Health Specialist - PHE, P-3, 364 days, Global Programme Division, Health - HEPR, Outposted in Geneva

Overview

Lead and coordinate technical support for Public Health Emergency monitoring and response.

You have:

• Advanced university degree (MPH, MSc. Dr PH, PhD) in Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology, or Social Sciences is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional work experience in public health emergency response, and infectious disease management is required.
• Excellent communication skills are required.
• Proficiency in English and French is required.
• Experience with infectious diseases outbreak management is necessary.
• Knowledge of another official UN language or local language is an asset.
• Experience in emergency responses field deployment is desired.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts is preferred.

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 137,877 USD and 180,539 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Health

How can you make a difference?

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy emphasizes the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families and ensures that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential.

The Global Programme Division (GPD) provides global strategic leadership and policy direction, develops and monitors frameworks and standards, and ensures coherence and alignment across sectors, regions and partners. GPD generates high-impact, evidence-based solutions and serves as a hub of specialized expertise, offering technical guidance on policy reform and scalable programming.

The frequency, scale, and complexity of public health emergencies have surged in recent years, with UNICEF responding to approximately 100 public health emergencies and disease outbreaks annually. UNICEF’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HEPR) programme strengthens systems at global, regional, national, and community levels to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies.

UNICEF plays a leading role in outbreak prevention and control, including infection prevention and control, WASH, risk communication and community engagement, immunization, and continuity of essential health and social services

Provide technical leadership and coordination on Public Health Events monitoring, alert and support to early response as part of UNICEF’s Public Health Emergency (PHE) Preparedness and Response Team.

It will maintain close, ongoing internal coordination with focal points in the Global Health Practice, EMOPS, Immunization team, and UNICEF Supply Division, with an emphasis on emerging and re-emerging pathogens, contributing to Epidemic/Pandemic preparedness and response as part of the GAVI 6.0 collaborative work.

The position will also support the integration of the vaccine response into UNICEF’s PHE Operational Response Framework, organizational commitments, priorities, and actions, and support the coordination of vaccination efforts within UNICEF’s broader PHE response activities.

Key accountabilities include:

• Surveillance and Monitoring
• Public Health Communication
• Coordination and Collaboration
• Country support and technical assistance

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Health Specialist _ Epidemiologist_PHE_P3_HF.pdf

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements

• Education: Advanced university degree (MPH, MSc. Dr PH, PhD) in Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology, or Social Sciences is required.
• Work Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional work experience and strong expertise in public health emergency response, and infectious disease management, with demonstrated leadership in coordinating outbreak preparedness initiatives is required, alongside expertise in producing reports and newsletters to inform public health responses. Experience working as an epidemiologist during health emergency preparedness and response.
• Skills: Excellent communication skills, experience with infectious diseases outbreak management, epidemiological surveillance, data analysis, risk assessment, and stakeholder coordination.
• Language Requirements: Proficiency in English and French is required.

Desirables

• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Experience in emergency responses field deployment, vaccine knowledge are desired.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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 is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates 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.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Potential interview questions