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 commitment

UNICEF’s Caribbean Mult-Country Office (MCO) serves twelve English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. As part of UNICEF's Future Focus Initiative, the Caribbean MCO brings together policy influence, technical expertise and strategic partnerships to advance results for children across the region through one integrated programme, one management structure and a shared pool of resources. The Multi-Country Programme 2027-2031 focuses on three shared outcomes: equitable access to primary health care, learning and skills; protection of children from all forms of violence; and child poverty reduction and resilience strengthening.

Children across the Caribbean face interconnected challenges including learning losses, mental health concerns, violence, child poverty and increasing exposure to climate-related disasters. Despite many countries being classified as upper-middle or high income, significant inequalities persist, particularly for vulnerable children, adolescents, indigenous communities and those living in remote areas. Small island developing states also face fiscal constraints and heightened vulnerability to economic and climate shocks, requiring stronger regional cooperation and system-based solutions.

The Caribbean MCO’s management strategy is governed by four principles that together translate the new business model into concrete ways of working:

Impact-driven: technical expertise is organized in shared multi-country working groups rather than replicated in each country, with enabling functions aligned around UNICEF’s strongest comparative advantages.
Effective and agile: parallel country ecosystems are replaced by harmonized systems and flexible cross-country staffing, keeping management lean and decisions close to implementation.
Grounded: regional scale is balanced with national depth through country-specific workplans, Heads of Office in each duty station, and matrix management that anchors authority and accountability at country level.
People-centered: structural and managerial choices are guided by staff wellbeing, transparency and inclusion, with clear role definitions, meaningful consultation, and continuous investment in learning and development.

The operational expression of this model is the working group model. Rather than replicating similar roles across four separate country offices, technical and operational expertise is organized into 16 thematic and functional working groups, each distributed across different duty stations and each serving the full 12-country MCO — not just its host location. Roles are designed around three organizing principles: shared regional service, meaning every specialist contributes to the wider MCO; complementary expertise, meaning team capabilities reinforce each other rather than repeating the same profile in multiple places; and agile presence, meaning the workforce can be rapidly deployed across countries through travel, surge support or remote modalities in line with evolving needs and priorities. This working group model is the foundation of a fundamentally new way of working for UNICEF in the Caribbean: depth replaces duplication, and shared capacity replaces fragmented country-by-country coverage.

How can you make a difference?

The Supply and Procurement Officer supports the effective, efficient and compliant delivery of procurement, supply chain and logistics services across the UNICEF Caribbean Multi-Country Office (MCO). The role provides technical analysis and support to strengthen procurement governance, supply chain performance, operational effectiveness, emergency preparedness and organizational accountability in a complex multi-country Small Island Developing States (SIDS) environment.

Based in Barbados, the incumbent also assist in the preparation of submissions to the Contracts Review Committee (CRC). In this capacity, the post supports procurement governance, compliance, transparency and accountability across the MCO.

The post provides routine technical support on supply procedures to programme teams, operations colleagues and implementing partners across twelve programme countries and territories, contributing to procurement, supply chain and logistics systems, compliance and service delivery throughout the MCO.

Key functions of the Supply & Procurement Officer:

Supply Planning and Coordination Support
Procurement and Contracting Support
Logistics and Inventory Management Support
Emergency Supply and Logistics Preparedness Support
Supply Chain Monitoring and Compliance Support
Technical Support, Capacity Development and Coordination

This position belongs to the Operations Management working group. If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File NOA Supply and Procurement Barbados.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:
A university degree is required in Business Administration, Management, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Procurement, Contract/Commercial Law, International Development, Health or related social science field.

Work Experience:

A minimum of one year of relevant experience, at the national and international levels, in supply, logistics, procurement, contracting, administration and/or other directly related technical fields is required. Understanding of development and humanitarian work.
Emergency experience is an advantage.

Language Requirements:
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Required Skills:

Good analytical skill and negotiating skills.
Ability to manage and monitor the effective use of financial and material resources.
Ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious working relationships, both within and outside the organisation.
Fast learner, adapts and responds to change, tolerates ambiguity.
Basic knowledge of latest developments and technology in supply chain management.
Basic understanding of supply chain processes, from programme needs assessment, through planning, procurement and contracting, logistics and delivery, monitoring and evaluation.
Basic knowledge and understanding of UNICEF programmes, public procurement principles, financial and legal aspects of supply chain issues, ethics and risk management of supply chain operations.

Desirables:

Ability to clearly and concisely express ideas and concepts in written and oral form is an asset.
Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

Eligibility Requirements:

Candidates applying for National Officer positions must hold the nationality of the duty station country where the position is located, except for UNICEF internal candidates, holding a fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointment and are legally authorized to work in that country, independently of UNICEF appointment, and as per the UNICEF Staff Selection Procedure.

UNICEF internal candidates must hold and upload a valid CARICOM Skills Certificate when applying to positions located in a CARICOM Member State outside of their country of nationality and are accountable for taking the respective steps for the verification of the certificate in the Duty Station, immediately upon arrival to the new Duty Station if selected for the position, in accordance with applicable immigration and employment requirements of the respective Country.

Note: While the Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean serves 12 English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries, the selected candidate will be based in the duty station indicated for this position and is expected to perform their duties from that location, consistent with organizational policies and operational requirements.

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

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 are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service

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, candidates that meet all the requirements and are legally allowed to work in the respective DS 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.

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.

UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

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.

Supply & Procurement Officer, NOA, FT, #138580, Bridgetown, Barbados, Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean