About UNICEF UK
What is UNICEF UK?
UNICEF UK — the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF — is a children's charity. In its own words, its people "raise funds to help change and save the lives of children in 190 countries around the world," and "lobby and campaign to ensure children are kept safe and their rights are upheld." It is "a UK charity, entirely funded by supporters" (Registered charity 1072612 in England and Wales, SC043677 in Scotland).
Its work spans fundraising and supporter engagement, programmes and advocacy, communications and campaigns, and the Baby Friendly Initiative, which works with the UK health system to improve care for babies and families. The organisation's culture is anchored in a set of shared commitments: Putting Children First, Finding Solutions, Mutual Trust and Respect, Inclusion and Belonging, Compassion, and Collaboration.
Where will I work?
Hybrid, from UNICEF UK's "bright, open-plan office in Stratford, East London," which has "quiet, collaborative and agile working spaces." The organisation runs a hybrid model — its careers page describes "expecting colleagues to come to the office on average two days per week," with its benefits page framing the office expectation as a "minimum of 1 day a week on average." Most roles are London-based with home-working built in.
What is the UNICEF UK team like?
Around 400 staff across fundraising, programmes, advocacy and campaigns, communications, the Baby Friendly Initiative, finance and operations. It is a values-led charity workforce, and recent vacancies — for example a Procurement Lead (£63,000) and a Head of Finance Business Partnering (£75,000) — show the mix of professional and specialist roles behind the fundraising and campaigning work. Hiring runs through the Applied platform.
Work-Life Balance
UNICEF UK has a flexible-working policy "that allows for staggered and compressed hours, working from home, and more," with compressed hours offered as an opt-in arrangement. Annual leave is generous — "25 working days of leave, increasing to 30 days with service" — and colleagues can "buy or sell up to 5 days," "carry across up to 5 days," and "flex four bank holidays to take at any time." Family support is substantial, including "52 weeks of Early Moments Leave" covering maternity, adoption and paternity.
Perks and Benefits
- Flexible and compressed hours plus hybrid working from the Stratford office.
- 25 days' annual leave rising to 30 with service, with buy/sell and carry-over and flexible bank holidays.
- Pension — auto-enrolment after three months, with flexible contributions.
- Income protection and life cover (50% of salary for up to 5 years) plus critical illness cover and a health cash plan.
- 52 weeks of Early Moments Leave (maternity, adoption, paternity) and antenatal classes.
- Wellbeing — a 24/7 counselling helpline (up to 12 sessions), menopause support and adult-carer support.
- Discount cards across 6,000+ retailers, discounted gym access, a Cyclescheme and a free will service.