UNICEF

UNICEF is the United Nations agency for children, created in 1946 and now working in more than 190 countries on child health, nutrition, immunisation, education, water and sanitation, child protection, and social policy. It is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from governments and private donors rather than assessed UN dues, and it has run a country programme in Nepal since 1964, one of the longest continuous UN presences in the country. The Nepal office sits in the UN House in Pulchowk, Lalitpur, with field offices in provincial hubs such as Nepalgunj, Biratnagar, Dhangadhi, and Bharatpur, and its work is organised around multi-year Country Programme Documents agreed with the government.

For Nepalese professionals, UNICEF Nepal is one of the largest UN employers in the country and the bulk of its roles are national. Programme positions include officers and specialists in health, nutrition, immunisation and cold chain, WASH, education, child protection, social policy, and emergency preparedness, along with monitoring and evaluation, communication for development (social and behaviour change), advocacy and partnerships, and information management and data. Operations roles cover finance, HR, procurement and supply, admin, and ICT. Provincial field offices hire the same profiles at lower grades and are the more accessible entry point for candidates outside Kathmandu.

Hiring runs on the UN grading system. National Officer (NO-A to NO-D) posts and General Service (GS) posts are open to Nepalese nationals, with NO roles requiring a master's and typically two to eight years of experience depending on grade. International Professional (P) posts are recruited globally and Nepalese candidates can apply but rarely serve in their home country. Beyond fixed-term staff, UNICEF uses temporary appointments, individual consultancies, and UN Volunteer assignments heavily, and these are the realistic first step for most people. Pay for national staff follows the UN local salary scale, which is among the highest in the Nepal development market, with benefits (pension, medical, dependency allowance) that most INGOs cannot match.