Internal and external advertisement: Chief Health, P-4, Vientiane, Lao PDR (#16738)

Contract

This is a P-4 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 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 123,355 USD and 159,041 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 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 has been working in Lao PDR continuously since 1973, one of the longest-serving international organizations in the country. We have been implementing one of UNICEF’s largest country programmes worldwide, working tirelessly to promote the rights of children and women and to bring basic services - education, health, nutrition, protection, water and sanitation - to those who are most in need.

In Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), UNICEF is promoting the rights and wellbeing of every child. Together with our partners, we are focusing and putting extra efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children throughout the country.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative Programmes, you will be responsible for managing and supervising all stages of health programmes/projects (e.g. gender, maternal, neonatal, child survival, emergency preparedness) within the country programme, from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of results. You will lead and manage the health team including establishing plans of action to achieve concrete and sustainable results according to plans, allocation, rights results based-management approaches and methodology (RRBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework, in consultation with relevant team members in Lao PDR and the EAP Region.

Your will provide the leadership needed to enable the Country Office to achieve the health -related output results of the country programme in close collaboration with other sectors. The efficiency and efficacy of your support to programme preparation, planning and implementation will facilitate the delivery of concrete and sustainable results that directly impact the improvement of the health of the most marginalized and vulnerable women and children in the country. This in turn contributes to maintaining and enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to continue to provide programme services to protect the rights of children, and to promote greater social equality to enable them to survive, develop and reach their full potential in society.

Your main responsibilities and tasks will include, but will not be limited to:

1. Managerial leadership
2. Programme development and planning
3. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
4. Advisory services and technical support
5. Advocacy, networking and partnership building
6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in 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 or another relevant technical field. A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in public health/nutrition planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care, or health emergency/humanitarian preparedness are required.
• Proven ability to effectively lead a team to deliver results is required.
• Have experience in successfully and urgently translating high level priorities into action.
• Have a good communication style that is regarded relevant, appropriate and effective in Lao PDR, especially in working with the Government.
• The candidate should possess a combination of high-level education technical knowledge and experience, leadership skills and maturity to further strengthen the trust and respect that UNICEF has earned from the people of the country.
• Proven experience in mobilizing financial and non-financial resources for Health-related programmes.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Work experience in upstream health programming is considered as an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language 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 and (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

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:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply. In line with the applicable UNICEF Recruitment Policy, applications from internal candidates will be given priority for review and assessment prior to reviewing applications from external candidates. For purpose of recruitment, UNICEF staff members holding Fixed Term, Permanent and/or Continuing Appointment, are considered internal applicants.

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

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.

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