Health Specialist (Maternal, New-born and Child Health)

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF has been working in Liberia for close to 30 years, turning our vision for children into practical action. With our child-focused mandate, country presence and operational capacity, we support the Government of Liberia and other partners to help every child reach their full potential. The goal of our current country programme for 2013-2019 is to: Make sure that every child and adolescent has access to basic education and a variety of post-basic education and improved learning outcomes. Improve the health, nutrition and welfare of children and women on an equitable basis. Increase access to the basics of life – safe water, sanitation and hygiene Protect the poorest and most vulnerable children and women from all forms of violence. Our interventions are supported by a robust monitoring and evaluation system that helps us track and improve results for children. Behaviour change communication is a key strategy across all our programmes, while advocacy and resource mobilization ensure that policies and funding are in place to bring about positive change for children in Liberia.

Context

Through a consolidated Child Survival and Development (CSD) programme that encompasses health, nutrition and WASH as well as Birth Registration and evidence generation through data analytics to inform decision making, UNICEF has supported the Government, as primary duty bearer, in meeting its obligations to the rights holders, girls, boys and women. Prior to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in 2014, from 2005 until 2013 Liberia was just recovering from a long civil war that had its toll on the population. Post-civil war, Liberia was making good progress in reducing U5MR, with an annual reduction rate of 5.5 per cent (nearly double the regional average of 2.8 per cent) and the U5MR declined from 120 to 86 per 1,000 live births in this period, according to the 2013 DHS. In the development sphere, UNICEF has increasingly supported more long-term and sustainable development efforts that include building and strengthening health systems and developing government capacities through Primary Health care system strengthening for delivering of MNCH services, Child friendly Communities and quality of care for mothers and their new-born. For MNCH and emergency interventions delivery, UNICEF has utilized the health facility, outreaches and community structures with the Community health Assistants and Supervisors as great assets to reach remote communities with health care and information. UNICEF Liberia ensures integrating recovery and resilient development components of the programme where relevant. In several parts of the country, UNICEF Liberia is in the process of strengthening its profile with a strong field presence to result in the achievement of concrete results benefitting millions of children. The overall vision of the health programme is supporting national efforts for the reduction of under-five (including neonatal) and maternal morbidity and mortality, girls, boys, adolescents and women, especially those who are marginalized and/or living in humanitarian conditions to have access to and utilize evidence-based, high-impact quality maternal, neonatal, child, adolescent health and HIV interventions, and thus survive, thrive and develop to their full potential. The programme will contribute to Liberia’s efforts towards SDG 3, ensure healthy lives, SDG 5, gender equality and women’s empowerment and SDG 10, reduced inequalities. The approach is aligned to Goal Area 1 of the UNICEF Strategic Plan (2018-21). This Health Specialist position will be based in Monrovia, Liberia at the UNICEF Country office within the Child Survival and Development Section under the supervision of the Health Manager. The UNV Health Specialist will contribute to the strengthening of the maternal, newborn and child health service delivery including HIV and emergency response in Liberia. The UNV Health Specialist will be working closely with the Government in humanitarian response planning and with NGOs in several counties to strengthen MNCH service delivery

Task description

Under the direct supervision of Health Manager who provide general guidance and supervision the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: 1. Support to programme development and planning  Support and contribute to the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis of women and children in Liberia for development, design, and management of health-related programmes.  Keep abreast of development trends to enhance programme management, efficiency and delivery.  Participate in strategic programme discussions on the planning of health programmes.  Formulate, design and prepare a sector of the health programme proposal, ensuring alignment with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, the Country Programme, as well as coherence/integration with the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), regional strategies, and national priorities, plans and competencies.  Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies, and to determine national priorities and competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.  Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes to ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of programmes/projects with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated. 2. Provide technical support for programme management, monitoring and delivery of results for health programming  Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews  Prepare and assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths and/or weaknesses in programme management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.  Actively monitor programmes/projects through field visits, surveys and/or exchange of information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress, identify bottlenecks, potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant offi-cials for timely resolution.  Prepare regular and mandated programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress. 3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation  Provide technical guidance and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, on health-related issues to support programme development planning, management, implementation and delivery of results.  Participate in discussions with national partners, clients and stakeholders to promote health and development issues, especially in the areas of gender, emergency preparedness, maternal and neonatal health, and child survival and development.  Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and consideration.  Participate in emergency preparedness initiatives for programme development, con-tingency planning and/or to respond to emergencies in country or where designated. 4. Innovation, knowledge sharing and reporting  Apply and introduce innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders, and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable MNCH programme results.  Keep abreast and conduct at least one research to provide evidence for implementation of best and cutting-edge practices in health.  Assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.  Provide a monthly written report on progress of workplan, performance indicators, budget execution for MNCH program supported