Editor's Note: This bulletin presents much more of the details on post changes which we first reported a few days ago.
Subject: Future Focus Initiative, Bulletin #2
Dear Colleagues,
As part of the on-going efforts to keep you informed on developments in the Future Focus Initiative (FFI), I am pleased to share with you this FFI Bulletin #2. As mentioned previously, it is important that we share a common understanding and remain united by a common narrative around the profound transformation through which the Organization is going. Therefore, please keep sending me feedback so that we can continue to inform you in the best way possible.
Let me begin by acknowledging the amazing work that continues for children even as our organization undergoes profound changes. This generates huge respect and admiration across UNICEF and beyond, and you definitely have mine.
I know it’s not easy and that the prospect of leaving or changing jobs, packing up homes, saying goodbye to colleagues and friends, and managing family responsibilities throughout, is difficult and stressful. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones as we go through this change together. Don’t hesitate to call on our People and Culture (P&C) colleagues who can support you. In that regard, Arisha Gurung from UNICEF South Asia’s P&C team has penned some thoughtful reflections this week on ICON. You can read her article here.
As the FFI has now moved to full implementation mode along the 6 main workstreams, the aim of this Bulletin #2 is to provide an update on the Centers of Excellence (CoEs) and the final relocation decisions, two areas about which we’ve received a lot of questions recently. In addition, it also addresses the requests for clarification on Bulletin #1. Many thanks for those.
To date, 600+ positions have been advertised through the Global Ring-fenced Recruitment Exercise (GRRE). Out of these, 233 have been advertised in Regional and Country Offices, and 31 in L2/L3 duty stations - namely in Afghanistan, DRC, Haiti, Mali, Myanmar, Ukraine and Yemen.
Recruitment for the CoEs, through the GRRE, remains a priority. To date, 240+ posts for the CoEs have been advertised; of these, 140+ are with panels in the Concise Review stage; and the first recommendations have been submitted to the Governance Body for endorsement. You can view all GRRE posts that have been advertised, along with their status, on this dashboard.
The CoEs are strategically designed to strengthen our capacity to provide technical programme expertise mainly to governments, Country Offices and Regional Offices in four time zones: Bangkok, Nairobi, Panama City, and Amman. They will provide technical assistance on policy reform, legal reform, public financing, work-force development and institutional building, equity and demand generation, and resilient development – across sectors and adapted for diverse country contexts.
It is expected that most recruitments for the CoEs will be finalized by the end of the year, and they will be operational in January 2026. Of course, there will be a transition during which time some colleagues will be in CoE locations and others not until they are able to move – no later than June 2026. We will need to adapt during this transition phase to ensure that requests for technical assistance are met in a timely manner and with quality.
Organograms for the CoEs have been posted on the FFI SharePoint and you can find them here.
The Executive Director approved the October 2025 Global PBR recommendations which included the proposed structural changes to DFAM as well as the Brussels, Budapest, Geneva, Istanbul, New York, Panama City and Valencia Common Service Centres (CSC). The Implementation Task Team on Global Shared Services and Common Services presented to the PBR the Common Services Harmonized Framework which provides an overview of the overall approach for the CSC submissions. The Implementation Task Team on Country Typologies and Multi Country Offices presented the CO Typologies and MCO Framework for information. The proposed MCO for Sri Lanka and Maldives was also presented by the ROSA Regional Director to the PBR for information. Additional details are available in the updated PBR Information Note.
On relocations, and following DED Hannan’s email to the Global Management Team, I am pleased to share the final decisions on relocating divisions/offices outside New York and Geneva. I am aware that there was some frustration with the delay of this decision. This was because, following the PBRs, additional consultations were held to assess the effectiveness, cost efficiency and readiness of some locations, including formalizing with host countries our presence in existing or new UNICEF locations and assessing new office sites, such as Rome.
Under the FFI, the objective was that approximately 70% of posts would relocate from New York and Geneva. The final relocations are as follows:
· PFP: 95% of posts relocated with the majority in Rome.
· DAPM:100% of posts will be relocated to Florence in line with the consolidation of DAPM and GoRAF as the new Office of Strategy and Evidence.
· DPC: 89% of posts relocated with the majority in Budapest and Istanbul.
· DGCA: 75% of posts relocated with the majority in Rome and Valencia.
