabic speakers, Magassa said it can be a struggle to find people with French skills to work in Francophone countries, so these would be a big asset for any candidate. But while many skills are in high demand, not every type of job requires the same approach. Badiane and Magassa encouraged interested candidates to read job advertisements carefully and tailor their CVs to the requirements outlined before applying to the agency. Badiane said a job seeker should not use the same CV to apply to various jobs. Badiane and Magassa spoke to Devex about the way consultants, country nationals, and career transitioners can find work with the agency. Consultants: Highlight previous UN experience Hired on shorter-term contracts, consultants are intended to fill expertise gaps in the agency, sometimes as part of a rapid deployment for an emergency response. These positions don’t tend to be for junior professionals but are instead for those who are “highly specialized” and have track records in their areas of work, Magassa said. Having previous experience with international organizations, such as the United Nations, and knowledge of how these systems work can be an asset, he added. Badiane noted that a consultant should be able demonstrate an understanding of a local context and how they will apply their experience to that. Those who are successful in landing a consulting gig should remember that UNICEF, as with most U.N. agencies, keeps a roster of experts. If consultants produce high-quality work, there can be future opportunities for them or referrals to support other teams, he said. Career transitioners: Be realistic and plan accordingly Landing a role with the agency can be a challenge for professionals coming from other sectors since the recruitment process puts a lot of emphasis on previous development experience. “Most of our recruitment, especially for international positions, would be looking at the number of prior years of relevant experience [a candidate has],” Magassa said. Career transitioners would therefore have “to demonstrate [they] have at least a number of years [of relevant experience] or are really driven in that functional area.” The agency’s hiring needs tend to be for roles that are at least at the “P3” level of U.N. staff categories, Magassa added, so while it’s not impossible for professionals from other sectors to find work at the agency, it’s important that they understand the minimum job requirements and plan accordingly to achieve those, perhaps starting with short-term assignments to gain relevant experience. Badiane suggested that career transitioners consider starting out with lower-level roles, even if they are coming from an established career in another sector. The agency, for example, has been looking at ways to improve its collaboration with different partners, so professionals coming from the private sector will have useful experience, but they must be able to combine that with an understanding of the humanitarian sector, he said. National staffers: Build technical expertise Building technical capacity is key for national staffers looking to land jobs outside of their own countries, according to Badiane. But they should be aware of the challenges that come with working in different contexts, such as not being able to speak the local languages or dialects. He advised national staffers to gain international experience via shorter-term assignments with their existing employers before making a career move. One perk for insiders, Badiane said, is that UNICEF provides opportunities for its local staffers to serve for six to 12 months outside of their home countries and get a sense of working in an international post.