Emergency Specialist (Outbreak Response), P-3, Fixed Term, Polio Eradication Programme at UNICEF

How can you make a difference?

• Under the guidance of the Senior Programme Manager (Outbreak Response), you will provide overall coordination support to regional (ROs) and country offices (COs) on Polio outbreak responses (encompassing planning, preparedness, response, and monitoring) in affected countries, working in close collaboration with Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners and RO/CO/HQ colleagues.

Key Functions And Accountabilities Include The Following

• Work closely with the Polio Outbreak Response team and RO polio focal points to ensure timely and efficient coordination of Polio outbreak responses in affected countries.
• Support the Senior Programme Manager in providing strategic and operational oversight of polio outbreak response operations, particularly around the areas Vaccine Management (VM), Social Behaviour Change (SBC) and access constraints, ensuring that the needs of the population are addressed and are aligned with the government/Ministry of Health (MOH) plans and strategies and the polio outbreak response SOPs.
• Support RO/COs in developing outbreak response plans, including campaign and surge budgets. Periodically conduct reviews of operational bottleneck hampering polio outbreak response efforts.
• Provide in-country support to COs before, during and after polio campaigns with a focus on coordination and operational issues.
• Support RO/COs in the implementation and monitoring of Polio Emergency Procedures (PEP) where applicable.
• Contribute to the deliverables of the Outbreak Response and Preparedness Group (ORPG), in particular on response strategies, coordination and efforts to improve the quality of responses.
• Monitor emerging humanitarian, economic, political, and recovery trends, and potential socio-political instability. Identify impact on polio outbreak response efforts.
• Provide UNICEF Polio Eradication senior leadership with timely updates and analysis on the Polio outbreaks, emerging trends and risks. Provide inputs for UNICEF documentation/reports and briefing notes for senior management.
• Work closely with planning, finance, human resources and advocacy colleagues to ensure quality responses and that processes are streamlined and efficient.
• Support in-country and regional SBC and VM assessments and interventions as needed, as well as the development of polio response strategies with humanitarian partners during humanitarian and protracted emergency situations.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education
The following minimum requirements:

• An Advanced University degree in one of the following fields: public health, social sciences, international law, public health, international relations, or other related disciplines.

Work Experience

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels in emergency programming, public health emergencies, programme/project development, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and administration.
• Knowledge and field experience of UNICEF programmes required.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in both written and spoken English is required.

The Following Desirables
Work Experience:

• Prior emergency response experience with UNICEF especially in polio eradication and complex humanitarian environment are an asset

Language

• Working knowledge of French is a strong asset. Knowledge of Arabic and Portuguese or another official UN language (Chinese, Russian or Spanish) is also an asset.