Careers at Unicef - What to highlight in your job application? | Impactpool
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Impactpool
Do you dream of a career at Unicef?
Do you want to make a real impact and defend the rights of children together with dedicated and passionate colleagues?
We asked our Director of Talent Acquisition to list what he in general terms would look for in an application for typical UNICEF positions.
"Given Unicef's brand and its strong association with children, Unicef, generally, does not have a hard time attracting Child Protection officers, except for jobs in conflict locations. If you would like to work at Unicef and seek a less competative way in, go for roles in challenging locations. There is also one expertise area, which I have added to my list, in which Unicef is in great need" says Henrik.
In terms of diversity, Unicef faces similar sourcing challenges as most other multilateral organizations.
"By understanding the needs of Unicef and by studying the context of the job you are applying for, you can apply smarter and highlight the right things, I have compiled a list of skills and experiences that will draw the recruiter's attention to your application" continues Henrik.
Unicef does not have a hard time attracting Child Protection officers, except for conflict locations. But one expertise area they are lacking is nutritionists. So if you are a nutritionist, you should look for Unicef jobs.
At Unicef, gender parity is achieved at the junior/mid-level, which means that 50% of the career positions are filled by a woman and 50% by a man. However, one can see that the men/women 50/50 goal starts to drop already at P4-level, which is a mid-level career grade at Unicef that requires a Masters's degree and 7 years of professional experience.
As a consequence, women are generally under-represented at higher seniority levels.
Before applying, make sure you meet the minimum requirements:
- To apply you must have completed your Master’s degree (or your first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of relevant experience);
- To apply for a P4 (this is a career position at the Mid/Senior level), you must have completed 8 years of professional work experience;
- To apply for a P5 (this is a career position at the Senior level), you must have completed 10 years of professional work experience;
- To apply for the D2 (Senior Executive), you must have a minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in administration, business management, planning and operations in a large international and/or corporate/social enterprise organization.
To be successful, you should bring to the recruiter's attention hands-on work experience from challenging locations. Proven resilience and mobility were two skills that always caught my attention when screening applications. A recruiter would quickly go through your work experience and look for;
- volunteer experience; any hands-on hardship experience (previous/current work in crisis countries or locations);
- any experience from working in Ukraine, Sudan, DRC, Somalia, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Mano River countries, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ebola, or Tsunami affected regions.
- any language combinations that would be an advantage - Arabic/English, Arabic/French/English/Chinese;
- any UN field mission experience;
- any experience from other organizations that serve in similar contexts such as Save the Children, Plan International, Care, ICRC, IRC, NRC, DRC, WFP, UNHCR, OCHA, UNDP, IOM etc;
- any experience as a UN volunteer;
- any other professional UN staff experience;
- any experience serving at the same level (P4/P5/D2) or one level below;
- any indication that you have qualified for other UN rosters, technical clearance, talent pipelines or talent pools.
