People and Culture at UNICEF Zambia
Want to join our journey to build a better life for every child? Explore current job opportunities with UNICEF Zambia
Job opportunities
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.
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.
The UN employs a broad range of professionals categorized into different levels based on their responsibilities, qualifications, and experience. These categories ensure a global standard across the organization, facilitating a systematic approach to recruitment, placement, and career development.
We offer a wide range of employment opportunities, from internships, volunteering and consultancies, to fixed-term and temporary staff positions in various functional areas such as WASH, Education, Health and HIV/AIDS, Social Policy & Research, Child Protection, PME, CAPE, Nutrition and Operations (Human Resources, ICT, Administration, Finance and Supply & Logistics) for professionals seeking to help children to survive and thrive in both development and humanitarian settings.
Vacancies listing
Current Vacancies
- Long Term Agreement: Individual Consultant – Writers, 24 months, Lusaka, Zambia
- Supply and Logistics Officer, NO1, Temporary Appointment, 364 days, Lusaka, Post # 00131622
- Provision of Communication ideation, creative development, and implementation of communication campaigns services on a Long-Term Arrangement (LTA) Basis
- Long-Term Agreement for Media Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting for UNICEF Zambia
- Access the UNICEF Global Vacancies
General Service Staff (G1-G7)
These positions generally involve administrative, clerical, technical, and logistical support roles that are essential for the smooth functioning of the organization. General Service Staff
National Officers (NOA/1-NOC/3)
Commonly called "NPO" staff, are recruited at the national level to perform managerial and/or professional functions requiring national knowledge and experience.
International Professional (IP)
These staff are recruited internationally and serve in all duty station globally except in the country of their nationality.
Junior Professional Officers (P1-P2)
Commonly called “JPO” staff, are young professionals appointed to posts funded by donor governments. JPOs are recruited on a Fixed-term Appointment for a period of one year which may be renewed up to a maximum period determined by the donor government (normally two or three years).
Professional and higher categories (P3-P5 and D1-D2) (Non-national of the country)
Staff members in the Professional and higher categories (P and D) are normally internationally recruited and are expected to serve at different duty stations throughout their career with the Organization.
United Nations Volunteers and Internship Programme
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development. UNV works by partnering with UNICEF Zambia and other United Nations entities, the governments and Civil Society organizations and Volunteer involving Organizations.
Would you like to become a United Nations Volunteer in Zambia? To sign up, click on the link below and follow the instructions: United Nations Volunteers
For more information on the scheme, visit the UNV global website.
Internships
UNICEF Zambia provides internship opportunities to students (those completing a Master’s or in the last year of their Bachelor’s) and to recent graduates (up to one-year post-graduation) who exhibit an interest in the field of development and who share our vision. UNICEF internships may last up to six months. Exceptionally, internships may last nine months when they are being completed for academic credit. They may be completed in-person or remote, as detailed in the vacancy announcement. Interns receive a monthly stipend that varies depending on country of assignment.
All of our internships are advertised on the UNICEF Global Vacancies Job Page. If your application is found to be of interest, you will be invited for an interview by the Human Resources Office.
What work experience do I need?
Your work experience should be relevant to the job for which you are applying; each job may also have specific requirements, which are specified in the opening. For mid-career and senior-level positions, progressively responsible work experience is required. As you acquire more relevant work experience you can progressively apply for higher positions.
Combined with academic qualifications are the number of years of relevant work experience required for the grade level of the post. Relevant work experience and minimum academic qualifications form the basis for UNDP’s standard of a professional workforce.
The minimum academic standard for all recruitments and selections to Professional and higher-level category posts (IP, and National Officer (NO) is normally a completed, first university degree and advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent).
Visit UNICEF to learn more about what we do at UNICEF and familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.
Please note that UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, and on any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.
Please be aware that we are occasionally alerted to spam messages claiming to offer UNICEF jobs, scholarships and other opportunities. UNICEF official communication on jobs etc. is only done through pages on the unicef.org website, and through messages from @unicef.org email addresses. 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.
Application for employment at UNICEF Zambia is advert-based, we only accept applications for advertised positions.
