Job Vacancies at UNICEF

How can you make a difference?

• The Health Manager/Primary Health Care Coordinator (HSS) reports to the Regional Advisor Health. S/He is responsible for leading the management, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of the health programme (e.g gender, maternal, neonatal, child survival/development) within the regional office. S/He provides technical guidance and operational support to countries in the region throughout the programming process to facilitate the achievement of concrete and sustainable results, according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), organizational Strategic Plans and goals, standards of performance, and accountability framework. S/He provides timely and state-of-the-art technical support to UNICEF health country programmes, country office, and regional partners in capacity building, knowledge management, monitoring & evaluation, represents UNICEF in regional fora, and coordinates on UNICEF’s behalf with regional partners and donors.

Programme development and planning

• Plan and provide technical support and guidance to country offices, for the preparation and formulation of health programme, alignment of the sectoral programme with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and regional strategies, and assisting countries in budgeting for strategies and linking the strategies to country budgets.

Programme management, monitoring and delivering of results

• Establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators, and other UNICEF/UN system indicators and measurements to assess and strengthen performance accountability with internal and external partners. Actively monitor programmes/projects through field visits, surveys, and/or exchange of information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress, identify bottlenecks, and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution. Provide technical support and capacity building of country teams to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the strategic frameworks and operational plans and assist country offices in demonstrating and reporting on results on key indicators ensuring compliance with the commitments made by UNICEF; including progress towards SDGs and Core Standard Indicators (CSIs)

Advisory services and technical support

• Collaborate and consult with key government officials, NGO partners, UN system partners, and other partners/donors on policies, strategies, best practices, and approaches on health-related issues to support programme development planning, management, implementation, and delivery of results. Ensure quality assurance of country offices programming, documentation – situation analysis, CPD, CPAP, MTR, thematic evaluations, etc. – and country programme implementation.

Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with health sector government counterparts, national stakeholders, UN inter-agencies partners, as well as global and regional partners, allies, donors, and academia. Promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances, and support fund raising for health programmes (system strengthening and PHC maternal, neonatal and child survival and development). Develop proposals for additional resource mobilization and reporting to donors. In support of COs and RO and in coordination with HQ, organize monitoring visits, and produce documentation that can be used for fund-raising and advocacy purposes

Innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building

• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, and implement best and cutting-edge practices in health management and information systems. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned. Contribute to the development of policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects. Lead, plan and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to promote sustainable results on health-related programmes/projects. Strengthening of systems for real-time data generation and action, implementation follow-up, and monitoring of the operational plans, within routine information systems.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in public health/nutrition, pediatric health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, environmental health sciences, biostatistics, socio-medical, health education, epidemiology or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of eight years of relevant professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public health/nutrition planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care, or health emergency/humanitarian preparedness.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

• UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF Competencies Required For This Post Are…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact  
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others.

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Purpose For The Job

• The Regional Adviser, Child Protection reports to the Deputy Regional Director for general guidance and direction. The Adviser serves as an authoritative and expert adviser to the Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director, the Regional Management Team, Country Offices and Government institutions/officials on strategies, policies, approaches, best practices and knowledge on child protection and related issues, including corporate priorities related to the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). S/he has also a coordinating responsibility regarding Child Rights Agenda while being the main focal point on the CRC. S/he leads regional office support to country offices on programme development planning, implementation, management, resource mobilization, capacity building and knowledge management to achieve concrete and sustainable contributions to national and international efforts to create a protective environment for children against all harm and to protect their rights to survival, development and well-being, as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/frameworks and UN intergovernmental bodies.

Key Function And Accountabilities

Policy Direction and Strategic Positioning

• Guide UNICEF's regional strategies as they relate to Child Protection, Mental Health and Psycho-social Support and Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Explanation.
• Coordinate and infuse thinking around Child Rights agenda linked to the CRC in collaboration across ESAR(O)
• Advocate for ESAR (RO and COs) prioritization of the Violence against Children and Women’ agenda while coordinating a wider Child Rights work, from CRC perspective
• Initiate innovative approaches for enhanced support to sector-wide analysis, planning, implementation, and accountability, with a clear focus on feasibility promoting social work with greater equity.
• Assist the global and lead regional efforts to elevate the child protection agenda including PSEA and MHPSS in relevant strategic fora, influencing policy discussions and agenda setting within and beyond traditional child protection networks
• Repositioning and progressively transition UNICEF's advocacy, knowledge-base and partnerships to addressing the breadth and depth of the violence and harmful practices, including by promoting sustainable and equitable financing for child protection services, civic registration, MHPSS.
• Advise key national government officials, NGO partners, UN system partners and other regional and country office partners on policies, strategies, approaches and best practices on child protection and related issues, including PSEA and MHPSS.
• Provide strategic advice to regional and country management to ensure coordination around the Child Rights agenda and impactful Child Protection efforts.

Support to Regional and Country Offices on Programme Design, Implementation, and Providing Oversight

• Collaborate with Regional Management/Country Office teams throughout all stages of child protection programming to provide technical support to programme preparation, implementation, and monitoring for results.
• Provide policy guidance and technical support to national external partners and internal colleagues to develop national policies/strategies for UNICEF assisted advocacy and programmes including Child Rights agenda and scaling up child protection programmes.
• Contribute to the planning and updating of the situation analysis to ensure that current and comprehensive data on Child Rights and child protection issues is available to guide UNICEF’s strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on child rights and protection, and to set programme priorities, strategies, design, and implementation plans.
• Provide technical advice to facilitate the preparation of Country Office child protection programme recommendations and related documentation to ensure alignment of programme goals with UNICEF’s overall Strategic Plans and Regional Collaboration for Results.

