Health Specialist (Vaccine Preventable Disease Control) - Francophone, P-4, Fixed Term Position, 24 months, Nairobi, Kenya #00133443

This is a re-advertisement, candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Health

The Global Programme Division (GPD) plays a central role in driving programme excellence across UNICEF. It provides global strategic leadership and policy direction, develops and monitors frameworks and standards, and ensures coherence and alignment across sectors, regions and partners. GPD generates high-impact, evidence-based solutions and serves as a hub of specialized expertise, offering technical guidance on policy reform and scalable programming.

GPD leads UNICEF’s policies, standards and negotiations for programme, ensuring the organization’s assets and priorities are aligned with and contribute to child development goals. In addition, GPD strengthens country-level implementation through integrated technical support, linking global policy with on-the-ground action to deliver results for children at scale.

As part of this structure, UNICEF has established Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to provide highquality, demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, and their governments and partners. Located strategically in Nairobi, Panama, Amman and Bangkok, the CoEs bring together cross-cutting expertise across time zones. Global Programme Practices in CoEs function as a single point of entry for support, delivering tailored assistance in priority areas such as policy reform in matters that advance the wellbeing of children, at-scale programme design, public finance, workforce development and institutional strengthening, and timely humanitarian response while promoting resilient development. In so doing, the CoEs also contribute to global policy standards ensuring that UNICEF’s support is grounded in practical knowledge. 

How can you make a difference?

The Health Specialist reports to and works under the guidance and supervision of the Senior Adviser Health, Accelerated disease control. The incumbent will work within the scope of the Measles and Rubella Partnership (M&RP), Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) by 2026 platform and Defeating Meningitis by 2030, among others, to strengthen the immunization delivery in priority countries.

The incumbent will provide technical assistance to country offices in the promotion, design, planning, execution, monitoring evaluation of high-quality Supplemental Immunization Activities (SIAs) and Outbreak Response Immunization for Measles and Rubella (MR), Yellow Fever and other vaccine preventable diseases with focus on preventive and outbreak response campaigns. The incumbent will develop a monitoring framework aimed at measuring the impact of Measles and Rubella activities in improving vaccination coverage before, during and after SIAs, particularly in underserved populations. Specific focus will also be placed on supporting post MCV campaign coverage surveys that includes strong advocacy, active country offices engagement and technical assistance for the post campaign coverage survey (PCCS). Documentation of best practices during campaigns as well as challenges are key.

This position will coordinate with others to contribute to country specific health systems strengthening efforts, to ensure that intervention coverage and disease response are sustainable and equitable for all children. These health systems contributions will be to achieve the UNICEF Health Strategic plan and achieve the SDG 2030 targets, ensuring that policy, finance, institution building, health workforce and digital governance and community engagement are strengthened.

The role contributes to assuring that UNICEF is ready to respond to emergencies in alignment with the Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) in Humanitarian Action and in Public Health Emergencies, and, to building resilience in communities and in systems. This is done through engaging in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of UNICEF’s emergency preparedness and response activities, as needed. 

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

1. Technical Assistance for Disease Elimination and Control
2. Outbreak Preparedness and Response
3. Regional Coordination and Partner Engagement
4. Monitoring, Documentation, and Learning
5. Capacity Strengthening and System Support

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD Health Specialist (Vaccine Preventable Diseases Control) P4.pdf

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

Minimum requirements

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Public Health, Social Development or related technical field. 
  A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. This is applicable to internal (FT, Continuing and Permanent) staff only.
• Work Experience: A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in immunization, public health programme implementation, or emergency response, with a specific focus on vaccine-preventable disease elimination strategies (e.g., measles, rubella, MNT, cholera, yellow fever, meningitis) in low- and middle-income countries, is required. Familiarity with outbreak preparedness and response frameworks, including coordination with and understanding of WHO, Gavi, CDC, and other global partners  is required.
• Skills: Strategic Analysis, Program Management, Stakeholder Coordination, Priority Management, Written Communication, Interpersonal Negotiation.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and French is required. 

Desirables

• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 
• Experience working in emergency settings or fragile/conflict-affected contexts. 
• Experience working with UNICEF, WHO, Gavi.
• Experience representing UNICEF or similar organizations in regional/global technical working groups.
• Familiarity with digital health tools for campaign planning and monitoring (e.g., ODK, eLMIS, campaign dashboards).
• Knowledge of health system strengthening approaches.
• Experience with Gavi processes related to funding applications for SIAs and outbreak response (e.g., measles and rubella follow-up campaigns, cholera preventive campaigns and vaccine stockpile requests).
• Experience in strengthening national and subnational immunization capacities, including training frontline workers and health managers.
• Demonstrated ability to promote south-south learning and support institutional development in health systems.. 
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. 

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.