Re-advertisement: Operations Specialist, P-3, Fixed Term Position, ECAMENA Regional Office, Istanbul, Türkiye, #00136960 (Open to all UNICEF personnel)

This is a re-advertisement, candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.

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

The ECAMENA Regional Office leverages expertise and scale across a diverse and rapidly evolving region that is playing an increasingly important role in shaping global agendas on the realization of child rights, human capital, migration, climate, equity, and digital transformation. It supports the achievement of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan results in the context of rising needs and constrained resources. The region encompasses all country typologies, including high-income, middle-income, and low-income contexts, as well as fragile and conflict-affected settings, each with distinct development trajectories and policy drivers. This requires differentiated approaches, agile business models, strategic partnerships, and strengthened risk management. The region is further shaped by ongoing challenges such as conflict, migration, economic volatility, and varying degrees of political openness and reform. At the same time, countries across the region are connected by shared challenges and opportunities, including investment in the early years, addressing learning gaps and equipping adolescents and young people with 21st-century skills, the need for resilient national systems, and the imperative to strengthen child rights governance.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Amman-based Operations Manager (P-4), the Operations Specialist (P-3) contributes to the effective delivery of the Operations Section mandate across the ECAMENA Regional Office and the wider region. The role supports governance and operational effectiveness, service delivery, and compliance across administrative, budget-support and common services functions, ensuring alignment with regional priorities and operational standards. The incumbent supports operational coordination, technical assistance, and day-to-day service delivery across the Regional Office, its outposted locations, and relevant interfaces with Country Offices. With a duty station base in Istanbul, the P-3 Operations Specialist acts as a key operational partner within a distributed, multi-hub operating model, supporting continuity of services across duty stations, including facilitating coordination across differing work weeks and time zones. As a strategic business partner within the Operations section, the post supports the supervisor in providing direct technical assistance and support to Country Offices in the ECAMENA Region, maintaining strong internal controls, service quality, value for money, business continuity, operational compliance, and process efficiency across the Regional Office and its outposted locations. It also supports coordination with the wider ECAMENA Operations section on budget- and finance-related matters, administrative systems, common services, operational risk management, and multi-hub continuity, while providing direct supervision and day-to-day guidance to the Administrative Associate (GS-6) in Istanbul.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JD Operations Specialist_P3

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in one of the following areas is required: business management, financial management, accounting, public finance, economics, or related operations functions such as supply chain, information technology, international business, project management, or administration; or a full professional accounting designation from an internationally recognized institute or body of accountancy with valid membership in good standing 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. This is applicable to internal (FT, Continuing and Permanent) staff only.
• Work Experience: A minimum of 5 years of professional experience, at the national and/or international level, is required, specifically in implementing operational support functions in one or more areas including budget, financial management and reporting, administration, facilities management, travel, asset management, supply and logistics management, information and communication technology, or related operations areas.
• Skills: Experience in financial analysis, budget planning, grants management, donor conditions, and/or fiduciary management is required. Knowledge of Results-Based Management is required. Experience supervising or guiding support staff is required.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Additional experience in one or more of the following areas is desirable: audit and investigations; safety and security; grant management; enterprise risk management.
• Experience in working with corporate ERPs and IPSAS or equivalent financial and administrative standards is highly desirable.
• Experience working in a regional office, multi-duty-station, or outposted operational environment is highly desirable.
• Background and familiarity with operations issues across the ECAMENA region is highly desirable.
• 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

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, leads and manages people

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.

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.