Job Opportunities at UNICEF

Specific activities include:

• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of technical assistance demand, requirements, and current status in ESAR.
• Prepare an analysis/report with recommendations for coordinating and scaling support to build capacity for quality technical assistance in digital health programs across ESAR.
• Provide technical support to enhance sustainable digital health systems in ESAR countries, focusing on program design, monitoring, and quality assurance.
• Review and analyze digital health inventories, including UNICEF’s invent.unicef.org and other regional mapping tools. Leverage existing work by UNICEF and partners to establish a baseline for evaluating digital systems for common use cases, public health emergencies, and health system strengthening. Identify data gaps in the invent.unicef.org database and conduct additional mapping as needed, integrating findings back into the inventory.
• Conduct a desk review of self-reported data, data pipelines, and reporting processes on digital health readiness from ESAR countries, using the Global Digital Health Monitor. The goal is to streamline, strengthen, and address gaps in reporting.
• Contribute to regional and country office resource mobilization, and integration of digital health priorities into national planning and budgeting exercises.
• Document best practices and evidence generation for digital health, develop knowledge products, and organize workshops/webinars/learning sessions within UNICEF. Promote a community of practice on Digital Health in collaboration with the UNICEF global digital health community.
• Participate in regular meetings to provide updates and share insights and reflections on country digital health programmes coordination and implementation.
•  Work relationships: The consultant will report directly to the HSS Specialist (HSS/PHC), ESARO Health section, but will liaise regularly with the Regional T4D Manager and global DH&IS team. Other important relationships will be with the digital health focal points in each ESAR Country Office, the T4D leads and Digital Health Hub in the Office of Innovation.

Minimum Qualification required:

• Advanced university degree (Master's) or equivalent professional experience in health informatics, public health/medicine, development studies, geography, economics or related field is required. 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.

 Knowledge/Experience/ Expertise required:

• Minimum 8 years of work experience at the international and/or national level in digital health, especially on the deployment of information systems and digital solutions. 
• Experience in providing technical assistance and thought leadership surrounding the design and implementation of digital solutions for health system strengthening, routine immunization, community health information systems, and use of geospatial solutions for health programmes, including application of recommended Health Information System architectures and standards.
• Knowledge and experience in community health/primary health care programmes is essential.
• Experience designing and supporting digital health projects with Governments (esp. Ministries of Health).
• Experience with project management and proven ability to translate complex ideas from various areas into unified, clear guidance.

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The objectives of the study are to:

• Analyse available data sources to understand the nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents, disaggregating the data across demographic factors to identify trends and gaps.
• Collect and analyze data on dietary intake and school-age children and adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes on nutrition to inform targeted interventions and policies.
• Collect and analyze data to better understand the status of school food and nutrition environments including food availability and affordability.
• Review and evaluate existing policies, legislation, and programs including youth-led initiatives aimed at malnutrition prevention among school-age children and adolescents, identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Identify key stakeholders across relevant sectors involved in malnutrition prevention efforts, mapping out their roles and influence to facilitate collaboration and collective action.
• Estimate the total cost of recommended interventions to improve the nutrition of school-age children and adolescents.

Work Experience

• The consultant should have experience in quantitative and qualitative primary data collection, managing field workers including their training, literature review, and writing peer-reviewed articles in the field of public health nutrition, and childhood malnutrition prevention in low-income countries. Excellent documentation and report writing skills (in English and French) and the ability to work in a multicultural environment is necessary.
• Experience working in ESAR Region, in school environments, and for UN agencies (especially UNICEF) will be considered an asset.

Specific requirements for the consultant:

• Essential: Proficiency in English and French is required; experience of a minimum of 10 years in quantitative and qualitative research; field worker management, including training; releasing studies on childhood malnutrition prevention, policy, and programme design for the prevention of malnutrition; stakeholder engagement; intervention costing experience.
• Desirable: Knowledge of school-age children and adolescent nutrition, and school nutrition environments.