· Evaluation Office: 100% of posts to be relocated to Rome.
· EMOPS: 59% of posts relocated with the majority in Rome.
· OIAI: 63% of posts relocated to Budapest and Nairobi.
· PPD: 68% of posts relocated with the majority in Brussels and Washington, D.C.
· PG: 76% of remaining non-CoE posts relocated with the majority in Nairobi and Amman.
· Legal Team/OED: 33% of posts relocated with the majority in Brussels and Rome.
· Ethics Office: 40% of posts relocated to Istanbul.
· DFAM: 58% of posts relocated to Brussels in line with functional needs.
Most of the above divisions/offices also have a small number of posts outposted to other locations based on functional need.
The estimated financial savings from the above relocation are over USD 42 million in core resources for the quadrennium. Further savings are expected from Other Resources and will be quantified once the PBR data analysis is finalized. These savings are contingent on the timeframe of the relocations.
UNICEF's largest combined FT contracts presence, as of 2026, will be Nairobi, followed by Budapest, Copenhagen, New York, Amman, Rome, and Bangkok.
Lastly, some of you sought greater clarity on a couple of points from the last bulletin. Thank you for asking. So, let me try to clarify those.
Regarding the positions abolished/established, the changes per category are based on the number of positions abolished (3903) + positions that have a limited duration during the quadrennium (54). This gives the total % of positions abolished which, combined with the number of positions newly established, (1621) leads to the % of net reduction. Please note that these figures have since been updated and the new figures are as follows:
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Let me close by thanking everyone involved in this massive task for their efforts to implement the organizational restructuring, so that we continue to function within the anticipated resources we will have, establish new ways of working, and continue to deliver for every child, everywhere. That noble mission must remain our north star.
I look forward to joining you at tomorrow’s Global Conversation with our DEDs, Gisela and Magassa, where we will update you on the FFI including the recent PBRs, relocation decisions and the global ringfencing recruitment exercise.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please share them. I will respond and keep you informed as best I can.
Kind regards,
Subject: Future Focus Initiative, Bulletin #2
Dear Colleagues,
As part of the on-going efforts to keep you informed on developments in the Future Focus Initiative (FFI), I am pleased to share with you this FFI Bulletin #2. As mentioned previously, it is important that we share a common understanding and remain united by a common narrative around the profound transformation through which the Organization is going. Therefore, please keep sending me feedback so that we can continue to inform you in the best way possible.
Let me begin by acknowledging the amazing work that continues for children even as our organization undergoes profound changes. This generates huge respect and admiration across UNICEF and beyond, and you definitely have mine.
I know it’s not easy and that the prospect of leaving or changing jobs, packing up homes, saying goodbye to colleagues and friends, and managing family responsibilities throughout, is difficult and stressful. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones as we go through this change together. Don’t hesitate to call on our People and Culture (P&C) colleagues who can support you. In that regard, Arisha Gurung from UNICEF South Asia’s P&C team has penned some thoughtful reflections this week on ICON. You can read her article here.
As the FFI has now moved to full implementation mode along the 6 main workstreams, the aim of this Bulletin #2 is to provide an update on the Centers of Excellence (CoEs) and the final relocation decisions, two areas about which we’ve received a lot of questions recently. In addition, it also addresses the requests for clarification on Bulletin #1. Many thanks for those.
To date, 600+ positions have been advertised through the Global Ring-fenced Recruitment Exercise (GRRE). Out of these, 233 have been advertised in Regional and Country Offices, and 31 in L2/L3 duty stations - namely in Afghanistan, DRC, Haiti, Mali, Myanmar, Ukraine and Yemen.
Recruitment for the CoEs, through the GRRE, remains a priority. To date, 240+ posts for the CoEs have been advertised; of these, 140+ are with panels in the Concise Review stage; and the first recommendations have been submitted to the Governance Body for endorsement. You can view all GRRE posts that have been advertised, along with their status, on this dashboard.
The CoEs are strategically designed to strengthen our capacity to provide technical programme expertise mainly to governments, Country Offices and Regional Offices in four time zones: Bangkok, Nairobi, Panama City, and Amman. They will provide technical assistance on policy reform, legal reform, public financing, work-force development and institutional building, equity and demand generation, and resilient development – across sectors and adapted for diverse country contexts.
