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 opportunity

UNICEF’s Caribbean Multi-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

Under the Area Representative with a dotted line with the Programme Coordination, three strategic shift working groups – Communication & Advocacy,  Partnerships, and Knowledge Management, Data Analytics & Evaluation – provide the enabling capacities required to deliver a more influential, partnership driven and evidence rich multi country programme. Together, they position the MCO to shape public debates, build and leverage high value partnerships, and systematically use data, evidence and learning to drive results for children across the 12 countries.

The Partnerships group drives the MCO’s partnership and resource-leveraging agenda, supporting the strategic shift towards positioning UNICEF as a partnership powerhouse in the Caribbean, with a primary strategic focus in public sector engagement and International Financial Institutions, including IDB, CAF, the Caribbean Development Bank, and the European Investment Bank. It develops and manages relationships with governments, multilateral banks, regional organizations, private-sector actors, including the philanthropic ecosystem, aligning financing, influence and capabilities around the three child-rights priorities and helping to unlock new, diversified resources for the multi-country programme.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Partnerships Specialist (Team Lead), the Senior Partnerships Associate provides administrative and operational support to the Partnerships Working Group in advancing UNICEF Caribbean's partnership and resource mobilization agenda across the 12-country Multi-Country Office (MCO).

The position contributes to the implementation of the MCO's strategic shift toward broader and more diverse partnerships for children, supporting engagement with governments, regional intergovernmental organizations (including CARICOM, OECS, CDEMA and CCCCC), international financial institutions (such as IDB, CAF, World Bank and Caribbean Development Bank), United Nations entities, private sector partners, National Committees and other development stakeholders.

The Senior Partnerships Associate, based in Barbados supports the coordination and monitoring of partnership initiatives, resource mobilization efforts, donor relations, knowledge management and partner stewardship activities. It will serve as a key coordination focal point for partnership processes and contributes to the effective positioning of UNICEF as a trusted partner for child rights, social policy, climate resilience, education, child protection and other priorities identified in the Multi-Country Programme Document (MCPD) 2027-2031.

Working closely with programme, communication, knowledge management and operations colleagues across the MCO, the Senior Partnerships Associate helps ensure timely partner engagement, quality partnership documentation, effective donor reporting and visibility, and systematic tracking of partnership opportunities and commitments. Through these functions, the position supports resource mobilization efforts, strengthens partner relations, and contributes to UNICEF's visibility and positioning across the Caribbean region.

This position belongs to the Public & Private Partnerships working group. If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: G7 Senior Partnership Associate Barbados.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Completion of secondary education is required, preferably supplemented by technical or university-level courses in international development, business administration, public administration, project management, communications, social sciences, or related fields.

Work Experience:

A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible administrative, programme support, partnership management, external relations or coordination-related experience is required.
Experience working with government institutions, international organizations, development agencies, NGO, UN agency, development partners or regional organizations, is highly desirable.
Experience supporting partnership development, resource mobilization, donor relations, stakeholder engagement, or coordination functions is desirable.
Experience in a similar role across geographically dispersed duty stations is an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chines, French, Russian or Spanish) or local language of the duty station is considered an asset.

Required Knowledge and Skills :

Good knowledge of partnership coordination, external relations and administrative support functions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messages to diverse audiences, build strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders across dispersed Duty Stations, and adapt quickly to new teams and changing contexts.
Strong research, information management and organizational skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain accurate records and tracking systems.
Ability to work effectively with people from diverse national and cultural backgrounds.
High attention to detail and accuracy.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint.

Desirable Knowledge and Skills :

Knowledge of UNICEF partnership and contribution management processes.
Familiarity with the United Nations system and development cooperation environment.
Knowledge of regional organizations and development partners relevant to the Caribbean.
Experience using UNICEF corporate systems and platforms

Capabilities Required:

Project Management (3)
Collaboration (3)
Problem Solving (3)
Digital Dexterity (3)

Desirables:

Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

Eligibility Requirement:

Applicants for positions in the General Service must be legally authorized to work in the duty station where the MCO position is located. 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.

Senior Partnerships Associate, GS7, FT, #138585, Bridgetown, Barbados, Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean