Health & Nutrition Specialist (Programme / Cluster Coordinator), P3, FT, MENA-Gaziantep, Turkiye

The UNICEF Regional Office for MENA is seeking to hire a Health & Nutrition Specialist (Programme / Cluster Coordinator) at P3 level to be based in its outpost in Gaziantep.

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, Hope

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, 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.

Organizational Context:

Under the supervision of the Health & Nutrition, Manager, P4, the Health & Nutrition programme/Cluster Specialist, P3, is responsible for providing support to cluster coordination and programme design, development and monitoring of the UNICEF humanitarian response programme in the northwest Syria.

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose for the job:

The post will coordinate the nutrition cluster work to ensure a well-coordinated, strategic, and adequate response by all cluster members. The Health & Nutrition Specialist Programme / cluster is accountable for the effective running of the nutrition cluster operations in northwest Syria. The Health & Nutrition Specialist Programme / cluster will provide leadership and representation of the Cluster/ Working Group at the central and sub-national levels. They will facilitate the processes that will ensure a well-coordinated, strategic, adequate, coherent, and effective response by participants in the sub-national Cluster/ Working Group that is accountable to those who are affected by the emergency. In their effort to provide an efficient and effective response to the humanitarian crisis, the Health & Nutrition Specialist Programme/cluster is responsible for building relationships with stakeholders, securing the overall coordination of sectoral responses, ensuring inter-sectoral collaboration at the sub-national level, and ensuring adequate coordination with the national level. The Health & Nutrition Specialist Programme/cluster will coordinate all the nutrition technical working groups and work closely with the information management officer to ensure all data for the cluster members are updated.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Vacancy Announcement – Health & Nutrition Specialist (Prog_Cluster), P3 [RDM24028].pdf

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

The following minimum requirements:

• Education: Advanced university degree in Public Health and Nutrition, Child Development, Water Sanitation, Public Administration, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or other relevant disciplines.
• Work Experience: Five years of professional work experience at the national and international levels in planning, programming, implementation monitoring, and evaluation of technical cooperation programmes related to Health and Nutrition.
  • Professional work experience in a managerial position, or a technical expert position in child survival & development, health, and nutrition care.
  • Developing country work experience (for IP) or field work experience (for NO)
  • Background/familiarity with Emergency.

Language Requirements: 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

The 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. 
8. Nurtures, leads, and manages people.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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, 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:

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’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female 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.

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.

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

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.