Health Specialist (Economist), (P-4), FT, #123518, Amman, Jordan, MENARO

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.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, advocacy, and 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. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — will not only give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, 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.

How can you make a difference?

The Health Economist provides strategic and enhanced technical guidance and support for economic analysis, costing, and investment cases and devises strategies for resource mobilization to accelerate the scale-up of maternal, newborn, and adolescent health (MNCAH) interventions with a specific focus on immunization. The Specialist will also guide leveraging existing resources in this context and related advocacy and policy dialogue with the counterparts.

A position is available to be based in the UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office (MENARO). Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Regional Health Adviser, along with technical guidance from the regional public financing for children (PF4C) lead to align with the regional PF4C agenda/approach, the Health Economist is responsible for the strategic and operational guidance and technical support in health financing, including immunization financing. This includes support to managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on health expenditures and financing for maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, with a focus on immunization.

Summary of key results:

Influence policies, plans, and priorities

• Lead the undertaking of timely health system analysis, including equity analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and public health expenditure reviews.
• Empower UNICEF Country Offices with evidence for dialogue in improving the efficiency of health spending.
• Development of investment cases for PHC revitalization, including community health
• Support and guide UNICEF Country Offices for the development of national health financing systems in the context of PHC towards UHC, including revenue collection, pooling, and purchasing, to assure access to needed promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services without financial hardship
• Lead timely, regular data-driven regional and country situational analyses, country program planning, and monitoring of the state of health systems, health services, and health care financing in the Middle East and North Africa region for supporting the monitoring of health sector performance, including general financing indicators, Sustainable Development Goals, and UHC indicators.
• Collaborate with social policy sections to support analysis and understanding of the underlying social determinants of health, to help develop and implement health policies and programmes that enhance health equity and integrate pro-poor, gender-responsive, and human rights-based approaches.
• Facilitate the analysis of social and economic trends and health financing information in the region with a focus on implications on fiscal space for health services and support engagement for policy dialogue (aligned with the broader PF4C regional agenda).
• Advocate for and support efforts to leverage resources for sustainable health system strengthening

Strategic and technical guidance and support

• Guide country offices on advocacy and partnership building for the development of context-responsive national and sub-national health system strengthening policies and programs, particularly about health care financing.
• Inform and upskill health staff in the region on Public Financial Management (PFM) for health.
• Support identification and analysis of PFM-related bottlenecks to health services delivery relating to resource availability, flow, and use (in close coordination with regional SP team).
• Support MoH capacity building in PFM to overcome bottlenecks and weaknesses in fund management at the sub-national level (in close coordination with regional SP team).
• Provide in-country technical and operational leadership and guidance on healthcare financing for PHC-UHC. Undertake field visits and periodic programme reviews with UNICEF teams and their partners for monitoring frontline implementation for UHC and SDG indicators.
• Support and guide the harmonization and alignment of health financing policies/strategies/plans and donor coordination mechanisms for health at the country level.

Accelerate immunization agenda

• Serve as the health section’s focal point on immunization financing including where applicable, COVID-19 vaccination, and provide support on immunization planning, budgeting, and overall Public Financial Management to selected countries and well as supporting countries in developing investment case for new vaccines introductions (HPV, PCV, rota).
• Guide countries in costing of National Immunization Strategies (NIS) and Annual Operational Plans (AOPs) as well as developing and establishing a system for its periodic monitoring.
• Develop immunization-specific investment dossiers coupled with fiscal space analysis for targeted interventions to inform policy decisions, prioritization, and strategic and programmatic shifts as appropriate
• Gather Ministry of Health budgets and expenditure records for inclusion in UNICEF’s planned database on immunization budgets
• Work in close collaboration and coordination with immunization colleagues in advocating and monitoring financial sustainability of existing and future country immunization schedules following new vaccine introductions.
• Work in close collaboration with the immunization supply chain team and liaise with the Supply Section for the establishment of systems for monitoring the financial sustainability of Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platforms.
• Support Gavi transitioning countries to fulfill their commitment through data collection and progress tracking.
• Provide support in strengthening local capacity including innovative approaches to financial sustainability to the pre-transition and late transition Gavi countries, and other middle-income countries.

Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting

• Collaborate with Monitoring and Evaluation officers at regional and country offices for timely, efficient, rigorous, and transparent monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on immunization, PHC, and HSS initiatives.
• Participate in major evaluation exercises, programmes, and sector review meetings with government counterparts and partners as related to the assigned areas of responsibilities.

Knowledge management:

• Document and disseminate lessons learned from regional and national efforts in accelerating Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), strengthening health systems, accelerating PHC, and expanding health coverage for UHC and the efforts to improve partnerships for sustainable health systems strengthening.
• Develop and implement country-specific national capacity-building strategies in health financing
• Explore areas and opportunities for country office staff development, including training and opportunities for cross-fertilization with UNICEF staff from countries in other UNICEF regions.
• Provide technical leadership and coordination of relevant operational research, thus contributing to the knowledge base in health systems strengthening with a focus on health economics.
• Disseminate relevant academic research findings, publications, presentations, and reports.

Other related duties

• Maintain the highest level of contacts and active collaboration with regionally active partners, including WHO, Gavi, the World Bank, and other key operational partners to coordinate activities in leveraging technical and financial resources for MNCAH and immunization
• Provide guidance and coordination to enable country offices to prepare Gavi Full Portfolio Planning (FPP) proposals (and other related applications) that are of high technical quality and provide inputs to regional and global resources leveraging efforts as required.
• Represent UNICEF regional office in relevant meetings at global, regional, and national levels to ensure that UNICEF perspectives are adequately represented in relevant strategies and frameworks related to health and immunization financing.
• Ensure close coordination with regional SP team, particularly regional PF4C technical lead, in advancing health financing agenda in alignment with broader PF4C agenda, especially in engagement with international financial institutions (IFIs) and financing ministries when required.
• Carry out any other duties that may be assigned by the Regional Health Adviser and Regional Office from time to time including guiding, training, and coaching staff, interns, and consultants, as needed.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have……

Education: An advanced university degree in health economics or public health with a focus on health economics or health financing, or an advanced degree in economics or financing with a focus on health systems strengthening and/or another related field.

Experience:

• A minimum of (8) years of professional experience in health economics analysis and/or Public Financial Management in Health.
• Experience working in a developing country preferably in the Middle East or North Africa is considered an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.
• Strong relationship-building skills in the global health community, particularly among donors, multilateral partners, and implementers.
• Experience in strengthening public health financing and governance.
• Experience in Gavi engagement processes and understanding middle-income countries strategic engagement desirable.
• Fluency in English is required.

Language: Knowledge of other official UN languages, especially Arabic and/or French, is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate the following……

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it.

Core Competencies:

View our competency framework here.

• 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)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework.

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. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

“UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable [underrepresented demographic group, e.g., women from programme countries -or male candidates-] will be prioritized.”

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 http://www.whed.net/”.

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 may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). 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.

Original Article