Immunization Officer-COVID vaccination and response

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

With more than 10,000 staff members, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in over 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF is one of the longest-serving international organizations in Myanmar, with almost 70 years of service in the country, working to improve the lives of children and their families. 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. More information on what we do in Myanmar is available here.

The international UNV will have the opportunity to work at the Health & Nutrition section based in Yangon/Nay Pyi Taw and UNICEF field offices based in Shan, Chin, Kachin, Rakhine and Kayin (also covers Mon and Tanintharyi).

Under the guidance of Immunization Manager and direct supervision of the Health & Nutrition Specialist, Sittwe, the UN Volunteer will carry out the following tasks: The overall objective of the Immunization Officer post is to support revitalization of routine immunization and catch-up campaign.

Main tasks and responsibilities: 1. Support Implementation of routine immunization recovery plan including the catch campaign • Work closely with WHO and other developmental partners at sub-national level to develop and establish partnerships with any organization/network acceptable from different angles, including developing programme documents and monitoring indicators for partnership • Support to sustain close working partnership with all stakeholders through active and regular sharing of information and knowledge on immunization, vaccine preventable diseases and cold chain, and build capacity of stakeholders • Provide technical and coordination, support to roll-out the routine vaccine revitalization and catch-up campaign activities
2. Monitoring and Analysis of coverage, vaccine stock and cold chain data, and keep monitoring implementation of interventions • Continuous follow-up to track the vaccine coverage, use simple tools such as Excel, access, ODK, kobo-collect tools and PowerPoint for data collection, analysis and dissemination of immunization status in the state • Regularly monitor the status of vaccine stocks and immunization related supplies and liaise with relevant stakeholders for effective supply management • Prepare documentation/ report of the intervention for sharing with donors, partners. Demonstrate good writing skills to prepare easily understandable reports
• Meet the community members including caregivers to collect feedback and to respond the feedback appropriately

☒ Accountability ☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Building Trust ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Empowering Others ☒ Ethics and Values ☒ Integrity ☒ Judgement and Decision-making ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Leadership ☒ Planning and Organizing ☒ Professionalism ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Self-Management ☒ Technological Awareness ☒ Working in Teams

development planning and management in public health/immunization related areas, at the international level, is required • Knowledge and understanding of the immunization programming in low-resource settings, particularly in the context of complex emergency; • Ability to develop and coordinate public health/immunization programmes that target IDPs/returnees is considered a strong asset; • Ability to mobilize and coordinate multiple health sectors to incorporate immunization pro-grammes • Relevant experience in health/immunization programme development in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset; • Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is considered an added ad-vantage.

Myanmar is second biggest country in term of land after Indonesia in South East Asia Region. It has population of over 54 millions living across seven States and Seven Regions plus Union Territory, where all central government departments are located. About 70% of population are living in rural areas and main economy of Myanmar is agriculture. Myanmar is subtropical and tropical country with three distinct seasons: Summer (from March to June), Rainy (from July to October) and Winter (from November to February).

Sittwe, is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar. Sittwe, pronounced sait-tway in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The city has 181,000 inhabitants.

Sittwe is currently a “Level 2” area and therefore the Designated Official for Security for Myanmar must receive a travel notification in advance and provide security clearance. On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar Military took over the power from the democratically elected government and declared a state of emergency. Following the takeover, the security situation in the country worsened. Since 30 March 2021, there has been a family restriction in place and eligible family members of international staff members have been evacuated. Civilians especially governmental staff joined a Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Consequently, provision of almost all the public services is affected especially banking and health care systems. In addition, as numerous anti-coup groups are now shifting focus from peaceful demonstration to armed revolution, security situation in Myanmar is currently volatile and unpredictable. Acts of violence by both parties of the conflict can occur anywhere, anytime and a further deterioration of the security situation is possible.

Organizational Context & Project Description

The health systems in Myanmar have been severely impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and political turmoil, and a significant number of children missed basic vaccines. UNICEF in collaboration with various stakeholders has been putting its effort to restore and strengthen routine immunization services in reaching the children who may have missed out vaccinations in the previous years. . Some of UNICEF efforts include supporting the installation of cold chains to ensure vaccine safety, increasing awareness to improve uptake of vaccinations through improved trust in the vaccine and vaccination services, and ensuring uninterrupted supply of vaccines and commodities .

In addition to enhancing routine immunization services, UNICEF will also support a catch-up campaign for all eligible children who may have missed out on vaccines during the recent years of crises. By prioritizing access to vaccinations, UNICEF is helping to protect the health and wellbeing of Myanmar's children and prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.