This is a re-advertisement, candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.
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 a Future
The ECAMENA Regional Office leverages expertise and scale across a diverse and rapidly evolving region that is playing an increasingly important role in shaping global agendas on the realization of child rights, human capital, migration, climate, equity, and digital transformation. It supports the achievement of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan results in the context of rising needs and constrained resources. The region encompasses all country typologies, including high-income, middle-income, and low-income contexts, as well as fragile and conflict-affected settings, each with distinct development trajectories and policy drivers. This requires differentiated approaches, agile business models, strategic partnerships, and strengthened risk management. The region is further shaped by ongoing challenges such as conflict, migration, economic volatility, and varying degrees of political openness and reform. At the same time, countries across the region are connected by shared challenges and opportunities, including investment in the early years, addressing learning gaps and equipping adolescents and young people with 21st-century skills, the need for resilient national systems, and the imperative to strengthen child rights governance.
In this context, the ECAMENA Regional Office acts in line with the organization’s value proposition for Regional Offices through: (i) strategic leadership and governance; (ii) regional and political representation and engagement; (iii) programme oversight, knowledge, and foresight; (iv) digital transformation and innovation; (v) people-centered management; (vi) financial and risk management; (vii) supply and logistics; (viii) emergency preparedness and response; (ix) communication and strategic advocacy; and (x) partnerships and financing.
Within the ECAMENA regional context, the Supply function is positioned as both an enabler of programme delivery and a strategic lever for systems strengthening. Its work is centered on three interrelated result areas: strategic procurement, supply preparedness and response in humanitarian and fragile contexts, and supply chain optimization. To accelerate progress across these areas, the function applies three principal change strategies, financing for supply and services, supply chain digitalization, and supply chain localization. Localization is a strategic approach to strengthen regional and national production and procurement of essential supplies and to optimize end-to-end supply chains, improving resilience, efficiency, sustainability, and preparedness. In the ECAMENA architecture, localization is a defined thematic workstream, with regional LTAs, supplier development, market assessments, and regional sourcing pathways serving as practical mechanisms for technical oversight, quality assurance, and capacity strengthening in support of Country Offices (COs) across the region. The localization workstream also contributes to UNICEF’s Africa Strategy and related regional efforts to strengthen local and regional manufacturing, supplier ecosystems, and sustainable access to essential health, nutrition, WASH and other priority supplies, where relevant to ECAMENA countries and cross-regional opportunities.
Within this framework, the Supply Chain Specialist - Localization serves as the regional technical lead for the localization workstream under the strategic direction of the Regional Chief of Supply. The post leads implementation of the regional localization roadmap, advances regional and sub-regional sourcing options, and supports the development of stronger supplier ecosystems, manufacturing opportunities, and localization-linked supply chain capacities across ECAMENA. The role also provides substantive technical supervision to the Istanbul-based NO-3 localization post, ensuring coherent delivery across the ECAMENA localization workstream. The post works under the strategic guidance of the Regional Chief of Supply and in coordination with relevant colleagues and related workstreams, including Procurement Services, emergency preparedness and response, partnerships, and private sector engagement, where those interfaces are relevant to localization delivery.
How can you make a difference?
Under the supervision of the Regional Chief of Supply (P-5), the Supply Chain Specialist - Localization (P-3) provides technical leadership, implementation oversight, and coordinated regional support for the localization workstream across the ECAMENA Region. The post leads the practical implementation of the regional supply localization roadmap and the mechanisms required to expand access to essential supplies and services from local and regional markets, strengthen resilient regional sourcing pathways, and support more efficient, sustainable, and context-appropriate supply solutions for children across diverse development and humanitarian settings. The role leads or coordinates, as appropriate, regional localization LTAs, supplier qualification, market assessments, supplier-development platforms, and the identification of regional and sub-regional sourcing and manufacturing opportunities, including in relevant sub-regional markets, such as the Gulf States, North African countries and Türkiye. It also supports selected localization-linked aspects of supply financing, digital tools, logistics mapping, and supply chain systems strengthening, under the strategic guidance of the Regional Chief of Supply and in coordination with relevant colleagues and counterparts where these directly reinforce localization objectives. In addition, the post supervises and technically guides the Istanbul-based NO-3 localization function, ensuring coherent delivery and quality assurance across the localization workstream.
Summary of key functions/accountabilities:
- Regional supply localization roadmap and implementation plan
- Regional supply LTAs, supplier qualification, and market assessments
- Regional sourcing, manufacturing opportunities, and market access
- Localization with supply financing, digital tools, and systems strengthening
- Supplier-development platforms, partnerships, and regional engagement
- Localization workstream supervision and contribution to section coherence
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
JD - Supply Chain Specialist (Localization)_P3.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Procurement, Business Administration, Management, Economics, Engineering, Contract or Commercial Law, International Development, Public Health, or another relevant field is required.
A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. This is applicable to internal (FT, Continuing and Permanent) staff only.
- Work Experience: A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible relevant professional experience at the national and/or international level in supply chain management, logistics, procurement, market development, supplier engagement, localization, manufacturing ecosystem development, supply chain systems strengthening, or other directly related technical fields is required. Relevant experience in one or more of the following areas is required: (i) market assessments, supplier mapping, or supplier qualification; (ii) regional or local sourcing strategies, LTA-related work, or supplier development initiatives; (iii) supply chain systems strengthening, procurement capacity development, or related government-facing technical support; (iv) analysis and implementation of market-access, manufacturing, or localization-related opportunities.
- Skills: Experience linked to localization, market shaping, sustainable procurement, or regional manufacturing development is required. Relevant experience and understanding of development and humanitarian work is required.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.
Desirables:
- Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.
- Experience working with governments, Country Offices, Supply Division, development partners, private sector actors, SMEs, or regional institutions on supply-related matters is highly desirable.
- Experience supervising staff or coordinating distributed technical delivery across locations is an asset.
- 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
The 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
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people
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.
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.
