Programme Specialist (Health), P3, Temporary Appointment (364 days), Mogadishu, Somalia (Open to Non-Somalia Nationals)

The UNICEF Somalia Country Office requires support in areas related to accountability in formulation, coordination, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of its health programme.
Under the guidance of the supervisor, support the health section to ensure effective, equitable, and efficient program delivery. This includes support to field offices, developing workplans, and ensuring compliance with donor guidelines. Strengthen monitoring and assessment approaches to prevent aid diversion, ensuring programmatic visits and risk assessments are conducted. Enhance systems to manage capacity injection, including data analysis, monitoring, and verification in line with donor conditionalities. Provide support for programme cycle planning and monitoring, integrating systematic approaches for accountability and communication of results. Offer technical support and capacity building to teams and government partners, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation. Collaborate with internal and external partners to streamline mechanisms for effective management of capacity injection to the health sector, ensuring alignment with donor requirements and maintaining sound internal controls.

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For every child, health

The UNICEF Somalia Country Office requires support in areas related to accountability in formulation, coordination, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of its health programme.

Under the guidance of the supervisor, support the health section to ensure effective, equitable, and efficient program delivery. This includes support to field offices, developing workplans, and ensuring compliance with donor guidelines. Strengthen monitoring and assessment approaches to prevent aid diversion, ensuring programmatic visits and risk assessments are conducted. Enhance systems to manage capacity injection, including data analysis, monitoring, and verification in line with donor conditionalities. Provide support for programme cycle planning and monitoring, integrating systematic approaches for accountability and communication of results. Offer technical support and capacity building to teams and government partners, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation. Collaborate with internal and external partners to streamline mechanisms for effective management of capacity injection to the health sector, ensuring alignment with donor requirements and maintaining sound internal controls.

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose of the Job

1. Programme Planning Development and Management

• Manages and ensures the effective, equitable and efficient operations of the health section including programme management systems to support and facilitate the attainment of programmatic goals and objectives by meeting changing operational requirements. Coordinates promptly with the Chief, health, output managers and operations teams and where required for smooth operations management.
• Specifically, lead the health section efforts to review and streamline shifts on managing capacity injection to government in line with newly introduced donor conditionalities. This includes analysis of the data available of capacity injection to government. Review the current practice in place and alignment to new donor guidelines around visibility, strengthened monitoring and verification of capacities on ground. As part of this effort, work closely with the HACT to explore options, capacities for a digital cash transfer.
• Additionally, analyze existing data against requirements, identify additional data needs and develop a monitoring plan required for a digital cash transfer shift.
• Support field offices in effective implementation of RWP, ensure strengthened planning and implementation, use of Qzips for streamlined funds management and timely delivery of results and improve timely and appropriate response and support from the SCO team.
• Draft changes to/or support output leads to develop workplans as required. Prepare programme recommendations for inclusion in formal programme documentation, new approaches, methods, and practices.

2. Capacity building, innovation, knowledge management

• Provide hands on technical support to newly recruited teams at the state level on UNICEF systems and processes to streamline programme implementation through government and partners to ensure that programme management KPIs are consistently met, and results are delivered.
• As UNICEF transitions to deliver more through government, support field offices to build capacity of state level MOH on UNICEF HACT procedures, operational shifts on capacity injection payment modalities, effective follow up and implementation of tools such as RWP and establishment of regular engagement with government to review progress and identify areas for further support.

3. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.

• Strengthen implementation of monitoring and assessments approaches against aid diversion. This includes close follow up with teams to ensure that programmatic visits are conducted and look at key risk areas around last mile monitoring of supplies, strengthened monitoring and verification of capacity injection provided by UNICEF and key recommendations are tracked and implemented in a timely manner.
• Work closely with the SBC, field offices and emergency teams to ensure that AAP is systematically integrated in routine programme implementation and monitoring.
• In line with donor conditionalities review capacities available for reporting and grievance reporting, monitoring management mechanisms.
• Contributes to effective communication and visibility of results; Draft programme briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration.

4. Partnership, Coordination and Collaboration

• Support partnerships and collaboration with internal and external counterparts, including those of the UN and national partners, to improve the ability to collect and disseminate development data; support through capacity injection and mapping of support through different partners to ensure UNICEF health section complementarity to other support in the sector.
• Lead internal engagement with HACT teams, other sections and regional office and HQ team on shifts related to payment modalities for capacity injection in line with donor conditionalities.
• Linkage to regional programme knowledge network to ensure the availability of current and accurate programme data.
• Collaborate with the operations section to establish and maintain sound internal controls supportive of programming endeavor’s and to coordinate financial and supply management requirements and accountability.

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, Public Health or another relevant technical field.
• Work Experience: At Five years of relevant professional work experience is required. Experience working in large and diverse health programmes. Especially experience coordinating closely with government and supporting implementation of health programmes or projects funded by global partnerships like GPEI, GFATM, GAVI, FCDO and WB.
• Skills: Strong report writing skills and knowledge of UNICEF systems and policies on financial and grant management.
• Relevant experience in UNICEF or similar UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset especially in an emergency setting country that manages both development and emergency funding. Work experience in Emergency is an asset.
• Language Requirements:  Fluency in spoken and written English is essential. 

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

The 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 is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.

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. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

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’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female 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.

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.

Eligible staff members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to IP TA positions in a duty station designated as L2/L3, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements, subject to approval by their Head of Office. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.