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International Consultancy on Health Policy Advisor in Uzbekistan

Tashkent

  • Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
  • Location: Tashkent
  • Grade: Mid/Senior level - Mid/Senior - Internationally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Political Affairs
    • Public Health and Health Service
    • Sexual and reproductive health
    • Expanded Programme Immunization
  • Closing Date: Closed

The Health Policy Advisor reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. The Health Policy Advisor is responsible for providing high level policy advice and advocacy to the Government of Uzbekistan on the reform of the maternal and child health system, develop partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders and managing and supervising all stages of the health programme within the country program, from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of results, and for leading and managing a team in consultation with the Regional Health Adviser.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Background:

UNICEF Uzbekistan supports the Government in accelerating progress towards the realization of the rights of all children. Closing equity gaps is a priority implemented by tackling the structural determinants of deprivations faced by children living in rural areas within disadvantaged regions, and by focusing on children with disabilities, children in institutions, as well as children and adolescents living with HIV and AIDS.

The Country Programme 2016-2020 is aligned with key national policies and strategies, and supports the Government and civil society organizations in the implementation of the concluding observations of the Committees on the Rights of the Child and the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The programme of cooperation seeks to achieve results for children at different stages of the life cycle, and focuses on health, education and child protection, while mainstreaming cross-cutting components such as child rights monitoring and data for children and social inclusion, as well as promoting equity in budgeting and in resource allocation.

The comprehensive reform agenda that the Government of Uzbekistan has initiated presents new potential opportunities for advancing the rights and wellbeing of children, including in the area of health policy reform. Monitoring and leveraging these opportunities, by providing a proactive policy advice to the government, is an important priority for delivering effectively on UNICEF's mandate.

Purpose for the job:

The Health Policy Advisor reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. The Health Policy Advisor is responsible for providing high level policy advice and advocacy to the Government of Uzbekistan on the reform of the maternal and child health system, develop partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders and managing and supervising all stages of the health programme within the country program, from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of results, and for leading and managing a team in consultation with the Regional Health Adviser.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks: 

  1. Provide policy advisory services and technical support 
  • Provide high level evidence-based policy advice to the Government of Uzbekistan on the reform of the public health system in the area of maternal and child health.
  • Collaborate/consult with key government officials, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on policies, strategies and best practices and approaches on health and related issues to support program development planning, management, implementation and delivery of results.
  • 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 Government partners and 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.
  1. Support advocacy, networking and partnership building
  • Build and strengthen strategic partnerships with health sector government counterparts, national stakeholders and global partners/allies/donors/academia through active networking, advocacy and effective communication to build capacity, exchange knowledge/expertise and/or promote cooperation and alliances to achieve program goals on children rights and social justice/equity.
  • Prepare communication and information materials to highlight program goals, achievements and/or needs to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for health programs (maternal, neonatal and child survival and development).
  • Participate and/or represent UNICEF in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on health and related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF process in development planning and agenda setting. Collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues UNDAF planning and preparation of health programs/projects.
  1. Foster innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
  • Promote critical thinking and innovative approaches and good practices for sustainable health programs/projects initiatives.
  • Keep abreast, 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.
  • Organize, plan and/or implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on health related programs/projects. 
  1. Lead the health program team and ensure delivery of results
  • Supervise team members by providing them with clear objectives and goals, direction and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
  • Coordinate and supervise the design of health program and related documentations as a component of the Country Program establishing clear program goals, objectives, strategies and results based on results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM).
  • 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.
  • Consult and collaborate with colleagues and partners to provide technical and operational support on program planning, management and implementation and to ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of programs/projects with other UNICEF sectors throughout all stages of programming processes.

 Resource requirements:

The complexity of the tasks corresponds to the UNICEF P4 level. The basis for calculation of consultancy fee based on the complexity of work, level of expertise and the Administrative Instruction on Consultants and individual contractors.

The final decision on selection of consultant will be set up based on the "best value for money" principle. The fees will be paid by bank transfer and upon acceptance of deliverables. Payments might be partially or fully withheld in case of unsatisfactory performance of duties or failure to provide the deliverables by the agreed deadlines.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

Education:

  • An advanced university degree (Master's) in public health and health systems, health policy and management or a directly-related technical field(s) is required.

Years of relevant experience:

  • A minimum of eight (8) years of professional experience at the international level in public health system reform, policy, planning and management focused on maternal and child health is required, some of which should be in a Middle Income Country preferably in the CEE/CIS region.
  • Prior hands-on experience in providing policy advice and advocacy to high level Government officials is required.
  • Relevant experience of working in public health within the UN System or other international development organization is an asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English (written & verbal) is required. Working knowledge of Russian and/or Uzbek is an asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

 

To view our competency framework, please click here

Working Conditions:

The applicants shall be required to submit a statement of good health prior to commencement of work and to take full responsibility for the accuracy of that statement, including confirmation that they have been fully informed regarding inoculations required for the country or countries to which travel is authorized.

Consultants are fully responsible for arranging, at their own expense, such life, health and other forms of insurance covering the period of their services on behalf of UNICEF as they consider appropriate. Consultants are not eligible to participate in the life or health insurance schemes available to United Nations staff members.

UNICEF undertakes no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract.

Reservations:

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF will reserve copy right of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

This vacancy is now closed.