Health & Early Childhood Development Officer (Temporary Appointment NO-B) Santiago, Chile

Contract

This is a NO-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-2 contracts.

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, bias or favoritism. 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 supporting the equitable development of nations.

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, a childhood

Under the supervision of the Social Policy Specialist, the Health & ECD Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance to develop interventions, from development planning to delivery of results. The Health & Early Childhood Development Officer is expected to prepare, execute, monitor and implement a variety of technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate results related to early childhood development and health issues in children, affecting the various sectors (e.g. education, protection, etc.) with a greater focus on mental health, social determinants of Health, nutrition, non-communicable diseases, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, response to the migration crisis, early childhood development and nurturing care through parenting. Finally, he/she is expected to identify and analyze priority areas related to public health for the future Country Programme.

How can you make a difference?

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to programme development and planning
2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to programme development and planning

• Conduct the situation analysis for the development, design and management of health and early childhood development related programmes. Research and report on development trends (e.g. political social, economic, health) for higher management use to enhance programme planning, efficiency and delivery of results.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral and cross-cutting programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through analysis of health and ECD needs and areas for intervention and submission of recommendations for priority and goal setting, with a particular focus on mental health, social determinants of health, nutrition, non-communicable diseases, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's health and development, design, implementation and monitoring of UNICEF's response to the migration crisis, early childhood development and nurturing care through parenting.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support results-based planning, monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Prepare required documentations and materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations, and/or to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and decisions. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.

• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programmes and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.

• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), and verify compliance with approved allocation and goals, organizational rules, regulations, procedures, as well as donor commitments, standards of accountability, and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.

• Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

• Bring support and be prepared to supervise United Nations Volunteers (UNVs), consultants and implementing partners.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• Conduct regular programme follow-up, support across different sectors and assist in sharing information with partners and stakeholders to assess progress, providing technical support and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.

• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners, and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes, and best practices on health-related issues to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results

  4. Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with health sector and other relevant government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to enhance programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to deliver concrete and sustainable results.

• Assist in drafting communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances, and support fund raising for health programmes.

• Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) on health programmes to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, operational planning and preparation of health programmes/projects related to children, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.

• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Contribute to identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders, focusing on how to address the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic and other eventual similar emergencies.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

• Assist with oversight of research and health related studies to ensure results are available for use in knowledge products.

• Participate as a resource person in capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

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

• A university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health/nutrition, pediatric health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, environmental health sciences, biostatistics, socio-medical, health education, epidemiology, psychology, sociology or anthropology of health, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of two years of professional relevant experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public health/nutrition planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care, early childhood development policies, pediatric services, or health emergency/humanitarian preparedness.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergencies is considered an asset.
• Fluency in Spanish and English is required.
• Chilean Nationality is required for this position. National Professional Officers are nationals of the country in which they are serving, and their functions must have a national context, i.e. functions that require national experience or knowledge of the national language, culture, institutions, and systems.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

Core competencies:

• Communication (II)
• Working with people (I)
• Drive for results (I)

Functional Competencies:

• Formulating strategies and concepts (I)
• Analyzing (II)
• Applying technical expertise ((II)
• Learning and researching (II)
• Planning and organizing (II)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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:

This is a Temporary Appointment position with a maximum of 2 years of contract.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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