Special Representative, D-2, East Jerusalem, State of Palestine (SSRRE 2025-2026)

The Special Representative serves as the representative of UNICEF in the State of Palestine and reports to the Regional Director for general direction and oversight. The Special Representative is responsible for establishing dialogue with the Palestinian Government to develop and implement the framework of cooperation in the State of Palestine as part of the Area Programme Document (APD) for Palestinian children and for working closely and collaboratively with the Government and national institutions, stakeholders and partners, to develop the Government-UNICEF APD in active support of efforts to advance children’s rights as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other international treaties/frameworks, the SDGs, and UN intergovernmental bodies. The Special Representative is also responsible for leading engagement with the Israeli Government who – due to the occupation context and protracted conflict – has responsibilities towards children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As Head of a large-size Office, the Special Representative is responsible for providing leadership and vision to the UNICEF Office in the State of Palestine team, which is now split into three locations and managing and leveraging resources for the achievement of results and realization of the rights of children. The Special Representative leads and oversees the various programme sectors and operations teams ensuring delivery of quality results in accordance with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework, ethics and integrity. The Special Representative is accountable for upholding UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability, and ensuring the establishment and maintenance of a non-discriminatory, inclusive and nurturing working environment for all staff and personnel, to enable them to effectively and efficiently deliver high-quality results for children.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfil their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.  

And we never give up. 

For every child, dedication.

The Special Representative serves as the representative of UNICEF in the State of Palestine and reports to the Regional Director for general direction and oversight. The Special Representative is responsible for establishing dialogue with the Palestinian Government to develop and implement the framework of cooperation in the State of Palestine as part of the Area Programme Document (APD) for Palestinian children and for working closely and collaboratively with the Government and national institutions, stakeholders and partners, to develop the Government-UNICEF APD in active support of efforts to advance children’s rights as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other international treaties/frameworks, the SDGs, and UN intergovernmental bodies. The Special Representative is also responsible for leading engagement with the Israeli Government who – due to the occupation context and protracted conflict – has responsibilities towards children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

As Head of a large-size Office, the Special Representative is responsible for providing leadership and vision to the UNICEF Office in the State of Palestine team, which is now split into three locations and managing and leveraging resources for the achievement of results and realization of the rights of children. The Special Representative leads and oversees the various programme sectors and operations teams ensuring delivery of quality results in accordance with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework, ethics and integrity. The Special Representative is accountable for upholding UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability, and ensuring the establishment and maintenance of a non-discriminatory, inclusive and nurturing working environment for all staff and personnel, to enable them to effectively and efficiently deliver high-quality results for children.

How can you make a difference?

The Special Representative’s key functions and accountabilities include:

• Developing and planning the Area Programme Document
• Leading and managing the State of Palestine Office to ensure value for money
• Monitoring and quality control of the APD
• Representation and external relations at global/regional and national level

• Delivering high quality results for children, including in a complex operating environment 
• Support to the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UN Country Team/Humanitarian Country Team to advance the UN Cooperation Framework and the Humanitarian Response Plan
• Leading resource mobilization efforts and nurturing and strengthening partnerships 

• Leading innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
• Safety, security and wellbeing of staff, programs and organizational assets

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

Qualifications:

• An Advanced University Degree in social sciences, international relations, government and public relations, public or social policy, sociology, social or community development or other related fields, is required.
• A minimum of 15 years of professional development experience that combines intellectual and managerial leadership in development cooperation at the international level, some of which served in developing countries is required. Relevant professional experience in any UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Experience working in complex and high threat environments is required, as is knowledge of both humanitarian and development action and a good command of international law and human rights.
• Oral and written proficiency in English is required. Fluency in Arabic is highly desirable. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

Person Profile:

Previous experience as a Representative with excellent people skills and in-depth knowledge of humanitarian affairs. You should have the capacity to work at a senior level, manage a  large office in a war setting for Gaza and in the West Bank classified as middle/high income setting. You should excel in working in complex political settings and sensitive negotiations. In particular, the individual must have:

