Who are we?

The United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations in Geneva represents the interests and policies of the United Kingdom at the UN and is now recruiting for a Senior Policy Officer – Global Health role. 

The UK Mission in Geneva prioritises dignity and respect at work. We value respect, inclusiveness, empowerment, teamwork and kindness.

Main purpose of job:

The global health team is a small and dynamic team representing the United Kingdom’s interests in the Geneva-based global health organisations, including the World Health Organization, Gavi, the Global Fund, UNAIDS and Unitaid. The team is recruiting a motivated and experienced Senior Global Health Policy Officer to co-lead the UK Mission’s work on selected global health policy areas in line with mission priorities but likely including: WHO institutional and governance reforms, including prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and pandemic preparedness and response.

This is a part-time role (with a working pattern to be agreed) as part of a job-share with an existing valued member of the team. 

Roles and responsibilities:

This role is an excellent opportunity to promote a high priority portfolio for the UK mission and will give the successful candidate the opportunity to develop policy and negotiation skills at expert level. The role will require strategic vision, political awareness and a strong drive to get things done, suiting someone who wants to build their diplomatic and multilateral skills. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate their abilities in working with others (including a commitment to an effective job-share), delivering results at pace, communicating and influencing, and problem solving and judgement. You will work in a fast-paced and changing environment and must be willing to support other team members and priorities, including outside your portfolio, as needed.

The candidate will be joining a Mission that centres itself on the values of Respect, Inclusiveness, Empowerment, Teamwork, and Kindness. These values sit at the core of the Mission, and all colleagues in the Mission are encouraged to demonstrate and to hold each other to account for these values.

• To negotiate persuasively and effectively on behalf of the UK on policy areas within the portfolio, drawing on instructions provided by lead policy teams in London.
• To establish a network of contacts and counterparts working on global health issues in Geneva and use it to drive progress on the portfolio in line with UK objectives.
• To provide high-quality briefing and policy advice to the Permanent Representative, Deputy Permanent Representative, and London policy teams on areas within the portfolio.
• To work with a network of colleagues working on health across the UK government to report on stakeholder priorities, develop UK positions, and advance global health priorities.
• To support UK Ministerial and Civil Servant engagement and visit programmes, briefings and reports. As well as support cross-mission visits, events, engagements and corporate activities as required.

The unpredictable and rapidly-changing nature of the Global Health portfolio means that the exact portfolio of the job will be subject to change in line with team priorities and a willingness to adapt, learn rapidly and reprioritise according to evolving UK priorities is essential.

Our ideal candidate shows: 

• Full professional proficiency in English (written and spoken, minimum of C1 level for CEFR framework*);
• Proven ability through previous work experience to build strong networks and relationships and use these to effectively deliver your objectives;
• Previous work experience in health, development, humanitarian, UN governance or similar;
• Strong negotiating and/or influencing skills, ideally within a multilateral or global health context;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including an ability to speak confidently in external meetings and public (e.g. delivering interventions on behalf of the UK during negotiations or panel debates);
• Strong interest and engagement on global health issues;
• Proven track record of working well as part of a team and a commitment to working effectively as part of a job-share.