UNHCR Jobs 2026
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Explore current vacancies with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), including hiring locations, requirements, duties, salaries, grades, contracts, career insights and application links.
Updated daily
All UNHCR Jobs
Showing 1 of 1 active roles.
Popular UNHCR Job Searches
Common ways candidates explore UNHCR careers by opportunity type, location and field.
About UNHCR
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, protects people forced to flee conflict and persecution, people displaced inside their own countries and stateless people. It works with governments, communities and partners to provide protection and emergency assistance, safeguard rights and pursue durable solutions such as voluntary return, local inclusion, resettlement and complementary pathways. It also coordinates international action for refugees.
- Established
- 1950
- Global Workforce
- 17,400+
- Annual Budget
- USD 8.505bn (2026)
- Global Presence
- 128 countries and territories (2026 planning)
UNHCR Hiring Locations
Countries with active UNHCR vacancies right now.
Working with UNHCR
Work at UNHCR is organized around protection. The agency’s mandate is legal, humanitarian and practical at once: helping people who have been forced to flee access safety, documentation, essential services and solutions, while working with states that retain primary responsibility for protection. That creates careers far beyond refugee-status work. Protection officers, community-based protection colleagues, registration and identity specialists, shelter and settlement teams, cash experts, supply and programme officers.
Why Work at UNHCR?
Put protection principles into practice
Help displaced and stateless people access safety, rights, services and solutions.
Combine emergency response with solutions
Support immediate assistance while advancing inclusion, voluntary return and resettlement pathways.
Build a field-centred humanitarian career
Work alongside communities, authorities and partners across diverse operational contexts worldwide.
How to Apply for UNHCR Jobs
Once you find a suitable UNHCR vacancy on IGO Jobs or the UNHCR careers page, submit your application through UNHCR's official recruitment portal. Below is a guide on how to apply.
Official UNHCR application route ↗1Check the vacancy category, location and mandatory eligibility
Read the job description before registering. Confirm the contract category, grade, education, work experience, language and nationality requirements, especially for International Professional, National Professional and General Service posts. UNHCR highlights that international staff normally do not serve in International Professional posts in their country of nationality.
2Register and create a complete profile in UNHCR’s recruitment platform
For fixed-term, temporary, consultancy, General Service, National Professional, internship and evergreen-talent-pool roles, register in UNHCR’s online recruitment platform, which uses Workday. The account saves your profile for later applications, but applications submitted by email are not reviewed.
3Select the exact requisition or talent-pool profile and apply in English
Open the job title, select Apply at the top of the posting and complete the application in English. You can choose either an advertised post or an evergreen requisition. Save a draft regularly; UNHCR accepts only fully completed applications submitted before the stated closing date.
4Present your skills, experience and motivation in the profile
Record work history, education, languages, skills and motivation so they respond directly to the description. UNHCR asks candidates to highlight relevant experience and tailor their letter of interest. At this early stage, do not send copies of qualifications or employment contracts unless the notice specifically asks for them.
5Submit, keep the system confirmation and wait for shortlisted contact
Check mandatory fields and submit through the platform. The system sends a notification after submission; only shortlisted candidates are contacted. Use the technical-support route published by UNHCR if the platform prevents completion rather than sending a duplicate application by email.
6Prepare for assessments, competency interviews and clearances
Candidates passing eligibility screening may complete language or functional assessments and then a competency-based interview. Final recruitment includes verification of education and work experience and other clearances before an official offer is issued. Prepare examples of past behaviour, because UNHCR uses them to assess future performance.
Recruitment safety: No. UNHCR states it charges no fee for application, interview, travel, processing or training. Treat any request for payment as a warning sign and verify vacancies directly on the official recruitment platform. A genuine successful candidate receives an official offer from UNHCR after the relevant assessment, verification and clearance stages.
UNHCR Market Insights
Current vacancy activity and the career areas represented across active UNHCR listings.
Active jobs
28
Added this month
28
+28 vs last monthTypical posting age
9 days
Most active month
August
Least active month
August
Most active duty station
Bangkok
Based on IGO Jobs internal index data. See methodology and sources.
Top Job Functions
Top Grades
Top Contract Types
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Frequently asked questions about UNHCR careers
Where do I apply for UNHCR jobs?+
Apply through UNHCR’s online recruitment platform, accessed from the official careers site; it is used for most fixed-term, temporary, consultancy, national, general-service, internship and evergreen roles. UNHCR says that emailed CVs and application requests are not reviewed. JPO and UN Volunteer opportunities follow their own dedicated official routes.
Do I need to submit documents with my UNHCR application?+
Complete the online Workday profile carefully, including your experience, education, skills, languages and motivation. UNHCR states that candidates do not need to send copies of qualifications, employment contracts or academic documents at the initial stage unless a specific vacancy asks for them. Keep evidence ready because verification occurs later in the process.
Can I apply for an International Professional post in my home country?+
Usually not. UNHCR says that staff members do not normally serve in International Professional positions in their country of nationality and that a first internationally recruited appointment must be outside that country. Check every announcement carefully: National Professional and General Service vacancies follow different local eligibility rules and may expressly require nationality or residency.
What does UNHCR assess after shortlisting?+
UNHCR first screens for education, relevant experience, qualifications, language needs, diversity and gender. Candidates who progress may complete language or functional assessments and a competency-based interview. The agency explains that interviewers look at past behaviour and experience as evidence of how a candidate may respond in similar future situations.
Does UNHCR charge applicants a fee?+
No. UNHCR states it charges no fee for application, interview, travel, processing or training. Treat any request for payment as a warning sign and verify vacancies directly on the official recruitment platform. A genuine successful candidate receives an official offer from UNHCR after the relevant assessment, verification and clearance stages.