Health Specialist (Policy & Budget)

Health Specialist (Policy & Budget)

The Health Specialist (Policy & Budget) is part of the Equitable and resilient services for primary health care, learning and skills working group. This group leads the implementation of the CPD outcome on equitable and resilient services that boost children’s nutrition, mental health, learning and skills, by strengthening health and education systems to deliver integrated PHC, nutrition, MHPSS and quality basic and secondary education for all children and adolescents. Its function is to translate this priority into integrated policy packages, service delivery models and scalable solutions across the subregion, ensuring that equity, inclusion and climate-resilience are embedded in the expansion of health and education services and that socio-emotional learning and future-ready skills are systematically advanced in all 12 countries.

The team is led by the Assistant Representative for Equitable and Resilient Services for Primary Health, Learning and Skills in Belize and includes seven NOC Specialists. The specialist profiles have been defined directly against the CPD outputs under this outcome, so that each post is anchored in a specific strand of work (early learning, foundational learning, policy and public finance, PHC/MHPSS, PHC/nutrition and Early Childhood Development), while together they form a complementary skills mix that covers the full range of expertise required to achieve the intended results. The working group is comprised of the following:

Education

• Specialist (Early Learning) in Belize, Education Specialist (ECD) in Suriname, Education Specialist (Foundational Learning & Skills) in Guyana, Education Specialist (Policy & Budget) in Barbados, Health Specialist (Primary Health Care & Mental Health) in Suriname, Health Specialist (Policy & Budget) in Jamaica, and Health Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition) in Barbados.

• How can you make a difference?

• The Health Specialist (Policy & Budget), reports to the Assistant Representative for Equitable and Resilient Services for Primary Health, Learning and Skills, P4, located in Belize, in close day-to day coordination with the Deputy Representative, Programme, in Jamaica.

• Health Specialist (Primary Policy & Budget) provides specialized technical expertise in health policy analysis, health system strengthening, and public budget advocacy for children's health across the Caribbean MCO. The role focuses on regional systemic influence, shaping health financing strategies, tracking budget allocations for child health, supporting the development of cost-of-inaction analysis, sustainable financing pathways, and engaging CARICOM regional health platforms and institutions, rather than country-specific programme delivery.

• The position contributes directly to MCPD Output 1.1 by supporting governments and regional institutions to prioritize children's health and mental wellbeing within national policies, sector plans, public budgets, and financing frameworks. The Specialist promotes evidence-informed decision-making, equitable resource allocation and sustainable health financing solutions that strengthen integrated primary health care systems and improve outcomes for children and adolescents.

• Based in Jamaica given the strategic weight required for regional health policy engagement, this placement at the MCO headquarters enables the post to contribute to CARICOM health policy dialogue, engage regional health institutions, and support the Area Representative in systemic advocacy for child health financing across the platform.

The key fucntions and responsibilities are:

• Technical Advisory on Strategic Planning, Policy Formulation & Review

• Strengthening health sector policy, planning, budgeting, and accountability frameworks.

• Strengthened advocacy and partnerships for health policy, financing, and systems strengthening

• Support to Health Policy, Planning and Development

• Cross-Sectoral Coordination & Integration

• This position belongs to the Equitable and Resilient Services f