Welcome to the career site of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) at Impactpool.

About UNRWA

UNRWA was established by United Nations General Assembly 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees. The Agency began its operations on 1 May 1950. The General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2017. 

UNRWA is unique in terms of its long-standing commitment to one group of refugees. It has contributed to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees. When the Agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees. Today, some 5 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services.

The work and structure of UNRWA on the ground 

UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict.

UNRWA has two Headquarter offices one in Gaza and one in  Amman. In addition UNRWA has five field offices - Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and West Bank, and four Representative/Liaison Offices - New York, Geneva, Brussels and Cairo.

All field offices have a similar organizational structure and UNRWA’s programmes are implemented and managed by the:

• Education Department
• Health Department
• Relief and Social Services Department
• Department of Infrastructure and Camp Development in Amman
• Office of the Microfinance and Microenterprise Programme in Jerusalem.

The number of area staff range from 3,000 in the Lebanon Field Office to over 10,000 in the Gaza Field Office. All in all UNRWA has over 30,000 employees, most of them Palestine refugees and a small number of international staff. The majority of area staff are teachers, health services, relief and social services staff and administrative and support staff In addition to area staff, the United Nations in New York funds nearly 120 international posts. Appointments to international posts are subject to UNRWA rules and regulations.

What profiles are UNRWA looking for?

Common employee profiles are programme specialists in education, health, relief and recovery, infrastructure and protection as well as professionals with experience in administrative and operational support.

In addition to International staff positions, UNRWA also offers other kinds of employment opportunities, e.g. consultancies and an International experts roster. UNWRA also offers a limited number of unpaid internships for master’s students.