The Government of Hungary and UNICEF announced today that they have agreed in principle to establish UNICEF’s first-ever Global Shared Services Centre in Budapest. The new centre will conduct a broad range of UNICEF’s financial and human resources operations worldwide, enabling the children’s organization to realize greater efficiencies and cost savings.
Budapest was selected to host the centre in the course of a tender announced six months ago, to which altogether 20 cities – among others Prague and Kuala Lumpur – have applied. The facility will be located in Wesselényi street and according to the current plans it will employ 350 people, 85% of whom will be Hungarians – State Secretary for Security Policy and International Cooperation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary announced.
“Hungary is truly honoured to host the Global Shared Service Centre of one of UN’s most important organisations,” said Dr István Mikola. “The Hungarian Government is committed to the noble goals of the UNICEF and echoes the importance of the protection of children to guarantee children's rights and ensure healthy living standards. UNICEF’s decision reflects the strong cooperation between Hungary and UNICEF and our shared efforts to protect children and families.”
“Every dollar UNICEF can save is another dollar we can use to improve children’s lives,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “The more efficient we are, the more effective our programmes will be for children. We are looking forward to working closely with the government of Hungary to bring the centre on line as soon as possible.”
Key factors in UNICEF’s decision to locate in Hungary included a relatively low cost of doing business, highly-qualified workforce and robust infrastructure. Two other United Nations organisations – the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Foods and Agricultural Organisation – also operate Global Shared Services Centres in Budapest.
The Global Shared Services Centre will serve the entire organization, operating in multiple languages. It will deliver a range of administrative services to all UNICEF offices, including payments and invoice processing, payroll, some human resources functions, and the Information Technology helpdesk.