Health Officer, (Primary Health Care), Temporary Appointment, NOB, Male’ Maldives.

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ADVERT: Health Officer (Primary Health Care) Temporary Appointment, Level NOB.

Background:

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.

The Maldives has achieved its SDG targets for maternal (53 per 100,000 live births), neonatal (4.1 per 1,000 live births), and under-five (6.5 per 1,000 live births) mortality, for skilled birth attendance (99.5% coverage) and high vaccine coverage (98%), maintained almost across the board. These strong health outcomes are due to the investments the country has made in its health system, with per capita spending on health estimated at USD 806 and much of it coming from the government budget. An average of 10% of national budget is allocated to health annually, and all Maldivians are covered under a health insurance scheme. Despite the high funding for the health sector, the allocation to preventive health is less than 1% of the overall health budget. 

The country is currently experiencing both a demographic and a health transition. The associated epidemiologic, and nutritional shifts are resulting in higher burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD), including mental health. In particular, the nutritional status has not kept pace with improvements in health status. Stunting is estimated to be 15.3% and wasting is 9.1%, and not on track to meet SDG targets, while obesity and overweight indicators are on the rise among children and adults.

The health system of the Maldives is designed in a way that basic health care is available in all islands, and Primary Health Care (PHC) are provided through public health units, by frontline workers, who are health workers or health assistants and supported by Doctors and nurses. The PHC services are almost entirely facility based. Over the last few decades, focus on community engagement and preventive health had declined.

PHC revitalization and strengthening preventive health is a priority of the new Government. Guided by the Astana Declaration on PHC, UNICEF and other partners are supporting the Government of Maldives to strengthen PHC, enhance community engagement and contribute to revitalize PHC. UNICEF’s efforts of PHC costing exercise and development of an investment case are contributing to catalyzing a policy shift. A revitalized and PHC system can increase efficiency and long-term gains, and as such, has the potential to transform health care service delivery in Maldives.

Job organizational context:

The Health Programme Officer will work for the UNICEF Maldives Country Office (MCO) and report to the Health, Nutrition and Child Development Specialist.

Purpose for the job: The Health Officer reports to the Programme Specialist, Health & Nutrition for supervision. The Health Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the Health Programme, with a focus on PHC within the Country Programme, from development planning to delivery of results, by preparing, executing, managing, and implementing a variety of technical and administrative programme tasks to facilitate programme development, implementation, programme progress monitoring, and evaluating and reporting of results.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to programme development and planning
2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to programme development and planning.

• Conduct and update the situation analysis for the development, design and management of health related programmes, with a high focus on PHC. Research and report on development trends (e.g. political social, economic, health) for higher management use to enhance programme management, efficiency and delivery of results.
• Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through analysis of health needs and areas for intervention and submission of recommendations for priority and goal setting.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based planning (RBM), and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Prepare required documentations and materials to facilitate the programme review and approval process.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results (especially the PHC interventions)

• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations, and/or to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and decisions. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programmes and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.

• Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), and verify compliance with approved allocation and goals, organizational rules, regulations, procedures, as well as donor commitments, standards of accountability, and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation (with a focus on PHC)

• Conduct regular programme field visits and surveys, and share information with partners and stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.

• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners, and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes, and best practices on health-related issues to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

4. Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with health sector government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to enhance programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to deliver concrete and sustainable results.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships/alliances, and support fund raising for health programmes.

• Participate in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) on health programmes to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF/UNSDGCF operational planning and preparation of health programmes/projects, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNDAF/UNSDGCF development and planning process.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building (with a focus on PHC)

• Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Assist with oversight of research and ensure results are available for use in knowledge products.

• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.

Impact of Results

The efficiency and efficacy of support provided by the Health Officer to programme preparation, planning and implementation facilitates 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.

UNICEF values and competency Required:

i) Core Values

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability
• Sustainability

ii) Core Competencies

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education:         

A university degree in one of the following fields is required: 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.

Experience:       

A minimum of two years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public health/nutrition planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care, or health emergency/humanitarian preparedness.

Experience of the country context and working in the health setting of the country.

Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Requirements:            

Fluency in English and local language is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) 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

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. 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 appointments are subject to medical clearance.  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.