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 a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for over 75 years to improve the lives of children and their families. UNICEF also lobbies and partners with leaders, thinkers, and policy makers to help all children, everywhere realize their rights, especially the most disadvantaged.
The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026-2029 identifies building an agile, skilled workforce and fosters an empowering, values-driven workplace culture as the key to enhancing organizational performance. The global One People and Culture function is a key enabler of the Strategic Plan. Through the People and Culture Transition and Transformation Initiative, UNICEF’s People and Culture Strategy aims to shape an adaptive and capable people-centered People and Culture Community that actively works with its partners to accelerate results for the children we serve.
How can you make a difference?
The People and Culture Specialist (Workforce Planning) position is in the Division of People and Culture (DPC) and contributes towards the organization’s talent management and workforce planning (WFP) priorities.
Under the supervision of the P4 People and Culture Manager (Talent Acquisition and Engagement) and the overall leadership of the Chief, Talent Management, contributes to overall workforce planning in collaboration with colleagues in Division of People and Culture, with the People and Culture community and with technical Divisions. Supports the development of a compelling strategic case for workforce planning, to gain senior leadership buy-in, and prepares and supports the implementation of a strategic workforce planning approach, bringing a data driven approach to all aspects of the strategic talent management lifecycle and leading on skills mapping. Collaborate with People and Culture colleagues across the organization as well as with representatives of each functional area, to identify future talent needs, review existing talent through skills/capability mapping, determine talent gaps and identify ways to best to meet organizational capability needs. Collaborates with Division of People and Culture colleagues on talent acquisition and talent development aspects of a holistic talent management strategy. Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:
- Strategic People and Culture
- Implement Strategic Workforce Planning
- Organizational culture and DEI
- Learning and capacity-building
- Data Analytics, Innovation and Knowledge Management
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Job Description _People and Culture Specialist_132717.pdf
To qualify an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: An Advanced University Degree in Human Resources management, business management, Organizational Development, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Data Analytics, Public Administration, international relations, or another related field is required.
- Work Experience: Five years of increasingly responsible professional experience in Human Resources/People and Culture management or Organizational development in an international organization and/or large corporation is required.
- Skills: Desirables: 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 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 cadidates 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. In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing. 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- Experience and ability to implement targeted and innovative People and Culture strategies to address clients’ people-related needs.
- Ability to implement innovative People and Culture programs within a fast paced, evolving, and wide organizational setting.
- Strong understanding of talent management and workforce planning.
- In-depth technical knowledge of the principles and concepts of People and Culture management.
- Ability to identify and analyze systemic issues, formulate opinions and insights, make conclusions and recommendations to resolve same.
- Excellent knowledge of organizational and People and Culture information technology systems and tools.
- Ability to analyze and interpret data to inform the development of People and Culture strategies and initiatives.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, and engage stakeholders, in a diverse organization tailoring language, tone, style and format to match audience.
- Ability to empathize with client managers, supervisors and staff while advocating for consistent and equitable applications of promulgated People and Culture regulations and rules.
- Language Requirements: Knowledge of English language at a Proficient/Fluent level is required.
- Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
- Proven experience in stakeholder engagement, facilitation of senior-level consultations, and organizational change management is highly desirable.
- Proven experience in strategic workforce planning and talent management.
- Implementation of large-scale people and culture initiatives, including use of digital tools and AI-enabled platforms.
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
