Programme Officer, NO-1, Temporary Position, 364 days, Gaziantep, Republic of Türkiye, #00137274

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 Champion

How can you make a difference?

The Gaziantep Field Office plays a critical role in supporting the implementation of UNICEF.

The UNICEF Gaziantep Field Office plays a central role in advancing the Country Programme's objectives in Türkiye’s southeast region, where vulnerabilities among refugee and host communities are particularly acute. Current priorities focus on ensuring equitable access to quality education and strengthening child protection systems, with an emphasis on municipal engagement, local capacity building, and community-based service delivery. The Programme Officer directly contributes to these objectives by providing technical assistance, supporting programme design and implementation to education and child protection, monitoring progress, and strengthening partnerships with municipalities, provincial directorates, and local partners. Through these functions, the position helps translate UNICEF's rights-based and results-based approaches into tangible improvements in children's safety, learning, and well-being in the field context.

Under the guidance of the supervisor, Chief of Field Office, the incumbent provides technical and operational support to programme design, planning, implementation, including progress reporting for child protection and education; whilst supporting effective multisectoral coordination and partnerships management across the field office.

Key Accountabilities, Duties and Tasks:

Knowledge Management

• Support programme knowledge sharing by collecting, analyzing, and reporting data.
• Contribute to lessons learned databases and assist in developing training/orientation materials.
• Develop and coordinate strategic ad hoc briefings and key deliverables on behalf of the Field Office, ensuring consolidated and cross sectoral inputs as required.

Programme Planning and Implementation

• Assist in preparing situation analysis and programme work plans.
• Support strategic oversight of partnerships ensuring integrated and cross sectoral planning and monitor implementation progress and propose adjustments or improvements.Funds Monitoring
• Track programme expenditures to ensure proper use and compliance with guidelines.
• Recommend actions to optimize use of funds.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Conduct field visits to assess programme delivery and recommend corrective actions.
• Participate in sector reviews and contribute to annual progress reports.Rights-Based and Results-Based Programming
• Support integration of child rights and results-based approaches in programme design and implementation.
• Provide input on strategies, approaches, and optimal resource use.

Capacity Building

• Assist government and local partners in organizing training for programme sustainability.
• Support coordination and collaboration to strengthen institutional capacities.

Partnership and Coordination

• Facilitate coordinated collaboration and information exchange with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring consistent and aligned engagement across the Field Office.
• Support coordination mechanisms to enhance programme delivery.
• Carries out project administration and coordination with partners as required.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Programme Officer NOA (1).pdf

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: Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or another relevant technical field.
• Work Experience: A minimum of one year of relevant professional work experience is required. Experience in programme planning, coordination and oversight in development or humanitarian settings. Experience in managing or supporting integrated, multi sector programmes, ensuring coherence across programme components and oversight of planning, financial performance and results monitoring.
• Skills: coordination in humanitarian setting, oversight in development setting, managing multi sector programmer, planning, financial performance oversight, results monitoring.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language.
• Background/familiarity with emergencies is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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 candidates 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.

UNICEF staff members holding fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointments who are considered to be on abolished post status may apply for this temporary position and, if selected with a start date before 31 December 2025, may take it up as a temporary assignment, in line with UNICEF guidance on separation due to the abolition of posts or staff reduction. They will retain their fixed-term entitlements but will not hold a lien to their abolished post. For other scenarios where a Temporary Assignment may be possible, please refer to Additional guidance on IP to IP temporary assignments after completion of the full TOD.pdf (accessible to UNICEF personnel only).
The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member's original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.

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.

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.