A job advert on Facebook claims that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is recruiting for thousands of jobs in Uganda.
The UNHCR was established in 1950 to help people displaced by the second world war. Today, it protects and supports refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and stateless people around the world
According to the ad, the vacancies include office administrators, social workers, nurses, drivers, and interns.
The ad directs interested applicants to send their CVs and cover letters to a Gmail address: [email protected].
According to the National Population and Housing Census 2024 report, Uganda’s unemployment rate was 12.6%, with youth unemployment at 16%.
The report highlights alarming trends in the employment status of Uganda’s youth, revealing that 51% of young people aged 18 to 30 are neither in employment nor in education or training.
This reality makes the job ad very attractive to job seekers in Uganda. The ad has also been posted in public Facebook groups with thousands of members here, here and here.
But is it legitimate? We checked.
Signs that the job ad is fake
UN agencies like the UNHCR use official email domains, including @unhcr.org. The UN never uses Gmail or Yahoo email addresses for official recruitment purposes, as in the ad.
The ad lists over 3,000 positions, an implausibly high number for a single recruitment drive by a UN agency, especially across all districts in Uganda.
We checked UNHCR Uganda’s official website and their verified X account. There is no such job advertisement. Legitimate UN vacancies are usually posted on the UNHCR careers portal or the UN careers website.
The ad contains formatting issues, generic job descriptions and vague application instructions – all signs of a hastily assembled scam.
On X, the associate communications officer for UNHCR Uganda, Frank Walusimbi, dismissed the job ad as “fake”.
“FAKE JOB ALERT: This is a fraudulent job advertisement circulating in the name of UNHCR Uganda @UNHCRuganda. Please be informed that this document is fake. UNHCR does not charge fees or use unofficial emails for recruitment.” wrote Walusimbi.
“All genuine vacancies are posted on https://unhcr.org/careers. Please share this message to help protect others from being misled.
