What it does: UNICEF Canada builds awareness, fundraises, and works with Canadians to improve the lives of vulnerable children.
Mission: UNICEF Canada’s mission is to help Canadians invest sustainably in every vulnerable child.
Size and Presence: It operates with over 250 employees spread across its leadership team and board of directors in its Toronto office. The organization also provides ambassadorial and volunteer opportunities to individuals and families.
Best Known For: UNICEF Canada is popular for its role in improving the economic condition of children, offering them access to clean water, protecting children, and offering them quality education.
The good bits: It offers an exciting career filled with travel opportunities, interesting roles, and meaningful work for society.
The not-so-good bits: To meet donation targets, employees at UNICEF Canada are subject to long working hours, burnout, and unpredictable shifts.
On 11th December 1946, UNICEF came into existence in the aftermath of the Second World War. In a world ridden with strife and destruction, UNICEF aimed to give every child the chance of a good life.
Until 1953, UNICEF was identified as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund as it looked to meet the urgent needs of children after World War II.
Across over 100 countries, UNICEF works tirelessly to defend Child rights, protect them, keep them healthy, and educate them to fulfil their potential. Thanks to its noble objectives, UNICEF began its global expansion. In 1955, UNICEF Canada was established and became one of the 34 national communities.
Over the years, UNICEF Canada’s mission gained clarity. They looked to harness the financial capability of Canadians to advance the rights of children and youth. UNICEF Canada partners with the government, NGOs, and private businesses to meet the needs of children worldwide.
UNICEF Canada embraces a culture of leadership that holds every employee accountable for results that prioritize the outcome for children. UNICEF works with a high degree of self-awareness and believes in strategic planning, effectiveness, and collaboration. Core values of care, respect, integrity, trust and accountability guide UNICEF Canada and ensure that they remain true to their mission.
To meet every child at their level of convenience, UNICEF Canada relies on a culture of diversity. They believe that their wealth of diverse backgrounds makes them strong and is the driving force behind their growth.
As a truly global organization, UNICEF Canada works with diversity and inclusion that helps them incorporate the best operational practices to enhance innovation. They believe that to retain their delivery results that cater for children, they must engage in productive partnerships. Hence, they provide the platform for graduates and interns in diverse cultural heritages to thrive and work to their strengths.
In a world with diverse beliefs and approaches to work, UNICEF focuses on giving graduates and interns an atmosphere that propels them to professional growth and a life of impact. Graduates and interns can expect a colourful environment fostered and geared by a general desire to impact lives daily.
UNICEF’s most important resource is its people. They hire talented graduates, interns, and volunteers that align with their values. Their commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion means they prioritize every application. The recruitment process at UNICEF is straightforward, giving every graduate and intern an equal chance at employment. Recruitment at the organization involves the following;
Vacancy Search - prospective graduate and internship employees at UNICEF can identify vacant positions through a routine search of the company’s career website. When there are no vacancies, graduates and interns can set job alerts. This way, they remain notified of vacancies.
Self-assessment - When graduates and internship candidates identify suiting roles, they are required to undertake self-assessments to help them identify their skills and how well they align with their potential roles
Application - after self-assessment, graduates and interns applicants can proceed to submit tailored applications. For most UNICEF jobs, applicants need to submit an online recruitment profile, a CV/Resume, and Cover Letter
Shortlisting - After receiving all applications, UNICEF’s hiring team narrows down their choice of candidates. They begin to identify candidates that meet the minimum requirement for roles.
Assessment - Shortlisted candidates are then required to undergo assessment techniques based on business needs, and the required proficiencies for each role.
Outcome Notification - Each role commands varying lengths of the recruitment process. The entire process can take days, weeks or months.
Candidates that are shortlisted and participate in assessments will be notified of the outcome by the respective office.
From volunteering to internships and full-time roles, UNICEF offers a career laden with opportunities and growth potential. Volunteer roles at UNICEF give undergraduates and graduate the unique opportunity to broaden their skills and enrich their careers. They place potential volunteers through the UNV Program to equip them with the skills they need for community service.
UNICEF also offers career development opportunities with Internships that give students and young graduates first-hand experience in the humanitarian sector. The hands-on experience students gain helps support the academic, professional, and personal development of interns,
The Junior Professional Officer Programme also allows young graduates to gain hands-on experience. On average, one in two Junior Professional Officers continues with UNICEF as regular staff at the organization. Throughout the Junior Professional Programme, young graduates gain exposure to online learning, mentorships, career counselling, and career transitioning programs to help them get the best out of their time at the organization.
Graduate opportunities at UNICEF also expose graduates and interns to professional and personal growth. They advocate for work and learning flexibility as they combine a depth of knowledge with practical experience to give each employee the best room for growth.
Graduate employees at UNICEF enjoy;
The Agora platform and Lynda.com helps UNICEF employees get the best out of their time with the company.
The average Intern salary at UNICEF is around CA $35,000 to CA $45,000 per year. Administrative Assistants at UNICEF earn around CA $36,000 to CA $48,000 per year. Volunteers at UNICEF earn around CA $35,000 to CA $50,000 annually. UNICEF pays its Research Assistants between CA $35,000 to CA $53,000 per year. Legal Administrative Assistants at UNICEF are paid between CA $42,000 to CA $48,000 per year.
UNICEF Canada provides protection programs that give every child a chance to have a positive life. Programs like cash transfers, health insurance, and education subsidies give children easy access to all the basic amenities.
UNICEF Canada integrates communal contributions to children’s lives into companies' social responsibilities and sustainability plans. They work with the government to create an enabling atmosphere to help businesses deliver on their promises to put the children first.
UNICEF Canada also collaborates with organizations Sherrit, PAN American Silver, and Lundin Foundation to directly influence causes that cater for children around the world.
UNICEF Canada over the years has had to rely on partnerships with companies that support their cause. In 2010, UNICEF Canada partnered with Cadbury Adams Canada Inc., in raising $500,000 to build schools in Africa.
While the intentions behind this partnership seemed noble, UNICEF Canada has come under criticism for helping companies “feel good” about some of the negative results their products cause.
Health experts believe that UNICEF Canada made a wrong decision by partnering with a company that makes high-calorie sweets with little nutritional benefits while they advocate for proper nutrition in developing countries.