About this role
UNICEF Jamaica – Operations Specialist (Admin, Supply & Procurement)
Job no: 595276
Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment
Duty Station: Kingston
Level: NO-3
Location: Jamaica
Categories: Supply Management, Operations, Administration, Financial Management
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 empowerment
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?
Purpose of the Position:
Reporting to the Deputy Representative (Operations), P4, the incumbent supports oversight of procurement, supply chain, and logistics operations, helping ensure that governance frameworks, risk management systems, and performance monitoring mechanisms are in place and functioning effectively.
The Operations Specialist (Administration, Supply and Procurement) works under the Operational Support Working Group and serves as coordinator for the administration, procurement, supply, and logistics portfolio. The position supports the Deputy Representative (Operations) on strategic direction, governance, performance oversight, and continuous optimization of integrated operational services across twelve countries and territories, ensuring that service delivery is standardized, efficient, compliant, and fully aligned with programme priorities and organizational objectives.
The incumbent provides guidance to a geographically dispersed regional service platform, directly supervising Operations Associates (G6) and a Supply and Procurement Officer (NOA). Day-to-day operational execution is delegated to the associated teams, with the Operations Specialist providing guidance, quality assurance, and escalation support, particularly on complex, high-value, or high-risk operational matters, and referring matters requiring strategic decisions to the Deputy Representative (Operations).
Through this structure, the role supports the effective delivery and integration of administrative services; procurement and contracting; supply chain and logistics operations; travel and fleet services; premises and facilities management; asset and inventory control; and common operational services. The Operations Specialist implements and monitors compliance with service standards, operating procedures, performance frameworks, and internal control mechanisms, supporting clear accountability for results and effective stewardship of resources.
The incumbent works in close collaboration with the Finance Officer (NOA), Digital Impact/ICT Officer (NOA), and Risk and Compliance Officer (NOB) to support integrated operational planning and organizational effectiveness across the Caribbean MCO. The role contributes to strengthening operational performance, digital transformation, business continuity, and institutional accountability through a coordinated approach.
Working in close partnership with the Deputy Representative (Operations), the Operations Specialist supports the advancement of the One Office, One Operating Model by contributing to service integration, standardization, and value for money across the administration, procurement, supply, and logistics portfolio, helping ensure that operational systems remain fit-for-purpose and capable of supporting both programme delivery and humanitarian response across the Caribbean region.
Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:
- Portfolio Coordination and Operational Support
- Procurement, Supply Chain and Logistics Coordination
- Administrative and Operational Service Delivery
- Operational Performance Management and Business Transformation
- Coordination of the Operational Support Working Group
- Strategic Partnerships, Coordination and Organizational Effectiveness
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: NOC Operations Specialist (Admin, Supply & Procurement) Jamaica.pdf
To qualified as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
Education: An Advanced University Degree (Master’s and above) in one of the following areas is required: Business management; Financial management; Accounting; Public Finance; and related operations function (Supply Chain, Human Resourc