Chief Health – P5  

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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

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

For every child, a champion

The Chief, Health reports to the Deputy Representative Programmes and is responsible for managing and leading all stages of UNICEF’s engagement in child health and well-being in India, implemented through a network of 13 UNICEF Field Offices, from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of results. The Chief, Health leads and manages the Health Section and supports the broader UNICEF health network including establishing plans of action to achieve concrete and sustainable results according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.

How can you make a difference? 

• Demonstrate leadership by creating UNICEF’s vision for Health, preparing workplans in collaboration with the health team and with relevant partners, and setting priorities and targets. Establish clear individual performance objectives, inspire the team and provide requisite guidance for achievement of results. 

• Utilize national, regional and global development trends and new evidence to finalize a comprehensive strategic plan for health-related programmes. Establish programme goals and results using results-based planning methodology and oversee timely preparation of the health programme recommendation and documents in alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plans. Provide technical guidance and operational support on programme planning, management and implementation. 

• Participate and contribute to major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sector reviews, establish benchmarks, performance and other UNICEF/UNSDCF system indicators to strengthen performance accountability, and sustainable results in health programmes. Identify gaps, bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues. 

• Advise key government officials, NGO and other partners, on policies, strategies and best practices to support programme development and management. Participate in strategic discussions and influence policy discussions to promote health and development issues. 

• Advocate and strengthen strategic partnerships with health sector government counterparts, national and global stakeholders, through regular communication and support fund raising for UNICEF and Country Office health programmes. Participate and represent UNICEF in inter-agency (UNSDCF-Group) discussions and planning on health-related issues. 

• Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches, benchmarking, and implementation of best and cutting-edge practices in the health management and information systems. Lead and develop policies and procedures and institutionalize best practices.  

• Effectively lead and mentor large, geographically dispersed teams, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment. 

For more details, please click Chief Health, P5

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

Education: 

• A medical or advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: 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. (required)                                                               

Work Experience: 

• A minimum of ten years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas, at the international level: public health planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care, or health emergency / humanitarian preparedness. (required) 

• Demonstrated ability to provide strong programme, people and thought leadership, direction and mentorship to a team of senior technical experts working across different offices and fostering a collaborative work environment. (required) 

• Driving and managing programmatic change by providing strategic direction and support to team members during transitions, ensuring alignment with new programmatic priorities and enabling successful implementation across all levels. (required)

• Relevant work experience, particularly in a large country office of comparable size and management structure. (desired)

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as 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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are?

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)

• Works Collaboratively with others (2)

• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)

• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)

• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)

• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)

• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

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.  

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who are nationals of low, lower-middle or upper-middle-income countries from non- and underrepresented regions (Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, West and Central Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific) and from candidates holding a degree from a university in countries of the Global South. We particularly welcome applications from women, transgender, gender non-conforming individuals, and persons with disabilities. 

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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. 

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:

• This position is based in New Delhi, India. 

• The vacancy is open to internal and external candidates. 

• This position is open to Non-Indian Nationals only. 

• The selected applicant will have an initial two (2) year fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance. 

• 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. 

• 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. 

• Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions.  

• 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. 

• UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited / recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

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