We are seeking a committed and creative professional for the position of Emergency Officer, P-2, Temporary Position, Office of Emergency Operations, for 6 months, Off Emergency Prog, O/P Rome. If you are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, join UNICEF — the world’s leading organization dedicated to promoting and protecting children’s rights.
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 Hope
How can you make a difference?
As emergencies become more frequent, the expectations of UNICEF to deliver on the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs) in a timely and effective manner will continue to increase.
The Humanitarian Field Support Section (HFSS) aims to provide a “one-stop-shop” approach to coherent field support in humanitarian crises, in addition to strengthening UNICEF’s field capacity on emergency preparedness and risk monitoring, as well as on early recovery programming, humanitarian advocacy and engagement with integrated missions and presences. Within the framework of the OMP, the team will be instrumental in providing support to the field on principled humanitarian action and a strengthened integration of the protection of children in our engagement, but will also strive to focus on the quality of the response in close collaboration with other EMOPS sections, the programme group and operations.
In the context of the Ebola L3, HFSS provides the Secretariat for the Incident Management Support Team (IMST), supporting the IMST as a whole-of-UNICEF coordination mechanism under the overall direction of the Global Incident Manager. Under the supervision of the Emergency Specialist, Africa Desk (HFSS), the Emergency Officer serves as the dedicated Secretariat for the L3 Ebola IMST, supporting the Global Incident Manager and the full IMST structure.
The IMST is organized around two functional areas—Functional Area 1 (Public Health Response) and Functional Area 2 (Emergency Operations)—and the incumbent provides secretariat services across both, ensuring coherent coordination, information flow, and institutional memory for the response as a whole.
While the supervisory line sits within HFSS desk, the incumbent works in close day-to-day coordination with the FA1 Lead and the Public Health Emergencies team, as well as the FA2 Lead, supporting the IMST as a cross-organizational mechanism.
The primary responsibility of the role is to ensure the IMST functions effectively: organizing and servicing IMST, Crisis Response Team (CRT), and Emergency Management Team meetings; preparing and circulating annotated agendas; maintaining the action tracker; and ensuring timely dissemination of decisions and follow-up items across both functional areas.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
Emergency_Officer_P2_IMST_Ebola_updated_2.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in Public Administration, Development Studies, Social Sciences, International Relations, Public Policy, Humanitarian Affairs, Development and any other related fields.
- Work Experience: At least 2 years of relevant professional work experience in a relevant international organization(s), including experience of humanitarian programme and operations and any other related fields.
- Skills:
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- UNICEF policies and strategy to address on national and international emergency issues, particularly relating to conflicts, natural disasters, and recovery.
- Knowledge of global humanitarian issues, specifically relating to children and women, and the current UNCEF position and approaches.
- Knowledge of the principle of gender parity and equality.
- 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
- Developing country experience, Field Experience, Complex emergencies experience, Early recovery experience
- 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.
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.