Partnerships and inter-sectoral alliances

• Build network of academic/research institutions and think tanks in the region to strengthen to the knowledge base while contributing to innovation and capacity building.
• Ensure the child protection teams are contributing to the thought leadership in across the different sectors, with UN at large and as part of community addressing the violence crisis in the region,
• Promote critical thinking and introduce technological and programme innovations, approaches, and good practices in the region for sustainable child protection programme/project initiatives, including related to PSEA and MHPSS, through advocacy and technical advisory services.
• Keep on top of national, regional, and international development priorities on child protection and rights to leverage UNICEF’s position and competencies with donors, national governments, UN, communities, and constituents to advocate and promote child protection interventions, policies, and social change to achieve goals on child’s rights and protection.
• Explore innovative partnerships, leveraging resources for Child Rights, child protection, MHPSS and PSEA which connect with other pertinent issues as climate crisis
• Work with wide range of stakeholders to forward Civic registration: high-impact technology for birth registration
• Create new opportunities for and support regional resource mobilization, increase donors', private sector partners interest in quality transformative programmes and confidence in UNICEF's ability to deliver them.
• Strengthen UNICEF's leadership in delivering Child Protection services and safeguard protective environment standards in humanitarian action, through interagency humanitarian mechanisms

Management And Leadership Responsibilities

• Provide direction and managerial support to the ESA Regional Office Child Protection
• Manage the sustainability of the RO Child Protection team and meet timely budgetary requirements
• Oversee and manage performance of direct report and ensure capacity development of the team to fulfill its roles and responsibilities.
• Ensure inclusive management and well-being of the Child Protection team
• Participate in the RO leadership team and contribute to CRITAS in the RO as in COs
• Support the wider Regional Child Protection and Child Rights network through capacity building and other support.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
• A minimum of ten of relevant professional experience in social development planning and management in child protection related areas, at the international level, is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in programme development in child protection related areas in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

• UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF Competencies Required For This Post Are…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others
• Nurtures, leads and manages people

Deadline: 13 Oct 2023 11:55 PM

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How can you make a difference? 

• UNICEF seeks a consultant to support MoH in developing and testing a handbook for mental health integration for pregnant adolescent girls into the MoH Continuum of care packages for ANC, MCH, and PNC. The mental health guide will be contextualized and responsive to the developmental needs of this population. It will outline practice strategies, and services indicators, and provide tools to guide the provision of mental health support to pregnant adolescent girls by health service providers working the antenatal care clinics, labor and delivery wards, and Postnatal care clinics in primary and tertiary level health facilities.

Objectives 

• Development of a Handbook for Mental health integration into ANC, PNC, and MCH for pregnant adolescent girls 
• Conduct field testing of the Mental health handbook in 4 counties – Nairobi, Kisumu, West Pokot, and Kilifi at the  county referral hospital and one sub-county hospital
• Integration of Mental health support for pregnant adolescent girls’ handbook guide into the National Continuum of care package from ANC through to PNC and MCH

Tasks 

• Prepare and submit an inception report and discuss the expected deliverables to the MoH. The report should include timelines, methodology, key definitions, a preliminary list of key resources and source materials, stakeholder mapping and consultation plan, review draft structure.
• Review and analyze research, key documents, and reports to include lessons learned and past achievements, best practices, strengths, and weaknesses of the mental health programs implemented (targeting adolescents and pregnant adolescents) with the development of Draft Zero of the handbook guide.
• Present the Draft zero of the handbook for review by MOH - Division of Reproductive and Maternal Health, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Division of Mental Health key stakeholders TWG. 
• Field Testing of the handbook in 4 counties – Nairobi, Kisumu, West Pokot, and Kilifi at the county referral hospital and one sub-county hospital as part of the continuum of care package for ANC through to PNC for pregnant adolescents, with further refinement of handbook 
• Present the Draft handbook to MOH - Division of Reproductive and Maternal Health, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Division of Mental Health stakeholders TWG for approval after necessary revisions. 
• Plan and facilitate the validation meeting with relevant stakeholders on the draft handbook guide.
• Present finalized draft to MOH in soft copy Word, PDF, and slide summary 

Deliverables

• Inception report 
• Comprehensive report of the desktop review and analysis 
• Detailed stakeholders’ consultations and workshop reports 
• Draft a handbook guide for Mental health support for Pregnant adolescents
• Handbook guide for Mental health support for Pregnant adolescents (Word, PDF, 20-slide PowerPoint Presentation).
• Handbook guide for Mental health for Pregnant adolescents integrated into the Continuum of Care package for ANC through PNC

Collaborations and work relationships

• The consultant will work closely with the MOH Division of Reproductive and Maternal Health and with the UNICEF Health specialist – Maternal and Newborn Health.
• The consultant will also engage other relevant divisions within MoH - Division of Adolescent and School Health, Division of Mental Health, County Health Management team in the 4 counties (Nairobi, Kisumu, West Pokot, and Kilifi), and Maternal and Newborn Health TWG partners at National MoH level.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, Social sciences or related fields
• A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree. 
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in one or more of the following fields: Adolescent health, Mental health, Reproductive health, Maternal health.
• Demonstrated experience in the successful development of guidelines, policies, SOPs, and manuals.
• Experience in facilitating and coordinating technical meetings and workshops in the area of policy development is an added advantage.
• Prior experience working in the Ministry of Health, developing and implementing partners, and experience working with adolescents and young people is desirable. 
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.