Health Specialist, NO-3

UNICEF Health Specialist, NO-3

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.

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For every child, the right to a Champion

How can you make a difference?

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has declared an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease affecting Ituri and other affected or at-risk provinces. National authorities, with the support of humanitarian partners, have activated emergency coordination and response mechanisms to contain transmission and protect affected communities. The outbreak is unfolding in a complex humanitarian environment marked by insecurity, population displacement, high mobility, constrained access to essential services and weak water, sanitation, hygiene and infection prevention and control systems. These conditions heighten the risk of transmission in health facilities and communities and require rapid, well-coordinated and technically rigorous WASH/IPC action.

The geographic expansion of the outbreak, the operational complexity of the response and the need to align interventions across national, provincial and health-zone levels require senior leadership. An experienced profile is therefore required to provide the strategic expertise, technical authority and convening capacity needed to lead UNICEF's WASH/IPC response and support Government-led coordination across affected and at-risk areas.

Overall Objective

Ensure the technical/pillar and operational coordination of UNICEF-supported public health interventions as part of the EVD outbreak response, contributing to the rapid interruption of transmission, strengthened surveillance, protection of vulnerable populations, and continuity of essential services.

MAJOR DUTIES AND KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Coordination and Operational Support for the Ebola Response

2. Technical Support for Surveillance and Data Management

3. Monitoring of Community Interventions, RCCE and IPC/WASH

4. Operational Management, Logistics and Supply Monitoring

5. Documentation, Reporting and Knowledge Management

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: ToR_Health Specialist_NO3

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Public Health, Epidemiology, International Health, Medicine, Health Emergency Management and any other related fields.
• Work

Experience

• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in public health emergency management, epidemiological surveillance, outbreak management, health response coordination or any other related fields.
• Demonstrated experience in responding to epidemic-prone diseases such as Ebola, Cholera, Mpox, Measles, COVID-19, or other public health emergencies.
• Skills:
• Demonstrated experience in responding to epidemic-prone diseases such as Ebola, Cholera, Mpox, Measles, COVID-19, or other public health emergencies;
• Experience working in complex humanitarian settings, including contexts affected by insecurity or population displacement.
• Language

Requirements

• Fluency in Frech and intermediate level English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language;

• Experience supporting an active outbreak response or emergency situation (e.g., Ebola, cholera, measles, mpox, population displacement, or a declared L2/L3 emergency), preferably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or in similarly fragile, conflict-affected, and resource-constrained environment;

• Experience working with and/or through counterparts (government and decentralized authorities, UN agencies, cluster and coordination mechanisms, and implementing partners) to achieve measurable results in insecure or hard-to-reach areas;

• Previous experience with the United Nations, UNICEF, WHO, or international NGOs;

• 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

• (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

• Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

• This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children's data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

• 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, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of serious misconduct.

• UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.

• Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected