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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Hope!

How can you make a difference?

Join the dynamic Talent Development team at UNICEF and drive change in Leadership Development! We are seeking a talented individual to join our team in Istanbul, Turkiye and help us transform our learning approaches and processes in leadership development. If you’re ready to make a real impact on the people we serve, apply today, and help us build a better future for children around the world!

Specific Responsibilities

The HR Manager (Leadership Development) will develop, design and deliver learning solutions for UNICEF’s senior leaders, including strategies, that will enable comprehensive development, succession management and knowledge management, while ensuring they are empowered to lead intentionally.

• Develop and facilitate global leadership development through research, collaborative partnerships, curation and delivery of bespoke learning solutions that strengthen the capabilities of senior leaders to deliver on strategic and other organizational priorities.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders in DHR, Global Learning Center (GLC), HR Community, Senior Management and other learning focal points in UNICEF to ensure synergies and leveraging of resources.
• Conduct periodic learning needs assessments of leadership development interventions and propose innovative solutions in alignment with best practices.
• Manage multiple leadership development interventions and coordinate the development of micro learning modules for the leadership development portfolio in alignment with strategic priorities
• Act as the liaison with UN Agencies, Private Sector and service providers to capitalize on best-in-class learning solutions, while building partnerships with academic institutions and other organizations.
• Work closely with the GLC, to support learning analytics, knowledge management, and evaluation to ensure our learning programs meet objectives and quality standards.
• Ensure effective project management of leadership development programmes ensuring deliverables are met.
• Work with senior leaders to encourage a culture of learning within UNICEF and their respective Offices.
• Develop and leverage evaluation measures, benchmarks and scorecards to monitor effectiveness of leadership development programmes and initiatives.
• Facilitate learning events as required, leveraging the range of virtual communication and learning tools/technology.

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

The following minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Human Resources, Psychology, Organizational Development, Adult Education, Learning & Development, Masters in Business Administration or Public Administration, Social Sciences, or any other relevant field(s) is required.
• A first level degree (bachelor’s) in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
• Work Experience: At least 8 (eight) years of relevant work experience in the public or private sectors, multilateral agencies, including the UN, academia, non-governmental sector with an increasing level of responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience and success in the design, development and implementation of  management and leadership strategies and programmes.
• Demonstrated experience leveraging virtual communication and learning technology/tools for the facilitation of virtual events
• Demonstrated experience of conducting impact evaluations and the use of same to advance talent development.
• An understanding of how adults acquire and use knowledge, skills, and capabilities; and of individual and cultural differences in learning is required.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English language is required.

The following desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.
• Professional certification or additional training relevant to learning or leadership development is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language 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…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes[KR5] , and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.

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[LK6]  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.

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.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.