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, Hope

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job

UNICEF adopted its new Gender Action Plan 2022-2025 (GAP) which is an ambitious effort at catalyzing field level programming and results that advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in key areas of UNICEF’s work. The UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2022-2025 prioritizes a gender-equitable approach to promoting gender equality.

Developed in tandem with UNICEF’s new Gender Policy and Gender Action Plan (GAP), The UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2022-25 emphasizes structural and norms change to transform the underlying drivers of gender inequality and reflects an intersectional approach to the compounding social exclusion and marginalization related to factors like poverty, racism, disability and migration. With this new, transformative approach, UNICEF is strengthening the mainstreaming of gender equality throughout our programming and systems, while increasing investment in gender-related data.

The UNICEF Immunization Roadmap 2022–2030 outlines and updates UNICEF’s priorities in immunization through 2030. The importance of the equity agenda to reach unreached children and communities with full vaccination is one of the strategic shifts for UNICEF and partners. To increase immunization coverage, and to sustainably reach unreached children (‘zero dose’) and missed communities -One of UNICEF organizational priorities -, it is necessary to understand and address the many ways in which gender interacts with additional socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural factors to influence access, uptake and delivery of vaccines.

How can you make a difference?

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Management, Coordination, Technical Support and Reporting
2. Program development and planning including in humanitarian contexts
3. Prioritizing support for gender-responsive interventions in reaching unvaccinated children, adolescents and women, and missed communities with vaccinations
4. Measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of gender-related immunization interventions
5. Support integration of Immunization and nutrition in primary health care programmes
6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Management, Coordination, Technical Support and Reporting
Actively participate in Programme coordination and management within WCARO and countries; partnerships with regional partners; and other key leadership teams to ensure effective implementation of WCARO key results for children (KRCs) related to child survival and development such as KR1-Immunization, KR2-Stunning, water and environmental sanitation and climate change.

• Coordinate with the country office gender, immunization, and nutrition focal points to plan, utilize, monitor and report on the Gender and immunization Fund, or other programmatic funds with large gender components that are allocated to the country-specific interventions.
• In collaboration with sectoral colleagues, participate in the planning and monitoring of the utilization of the budget allocated to all gender interventions at RO and country levels.
• Prepare gender components of the reporting of the programme expenditures, including the annual reporting and donor reporting of grants, and review of common standard indicators other results reporting.
• Provide technical input and review on the gender components in key funding proposal appeals and submissions and in the design of funded projects/programs so that gender technical components are clearly defined, and technical capacities are included.
• Contributing to milestone and grant reporting, maintaining a repository of gender-related knowledge materials and dashboard to track support to countries and the status of their gender interventions, etc.

Program development and planning including in humanitarian contexts

• Support countries in conducting comprehensive gender analysis/ integrating gender as part of existing equity analysis and develop gender briefs and gender improvement plans developing portfolio proposals or national immunization and child survival strategies.
• Provide technical inputs on the integration of gender into programme design and strategic directions phases, including strategic planning, mid-term reviews, extended annual reviews.
• Deploying and using proxy indicators in identifying gender-related barriers to immunization, nutrition, and WASH in the developing country-specific gender-responsive implementation plans.
• Liaise with research teams in planning and rolling out implementation research and qualitative assessments to identify and address gender equity barriers.
• Support countries to plan and implement evidence-based advocacy for gender, health, and nutrition reviews and planning.

Prioritizing support for gender-responsive interventions in reaching unvaccinated children, adolescents and women, and missed communities with vaccinations

• In collaboration with sectoral colleagues, identify the areas of focus for gender equitable approaches with the greatest potential for impact and scale, in alignment with zero dose, covid vaccination, and new vaccines.
• Support country gender focal persons to create a pool of master trainers in the Regional Office (RO) and Country Offices (COs) who will support gender integration into national Planning processes, health system strengthening (HSS), and other planning or funding proposals including vaccine campaigns, and new vaccine introductions.
• Test gender-specific indicators and assist in incorporating technologies in monitoring and measuring gender interventions in national monitoring systems.
• Technical assistance to RO & COs, supporting the rollout of the interactive gender learning tool and gender checklist in select countries.

Measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of gender-related immunization interventions

• Support the strengthening of data systems and collection, as well as accountability mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress on gender results.
• Support countries to document lessons learned and good practices that reduce gender-related barriers on both the demand and supply sides.
• Facilitate gender-related knowledge management across countries including the documentation and dissemination of promising practices
• Assist with planning and rollout of interactive webinars to share lessons and good practices thereby building regional, national, and subnational capacities

Support integration of Immunization and nutrition in primary health care programmes

• Identify opportunities to support the community health workforce in selected country offices with a focus on policy and Programme support for female health workers.
• Support country examples to strengthen integration with Nutrition and maternal health programmes.
• Liaise and consult with sections, government, and other external partners (civil society, NGOs, private sector) to support convergence, and develop and reinforce partnerships in gender programming.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Gender and development, policy and/or management, public Health, global/international health and nutrition or another field related to survival and development.
• Minimum of five years’ experience in gender and development programming
• A track record of achieving or contributing to tangible change in planning, designing, implementing, and delivering results-based programmes on gender and development.
• Experience in conducting or supporting rigorous gender analysis, including quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, and applied gender measurement, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Expertise in evidence-based advocacy and communication skills on gender equality
• Experience in a developing country programme in one or more of the following areas is required: public health, immunization, gender, adolescent girls’ nutrition, or maternal, infant, and child health care.
• Knowledge of international development, humanitarian issues, and children’s rights.
• Experience in training and facilitation is an asset.
• Fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of other UN languages is considered 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.

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.

Remarks:

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

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). 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 cancelled.

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.

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.