It is expected that most recruitments for the CoEs will be finalized by the end of the year, and they will be operational in January 2026. Of course, there will be a transition during which time some colleagues will be in CoE locations and others not until they are able to move – no later than June 2026. We will need to adapt during this transition phase to ensure that requests for technical assistance are met in a timely manner and with quality.
Organograms for the CoEs have been posted on the FFI SharePoint and you can find them here.
The Executive Director approved the October 2025 Global PBR recommendations which included the proposed structural changes to DFAM as well as the Brussels, Budapest, Geneva, Istanbul, New York, Panama City and Valencia Common Service Centres (CSC). The Implementation Task Team on Global Shared Services and Common Services presented to the PBR the Common Services Harmonized Framework which provides an overview of the overall approach for the CSC submissions. The Implementation Task Team on Country Typologies and Multi Country Offices presented the CO Typologies and MCO Framework for information. The proposed MCO for Sri Lanka and Maldives was also presented by the ROSA Regional Director to the PBR for information. Additional details are available in the updated PBR Information Note.
On relocations, and following DED Hannan’s email to the Global Management Team, I am pleased to share the final decisions on relocating divisions/offices outside New York and Geneva. I am aware that there was some frustration with the delay of this decision. This was because, following the PBRs, additional consultations were held to assess the effectiveness, cost efficiency and readiness of some locations, including formalizing with host countries our presence in existing or new UNICEF locations and assessing new office sites, such as Rome.
Under the FFI, the objective was that approximately 70% of posts would relocate from New York and Geneva. The final relocations are as follows:
· PFP: 95% of posts relocated with the majority in Rome.
· DAPM:100% of posts will be relocated to Florence in line with the consolidation of DAPM and GoRAF as the new Office of Strategy and Evidence.
· DPC: 89% of posts relocated with the majority in Budapest and Istanbul.
· DGCA: 75% of posts relocated with the majority in Rome and Valencia.
· Evaluation Office: 100% of posts to be relocated to Rome.
· EMOPS: 59% of posts relocated with the majority in Rome.
· OIAI: 63% of posts relocated to Budapest and Nairobi.
· PPD: 68% of posts relocated with the majority in Brussels and Washington, D.C.
· PG: 76% of remaining non-CoE posts relocated with the majority in Nairobi and Amman.
· Legal Team/OED: 33% of posts relocated with the majority in Brussels and Rome.
· Ethics Office: 40% of posts relocated to Istanbul.
· DFAM: 58% of posts relocated to Brussels in line with functional needs.
Most of the above divisions/offices also have a small number of posts outposted to other locations based on functional need.
The estimated financial savings from the above relocation are over USD 42 million in core resources for the quadrennium. Further savings are expected from Other Resources and will be quantified once the PBR data analysis is finalized. These savings are contingent on the timeframe of the relocations.
UNICEF's largest combined FT contracts presence, as of 2026, will be Nairobi, followed by Budapest, Copenhagen, New York, Amman, Rome, and Bangkok.
Lastly, some of you sought greater clarity on a couple of points from the last bulletin. Thank you for asking. So, let me try to clarify those.
Regarding the positions abolished/established, the changes per category are based on the number of positions abolished (3903) + positions that have a limited duration during the quadrennium (54). This gives the total % of positions abolished which, combined with the number of positions newly established, (1621) leads to the % of net reduction. Please note that these figures have since been updated and the new figures are as follows:
.png)
.png)
Let me close by thanking everyone involved in this massive task for their efforts to implement the organizational restructuring, so that we continue to function within the anticipated resources we will have, establish new ways of working, and continue to deliver for every child, everywhere. That noble mission must remain our north star.
I look forward to joining you at tomorrow’s Global Conversation with our DEDs, Gisela and Magassa, where we will update you on the FFI including the recent PBRs, relocation decisions and the global ringfencing recruitment exercise.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please share them. I will respond and keep you informed as best I can.
Kind regards,
This message from Hannan appears more for folks on the other side of First Avenue and less for informing staff and folks internally. It is clear that she has set her sights on positions in the UN and showcasing the surgery and "savings" which are never true going by all of the previous occasions, whether she was DED in MENA or Chief of Staff in OED and now DED (M) in OED - they are always to boast of incomes and savings - which she knows nobody tries to verify and show that they are never real and never true.
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