Temporary Appointment for 364 days: Field Support Specialist

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 calling, 

We are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not a job, it's a calling.

UNICEF's Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC) in Budapest, Hungary provides services to UNICEF offices globally in the areas of Finance, Human Resources, Payroll and Information Technology. For more information about GSSC please visit our webpage at Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC)  and check this Youtube.

How can you make a difference? 

GSSC have identified the potential for UNICEF of a Remote Support Transactional Hub (Hub) based at the GSSC to support primarily smaller offices with their transactional workload remotely. Whilst focused on longer term support to office, the Hub would also be  immediately available for a defined period to deliver transactional services remotely, ensuring responsiveness and avoiding additional cost and risk to UNICEF and its staff.

Key Roles and Responsibilities of the post:

The Hub would be managed by an experienced Field Support Specialist (Remote Hub), who will focus on delivering high-quality, efficient support to the offices the Hub serves.

The Field Support Specialist should bring expertise in upstream office transactions and a strong commitment to relieve impacted offices of transactional burden in the areas of Finance, Administration and Human Resources.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Service Delivery
2. People Management
3. Knowledge Sharing, Training and Updates

For detailed key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks, please check the Job Description

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• Advance university degree (Master's degree) in business administration, economics, accounting, or financial management and related study is required.
• Membership in an internationally recognized professional finance body, such as ACCA/ ICAEW/ CIMA/ CIPFA/ CPA/ACT is an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5-years professional experience in Operations Management which includes a few areas such as budget and finance management, HR management, procurement & administrative services.
• Proven supervisory and people management experience including developing and maintaining high performing teams is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in leadership of projects and matrix organizations.
• Experience in a UN system agency or organization, some of which served in a developing country, is considered as an asset.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel required.

 Language:

• Fluency in both spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

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

(8) Nurtures, Lead and Manages People (1)

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.

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 (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.

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.