Health Specialist at UN Children's Fund

Purpose of post:

To manage UNICEF support to the county government and its partners to implement policy, strengthen capacities required for the provision of MNCH services, within the framework of the devolved system of governance.

Major duties and responsibilities:

• Support MNCH coordination at the sub-national level:Under the guidance of the head of Lodwar Field office and the Health specialists in Nairobi, participate and support in relevant county coordination meetings, document decisions made, and update the overall project work-plan accordingly. Relay any resulting management decisions to colleagues in the two field offices (the MNH Field Officers). Keep abreast of public health developments in the county that could have an impact on the MNCH Program (positive or negative) and proactively propose how to respond to these developments. Working closely with the M&E team under his/her supervision, ensure that relevant and accurate information is available for partners as needed.
• Oversee financial disbursements and supply requisitions: Working closely with the Programme Assistant, supply and finance divisions, and national office staff, review and initiate MOH and partner requests for cash transfers and reports on fund utilization from the county. Update the MNH Specialist regularly on fund utilization and budget utilization status. Based on needs assessments, and with assistance from the supply division, support the county level to prepare supply requisitions and monitor delivery. While the Assurance Officer and supply division colleagues will conduct end-user monitoring of supplies, the MNCH Officer should also monitor the placement and use of UNICEF-purchased supplies in Turkana.

Additionally, the officer will;

• Ensure related UNICEF, government and non-government staff comply with UNICEF's financial rules including emergency fast-track procedures;
• In close collaboration with Operations and Supply staff, regularly monitor and report on use of related supplies and other resources donated to the government and non-government partners;
• Collaborate with the Operations Section and Government authorities to maintain sound internal controls, supportive of specific Health interventions as well as to ensure accountability.

• Maintain MNCH work-plan:
  • Based on regular reports received from the Quality Assurance Officer and M&E Team, and on feedback obtained directly from the field and partners, maintain the overall project work-plan and proactively propose solutions to delays or other implementation challenges. Work closely with field staff and MOH colleagues to prepare county-specific work-plans and suitable budgets, and regularly track progress through both reports received from colleagues and direct field visits. The officer will be expected to document and disseminate lessons learned while implementing country-specific capacity building activities. Additionally, in Turkana County he or she will apply his/her technical expertise to;
  • Ensure UNICEF, government and non-government staff apply right-based approaches to programming and humanitarian principles;
  • Promote the quality of rights-based Health programmes through the formulation of programme goals and strategies and approaches.

• Partnerships and leveraging resources
  • Maintain close working relationships with other related UNICEF sectors, particularly nutrition, HIV, WASH, and programme communication;
  • Coordinate with related UNICEF national Health specialists to ensure strategies are aligned with national, regional and global strategies;
  • Establish active and participatory partnerships with related Health sector stakeholders (Government, WHO, other UN agencies, NGOs and bilateral agencies) and interact with them at different stages of Health programme design and implementation and identify opportunities for leveraging resources to be brought to the attention of Chief of Health Section. Participate in inter-sectoral collaboration (Child Health and Community Health Services with other programme colleagues for the systematic delivery of an integrated package of MNCH services

• Generate progress reports and support donor visits: Under his/her supervision, the M&E and PHO will be responsible for generating draft progress reports every six months. The MNCH Officer will be responsible for reviewing and finalizing these reports, based on his or her direct knowledge of the overall situation at national and county levels, and his or her relationship with the donor agencies. The MNCH officer shall also oversee all donor visits to the field, through close collaboration with others in the Lodwar field office.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in one of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Public Health, Medicine, Health Research, International Health, Health Policy and Management, Environmental Health Sciences, Family Health, Biostatistics, Socio-medical Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Education, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Educational Interventions in Health Care, Nursing or a field relevant to international development assistance in Health.*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 at the national level in public health or related field with focus on community maternal and child survival and development programs.
• Field work experience and familiarity with Emergency an advantage.
• Experience working with National and Regional government will be an asset
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. The functional competencies are:

Leading and Supervising, Level 1Formulating Strategies and Concepts, Level 2Analyzing, Level 3Relating and Networking, Level2Deciding and Initiating Action, Level 2Applying Technical Expertise, Level 3

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.