Health Specialist - Health Economics and Financing

UNICEF Health Specialist - Health Economics and Financing

Health Specialist - Health Economics and Financing, P-4, Fixed Term Position, # 00133446, Global Programme Division, Health Section, Nairobi, Kenya CoE

Apply now Job no: 596844

Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment

Duty Station: Nairobi

Level: P-4

Location: Kenya

Categories: Health

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

UNICEF’s Global Programme Division (GPD) provides global strategic leadership, policy direction and specialized technical expertise to strengthen programme excellence and country-level implementation. Within GPD, UNICEF’s Centres of Excellence provide high-quality, demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, governments and partners, bringing together cross-cutting expertise in areas including policy reform, at-scale programme design, public finance, workforce development, institutional strengthening and humanitarian response.

The Health Specialist (Health Economics and Financing), based in UNICEF’s Nairobi Centre of Excellence, will be part of the newly established Inclusive Health Economics, Financing and Policy Innovation (IHEFPI) team. The team drives technical assistance under the Financing for Scale pillar of UNICEF’s Health Programme Offer, supporting governments to expand fiscal space, improve resource allocation and efficiency, strengthen financial protection and develop equitable and sustainable financing approaches for health. Its work encompasses economic evaluation and modelling, efficiency and fiscal-space analysis, health technology assessments, public financing and evidence-informed policy reform.

How can you make a difference?

As Health Specialist (Health Economics and Financing), you will provide high-quality technical assistance to UNICEF Country Offices, governments and partners to strengthen evidence-informed planning, sustainable health financing and equity-focused reforms. You will support the design, costing and financing of national health and immunization strategies; undertake economic, fiscal-space, efficiency and budget-impact analyses; and translate economic evidence into actionable policy recommendations, investment cases and financing strategies.

You will also support domestic resource mobilization and public financial management, advise on financing and service-delivery reforms, strengthen national capacity in health economics and financing, and contribute to cross-sectoral policy dialogue. Through this work, you will help governments improve resource allocation and build equitable, resilient and financially sustainable health systems, supporting the scale-up of essential services including immunization, primary health care (PHC), and maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MNCAH).

Join UNICEF’s Global Programme Division as a Health Specialist (Health Economics and Financing) within the Nairobi Centre of Excellence. You will contribute to UNICEF’s technical assistance under the Financing for Scale pillar, supporting Country Offices, governments and partners to strengthen evidence-informed planning, sustainable health financing and equity-focused reforms for immunization, primary health care (PHC), and maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MNCAH).

You will help translate economic evidence into practical financing strategies and policy recommendations, while strengthening government and institutional capacity to improve resource allocation and sustain essential health services.

Key accountabilities:

• Technical Advisory on Strategic Planning, Policy Formulation & Review
• Evidence Generation & Economic Analysis
• Domestic Resource Mobilization & Government-Led Financing
• Technical Advisory Support on Capacity Building
• Cross-Sectoral Coordination & Integration

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Job Description - Health Specialist #00133446.pdf

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements

• Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in health economics, health financing, public health, or health policy with a focus on health economics/financing, or in economics/finance with emphasis on Health Systems Strengthening is required.
• Work

Experience

• A minimum of 8 years of experience in international health and development with a strong focus on health economics, policy, and financing in low- and middle-income countries is required. Demonstrated experience applying economic theory and/or health financing models in real-world health systems or service-delivery settings, such as primary healthcare, government health systems, or similar contexts, with the ability to translate economic and financing analysis into practical and context-appropriate strategies.
• Skills: Advanced technical proficiency in Economic evaluation methods (CEA, CBA, ROI), budget impact and financial forecasting models, health systems and financing diagnostics (e.g., PFM assessments, transition readiness). Use of health economic modelling tools such as UNIVAC, OneHealth Tool, LiST, Spectrum, Optima Health, and/or advanced Excel and R-based modeling. Strong quantitative analysis skills, including use of statistical software (e.g., R, Stata, Excel VBA); ability to manage large datasets and develop economic models. Excellent policy translation and writing skills, with a track record of producing decision-useful outputs such as briefs, investment cases, and peer-reviewed publications. Deep understanding of global health financing architecture, including mechanisms like Gavi support, GFF, and Multilateral Development Banks is required.
• Language

Requirements

• Proficiency in English and French is required.

• Desirables

• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

• Specialized training in areas such as Medicine (MD/MBBS), economic evaluation, and fiscal policy (PhD) will be considered an asset.

• Demonstrated experience in leading or contributing to cost-effectiveness analyses, budget impact analyses, investment cases, and fiscal space analyses for immunization and broader health interventions (such as MNCH, SRH, HIV/AIDs, Nutrition, etc.).

• Proven record of supporting or analyzing policy reform processes related to health/immunization financing, or health systems strengthening in low- and middle-income country contexts.

• Experience working with or advising ministries of health and finance in several low- and middle-income countries.

• Hands-on experience applying tools such as UNIVAC, LiST, One Health Tool, Spectrum, and budget modeling frameworks.

• Experience working with or advising ministries of health and finance in several low- and middle-income countries.

• Experience working with global health partnerships, such as GAVI, the Global Fund, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and Multilateral agencies and Development Banks, particularly in areas of health economic analysis, is an asset.

• 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 lev