Health Officer (NO-2), Mexico City, Mexico (Temp Appointment)

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.

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, health

UNICEF Mexico country programme is expanding to include a stronger health component, with the purpose of supporting the Ministry of Health at the federal and state level in reinforcing maternal, infant, and child health and nutrition services. Mostly due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Mexico – similarly to what happened in most of countries at the global level – the coverage of preventive primary healthcare services significantly dropped since 2020. This, as well as the challenges produced by the pandemic in the economy of vulnerable households, contributed to an increase in childhood and maternal morbidity and mortality. To respond to this situation – among other measures – the Government of Mexico is in the process of a health sector reform, to ensure universal access to health services and quality for all the population. As part of its country programme 2020-25, UNICEF is committed to supporting the Government of Mexico in this important process to ensure that the needs of children are adequately addressed, and that maternal, infant, and child health services are strengthened.

How can you make a difference?

If you are selected as a Health Officer, you will report to the Chief of Nutrition. You will provide professional technical, operational, and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the Nutrition Programme within the Country Programme. You will also be primarily responsible for providing technical support to the Ministry of Health in the context of the pandemic and post-pandemic, and the ongoing health system reform. You shall acquire an in-depth understanding of the reform and especially its implications for pregnant and lactating women, children, and adolescents. You will also have to provide adequate insights and recommendations to ensure that the needs of children are adequately addressed, towards universal and quality primary health care. Additionally, you must provide support in terms of cost analysis and budgeting.

Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks

1. Support to programme development and planning

• Update the situation analysis for the development and management of the health programme.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals and strategies.

2. Programme management, monitoring, and delivery of results

• Work closely with colleagues, partners, and Government counterparts to align UNICEF programme with national priorities and strengthen public policies.
• Implement, monitor, and report UNICEF programme resources in compliance with approved allocation and goals.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• Conduct regular programme field visits to assess progress and provide technical support.
• Provide technical and operational support to government and other counterparts in the process of strengthening priority public policies and programmes.

4. Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with health sector government counterparts at the federal and states level, and national stakeholders
• Actively share information and knowledge to enhance programme implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders to deliver concrete and sustainable results.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

Deliverables

1. Analysis of the Health sector reform in Mexico, developed in collaboration with key Government, UN, Academia and CSOs partners, with a special focus on the analysis of children’s needs – risks and opportunities within this reform.
2. Proposal of key priority areas for UNICEF technical assistance to the Ministry of Health in the context of the health system reform.
3. Timely and quality technical support (including costing and budgeting) to the Ministry of Health to strengthen maternal, infant, child, and adolescent health services.
4. Direct technical support to health authorities at the Sate’s level (in selected priority states) in the delivery of maternal, infant, child and adolescent health services.
5. Contribute to programme management: planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of health programme activities and results, as well as development of funding proposals.
6. Contribute to the development and establishment of long-term health programme goals and strategies in the UNICEF Mexico Country Programme.

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

The following required education, experience and languages:

• A University degree in one of the following fields: public health, pediatric health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, environmental health sciences, biostatistics, socio-medical, health education, epidemiology, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of two years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas: public health planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care.
• Fluency in Spanish
• An intermediate level of English is required, and complete fluency is preferred. If the person hired is not fluent, he/she will have to commit to improving their English skills in the first months of work.

The following experiences are not required but will be considered an asset:

• Over five years of experience working in public health policies in Mexico.
• Relevant experience in the Government or in a UN system agency or organization.

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: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

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: click 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.

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 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:

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to delivering the best results for children.

Candidates must be citizens of Mexico to be considered eligible for this post.

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 appointments are subject to medical clearance. 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.