Technical Specialist (Regulatory, Nutrition), P-3, Temporary Appointment (364 days), Medicines & Nutrition Center, UNICEF Supply Division, Copenhagen, Denmark #128232

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does – in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life – in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions – her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens – addressing inequity – not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also accelerating the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

The Medicines and Nutrition Center (MNC) is situated within the UNICEF Supply Division in Copenhagen and oversees the procurement and contracting of pharmaceuticals and nutrition products for UNICEF offices globally. Emphasizing timely access to quality products, particularly in emergencies, the MNC plays a pivotal role in ensuring the availability of essential nutrition commodities in low- and middle-income countries (LICs and MICs).

The Technical Specialist (Regulatory, Nutrition) will spearhead regulatory support initiatives aimed at enhancing our regional and country regulatory function for UNICEF’s nutrition commodities. This position is focused on time-limited projects within the Nutrition product portfolio. The position is a temporary appointment (364 days, with the option for extension).

Key functions and responsibilities:

• Conduct regulatory mapping to discern market pathways for specific nutritional commodities, fostering in-depth understanding and networks within key countries.
• Develop regulatory strategies and lead processes to ensure compliance with international and national regulations in LICs and MICs.
• Analyze regulatory decision pathways in selected countries to inform strategic approaches.
• Create resources (processes and tools) for UNICEF operations in Nutrition and also to disseminate regulatory information to suppliers, partners, and stakeholders.
• Coordinate multiple regulatory activities, including quality documentation submissions, within cross-functional project teams.
• Collaborate with the technical team to facilitate documentation submissions for clinical trial projects.
• Engage with external stakeholders to advocate for nutrition inclusion in essential medicine lists and other policy documents.

Typical regulatory activities include:

• Labeling compliance: Ensure product labels meet regulatory requirements, including ingredient lists, nutritional information, and health claims.
• Product registration: develop tools and guidance to support the registration process for nutrition products in target countries, liaising with regulatory authorities and liaising with suppliers to compile necessary documentation.
• Track and monitor progress of supplier regulatory submissions from application to approval.
• Compliance monitoring: Monitor changes in regulatory requirements and ensure ongoing compliance of nutrition products with relevant regulations.
• Risk assessment: Conduct risk assessments to evaluate the safety and efficacy of nutrition products, considering factors such as ingredient quality and manufacturing processes.

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

Education

• Master’s degree or higher in food/nutrition, pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, public health, law, or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field plus additional 3 years of demonstrated progressive experience in regulatory roles.

Work Experience

• Minimum 7 years of experience in public and/or private sector with strong knowledge of regulatory affairs for nutritional commodities.
• Experience in compiling QA-related dossiers for regulatory submissions, including international compliance requirements.
• Familiarity with the global regulatory environment, international regulatory forums and/or LICs and MICs.
• Experience working with regulatory authorities and standard-setting bodies is advantageous.

Languages

• Proficiency in English is required. Proficiency in another UN working language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

 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.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 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.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at: http://www.whed.net/

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.