• Excellent representational and communication skills with judgment and capacity to ensure both "soft diplomacy" and advocacy in a humanitarian context with rights violations.
• Ability to lead programme implementation with an ongoing war, therefore the ability to shift gears quickly is non -negotiable.
• Combined political savviness, tact and assertiveness to face unexpected challenges due to a sensitive, unstable and unpredictable political environment.
• Capacity to manage relations and strategize with counterparts requiring sound professional knowledge of UNICEF issues/priorities.
• Proven ability to negotiate with diverse and influential actors including non-state actors.
• Sound programmatic knowledge of development and humanitarian contexts to provide visibility for UNICEF programs and achieve results for children, with focus on equity and gender issues.
• Excellent networking, partnership, fundraising and capacity building skills; with strong team spirit to provide leadership for children with key stakeholders and the United Nations Country Team and Humanitarian Country Team including within a wider context of a political, human rights and political mission presence of the UN.
• You should be a strong leader willing to dedicate time and attention to managing staff in particular providing support to staff well-being in extreme circumstances that include the war in the Gaza Strip and access and movement restrictions in the West Bank, meaning that many colleagues are unable to exit Gaza and are often exposed to violent and sudden conflict escalations as well as the occupation and conflict in West Bank which means colleagues and their families are exposed to movement restrictions, flare ups in violence and insecurity. 
• In addition, you should be dynamic, with solid managerial, operational and team building skills and the capacity to lead and motivate a diverse team of international and national staff in an unstable/insecure and protracted humanitarian crisis. A strong background and knowledge of risk and security assessments as well as emergency preparedness is required.

Country Typology:

• Income Level: Middle income setting for the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and extremely poor for Gaza.
• Duty Station: East Jerusalem, State of Palestine is a “B”, family duty station.
• Office Size: fluctuates between 150 to 200, with about 30 IP
• Annual Budget: USD $250 to 300 million
• Schooling: There is a French Lycée as well as an IB School (the Anglican International School of Jerusalem) and an American School

Brief country context:

Situation of children

Before the events of the 7 October 2023, significant progress had been achieved in State of Palestine with regards to child rights over the last decades. This is evidenced in relatively positive indicators with regards almost universal immunization for example, a 94% enrolment rate in primary education, and U5 mortality of 22 per 1,000 live births. However, this hides significant pockets of inequality and vulnerability among Palestine’s 2.3 million children, as well as troubling indicators regarding protection.  

Since the last quarter of 2023 and until today, the situation is be catastrophic for children and their families in the State of Palestine, especially in the Gaza strip. Risk of famine conditions was heightened, and over 90 per cent of the population in the Gaza Strip faced high levels of acute food insecurity, with all children under five – an estimated 335,000 children – projected to be at high risk of malnutrition and preventable deaths. In the Gaza Strip, basic services such as health and education were highly impacted with many hospitals going out of service and schools totally destroyed. Lack of power supply, fuel shortages, and restricted access continued to hamper the provision of critical WASH services for the affected population.   Grave violations of child rights are recorded across the board at an unparalleled scale.

By the end of 2023, 3.1 million people were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance, with 2.2 million persons in the Gaza Strip alone, of whom 1 million were children. The situation in the West Bank is equally challenging for children.  

In terms of vulnerable groups, youth are particularly at risk. 1 of 4 boys over 15 is out of school, youth unemployment is over 60% in Gaza, and 1 in 3 young people (15 to 29) are neither employed nor enrolled in school or training. Children living with disabilities are also particularly at risk. Over 6 % of them don’t ever go to school. They tend to be isolated and have little access to services.

In 2023, the UN signed a new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-2025 with a vision to improve Palestinians’ opportunities to prosper and realize their potential and human rights. UNICEF aligned the new Area Programme Document (APD) to the UNSDCF, and the new UNICEF programme started on 1 March 2023 after Executive Board approval. A large-scale humanitarian operation is presently under implementation by UNICEF in the Gaza strip.

Living and working conditions

• This area has high security concerns – Jerusalem (Low to Moderate), West Bank (Moderate to High) and the Gaza Strip (Very High and non-family duty station), with limited mobility in country. Movement of national staff is severely restricted by a complicated permit regime and with military control at checkpoints and crossings causing significant delays and security concerns.
• Successful candidate must have patience and perseverance to cope with and lead national staff living and working in a restrictive and highly sensitive environment, and international staff in Gaza living and working in a war zone.. The main office is located in East Jerusalem.
• Although it is considered a “B” duty station, living in East Jerusalem means being exposed to the tensions associated to the conflict on a regular basis. Dependents can move around the city in relative safety but will experience some of the tensions and periodic peaks of violence could lead to movement restrictions.

For every child, you demonstrate…

Core Values  

• Commitment 
• Respect 
• Integrity 
• Trust 
• Accountability 
• Sustainability 

Competencies 

• Builds and maintains partnerships 
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness 
• Drive to achieve results for impact 
• Innovates and embraces change 
• Manages ambiguity and complexity 
• Thinks and acts strategically 
• Works collaboratively with others 
• Nurtures, leads and manages people 

To view our competency framework, please visit here. 

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This position is classified as “rotational” which means the incumbent is expected to rotate to another duty station upon completion of their tour of duty.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.