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
In Ghana, UNICEF cooperates with the Government and other partners to defend the rights of children and help them fulfill their potential. With offices in Accra and Tamale, the UNICEF team seeks to achieve results in strategic programme areas. The overall goal is for every child to survive and thrive, to live in a safe and clean environment, to learn, to be protected from violence and exploitation, and to have an equitable chance in life. The current Country Programme of cooperation is aligned with the Government priorities, the UN Sustainable Development Partnership (UNSDP) and Key Results for Children (KRCs) in the West and Central African Region (immunization, nutrition, learning outcomes, ending child marriage and ending open defecation). UNICEF main strategies include evidence-based advocacy, system strengthening, integrated programming across sectors, emergency preparedness and response, and innovation. To know more about our work click here
How can you make a difference?
The Health Officer reports to the Health Specialist for supervision. The Health Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the Health Programme, including in areas of routine immunisation, COVID-19 vaccination, emergency response and health systems strengthening 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 Accountabilities
Support to programme development and planning
- Conduct and update the situation analysis for the development, design and management of health related programmes, including immunisation and emergency response. 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 system and immunisation 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
Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
- Work closely and collaboratively with internal and external 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 health 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.
Technical and operational support to programme implementation
- 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.
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 UNSDCF operational planning and preparation of health programmes/projects, and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with the UNSDCF development and planning process.
- Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.
Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
- 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
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- A university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health, pediatric health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, biostatistics, socio-medical, epidemiology, or another relevant technical field.
- A minimum of two years of relevant professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public health planning and management, immunisation programming, maternal and neonatal health care, or health emergency/humanitarian preparedness.
- Familiarity with Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service structures and systems is preferred.
- Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
- Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as 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 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
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.
During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.