How can you make a difference?

The Community System Specialist reports to the Chief Zanzibar Field Office for managerial purposes and to the Chief of Section, Health for technical guidance and supervision. The Specialist is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting of the country office’s program and providing technical guidance and operational support throughout the programming process to facilitate the achievement of concrete and sustainable results according to plans, allocation, results-based management approaches and methodology (RBM) and organizational Strategic Plans and goals, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Program development and planning

• Plan and provide technical support/guidance to the preparation of strategic plans for the development, design, and management of community-related programs. This includes working with the government at national, district and community levels, as well as other development partners, donors, private sector and others. The Specialist must keep abreast of global research on community health and development trends to enhance program management, efficiency, and delivery.
• Support the institutionalizing of CBHP and the CHWs within government and community health structures. Although the CHWs have been formally recognized in a variety of policy and planning documents, because the focus on community health and CHWs are new, the Specialist will need to assess the gaps and needs at various levels of government and work together with MOH and other partners to develop plans to embed and support CHWs within the health system.
• Support the development of CBHP planning to ensure a smooth roll out nationally. This includes assessing the needs and developing strategies to address key obstacles to successful CBHP, including training, deployment, supplies, service delivery issues, supervision, etc.
• Ensure overall coordination in collaboration with MoH of all stakeholders supporting community work in Zanzibar. Assist the government and development partners to develop systems, tools, mechanisms and other methods to support the scale up of functional community level service delivery.
• Ensure alignment of sectoral program with the overall UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and Country Program and coherence/integration with UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDF), regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
   

Program management, monitoring, and delivery of results

• Support the decentralization of decision-making through strengthening community administrative structures at sub-national level.
• Ensure that the rollout of CHWs is equitable across the country and that poor, vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations have care in their communities.
• Work with other sections in UNICEF to integrate key services into the community health platform, such as nutrition, WASH, child protection, HIV, etc., to ensure that mothers and children have access to lifesaving care.
• Strengthen capacities of local governments, communities and other entities such as village health committees to promote community engagement and social accountability
• Establish or enhance civil society organizations and grassroots community involvement in health plan and budget, including service delivery, performance accountability and progress tracking.
• Actively monitor programs/projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
• Assess gaps in financial resources to support CBHP and work together with development partners, donors and others to identify and secure additional funding.

Advisory services and technical support

• Collaborate/consult with key government officials, CSOs, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on policies, strategies and best practices and approaches on health, nutrition and related issues to support program development planning, management, implementation and delivery of results.
• Ensure the technical appropriateness of the package of maternal and child survival interventions in the CBHP and the capacity in place to support its implementation (staff and supplies).
• Advise on methods to strengthen the supply system to ensure that CHWs, as a new cadre, are included in supply plans and that supply chain systems and funding are in place to ensure a reliable flow of equipment and lifesaving medications.
• Research and recommend methods to standardize the quality of maternal, neonatal and child healthcare, such as using clinical algorithms.
• Participate in program strategic discussions/planning to provide technical advice/contribute policy discussions and agenda setting to promote health and development issues especially in the areas of gender, emergency preparedness and maternal, neonatal and child survival and development.
• Prepare policy papers, briefs and other strategic program materials for management use, information and/or consideration.
• Participate in emergency preparedness initiatives program development and contingency planning and/or to respond to emergencies in country or where designated.

Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• While the vision of the CHW program was national-led by the Ministry of Health, UNICEF supported a widely consultative process in the Task Force to ensure it evolved and was adapted to both global evidence and standards and local needs. The
• Specialist will need to continue to work collaboratively to strengthen the program.
• Public-private partnerships (PPP) are a key goal of the government’s CBHP program, and therefore the Specialist will need to assess local options for PPP and assist the government and other partners to adapt them for CBHP.
• Develop or revise high-level advocacy tools for community health, such as policy briefs, costings and other documentation as needed.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Promote critical thinking and innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable health programs/projects initiatives.
• Strengthen the use of mHealth or other innovative solutions for community-based care.
• Pursue options for ensuring the efficient and accurate collection and use of data and evidence for community health.
• Keep abreast of current relevant research, benchmark and implement best and cutting-edge practices in health management and information systems. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.
• Contribute to the development policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programs and projects.
• Lead/plan/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on health-related programs/projects.
   

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in 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 other health-related sciences is required
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in public health/nutrition planning and management and/or in relevant areas of maternal and neonatal health care, health emergency/humanitarian preparedness, at the international level some of which preferably in a developing country is required. Relevant experience in health/nutrition program/project development and management in any UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• 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 Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The technical competencies required for this post are:

• Leading and supervising (I)
• Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
• Analyzing (III)
• Relating and networking (II)
• Deciding and Initiating action (II)
• Applying technical expertise (III)

View our competency framework at:

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Remarks:

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

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.