Re-advertisement: Risk and Compliance Manager, P-4, Fixed Term Position, ECAMENA Regional Office, ECAMENA-Office of the Regional Director, Istanbul, Türkiye #00136965 (Open to all UNICEF personnel)

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.

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in more than 190 countries and territories, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children. The UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2026–2029 is anchored in the organization’s mission to advance the realization of children’s rights and aims to accelerate progress for children and advance the full realization of their rights.

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 Office, the Risk Management function contributes to strengthened management effectiveness and efficiency by equipping Country Offices across the region with sustainable, integrated, and risk-informed systems that support delivery of results for children in complex and fast-changing contexts. The function serves as a core mechanism for protecting UNICEF’s ability to deliver results across a highly diverse region marked by elevated fiduciary, safeguarding, delivery, reputational, and operational risks. The function supports a broad regional portfolio across Country Offices and outposts and brings together key areas of programme and operations risk management, including enterprise risk management, implementing partnership management, HACT Framework implementation and financial assurance, safeguarding and PSEA related risk, environmental and social safeguards (ESS), compliance, internal control, audit follow-up, anti-fraud, performance monitoring, and broader assurance and governance support. In this context, the Regional Office is expected to strengthen the quality, consistency, and timeliness of risk identification, analysis, mitigation, escalation, and assurance across the region, while supporting Country Offices and regional management to take informed decisions in diverse development, humanitarian, transitional, and fragile settings.

Under the supervision of the Chief Risk Management (P-5), the Risk and Compliance Manager (P-4) leads the regional risk and compliance stream across the ECAMENA region. The post provides managerial and technical leadership on enterprise risk management, internal control, compliance oversight, peer reviews, audit follow-up, and related regional assurance processes, while supporting Country Offices and regional management to strengthen risk-informed governance and decision making across a highly diverse operating environment. The post supports the Chief Risk Management in ensuring that key management, operational, and programmatic risks are systematically identified, monitored, escalated, and addressed through practical and proportionate risk management approaches. The role includes oversight of quarterly and periodic risk analysis, support to high-risk and transitioning contexts, technical engagement on internal control and compliance issues, and direct supervision of the Programme Officer reporting to the stream in a cross-location arrangement. It also helps ensure that risk management practices are embedded in broader programme and operations processes and that Country Offices receive coherent, timely, and context-responsive support across the region.

1. Enterprise risk management and regional risk governance

2. Compliance, internal control, peer reviews, and audit support

3. Risk analysis, monitoring, reporting, and support to high-risk and transitioning contexts

4. Integrated risk coordination, ESS compliance support, and cross-functional engagement

5. Unit leadership, capacity strengthening, and knowledge management

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD - Risk and Compliance Manager_P4.pdf

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced university degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in one of the following fields is required: development studies, international development, business administration, financial management, economics, auditing, investigation, accounting, risk management, internal control, public administration, law, or another relevant field.
  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 eight (8) years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: risk management, compliance, internal control, audit, investigation support, quality assurance, programme or operations oversight, or another closely related area.
• Relevant experience should include:- enterprise risk management and risk mitigation follow-up- compliance monitoring, internal control strengthening, or assurance support- peer reviews, audits, donor reviews, or related oversight processes- analytical reporting, dashboards, or use of corporate systems for risk monitoring- support to management in complex programme and operational environment
• Experience supervising staff is required
• Skills: Compliance, Risk Management, Monitoring, Reporting, Leadership, Capacity Strengthening
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Experience in regional or multi-country technical support across a diverse portfolio of offices is highly desirable.
• Experience working in fragile, emergency, or transitional contexts is highly desirable.
• Experience in risk governance linked to programme implementation, implementing partnerships, HACT, safeguarding-related risks, or ESS-related compliance support is desirable.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency contexts is considered an asset. 
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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

(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.

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.

Advertised: 17 Aug 2026 GTB Daylight Time
Applications close: 24 Aug 2026 GTB Daylight Time

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