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.
Purpose of the Position
The overall purpose of this TA is to support strengthened PMTCT and infant feeding programs and to ensure that lessons learned and promising practices are documented and disseminated within the region. Furthermore the specialist will assist with ensuring countries adapt and disseminate the new 2016 WHO HIV and infant feeding guidance in locally appropriate formats. Applying a results based approach, the Specialist will focus on a select number of high HIV burden countries, including but not limited to Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.
Key Expected Results
- High quality ESA region inputs have been submitted in a timely manner for all required OHTA and BMGF donor reports.
- Up to date information documents on PMTCT and breastfeeding promotion have been developed and disseminated widely in the region.
- A regional meeting has been successfully conducted to disseminate promising practices and knowledge management products from the OHTA initiative and HIV and infant feeding.
- Recommendations have been provided to enhance the retention of mother infant pairs in PMTCT programmes and the practice of optimal infant feeding, including exclusive breastfeeding for six months.
- Capacity in CO’s and country counterparts has been increased in HIV/health/nutrition to improve PMTCT programmes and breastfeeding promotion.
Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks
Under the supervision of the Senior Health Specialist with regular guidance from the Regional Nutrition Advisor and Regional HIV Advisor, the Specialist will provide, through remote support and in-country missions, 1) programme support, oversight, coordination and quality assurance for the agreed upon priority countries 2) technical leadership and capacity development; and, 3) knowledge management, advocacy, and networking within ESA region.
Programme support oversight, coordination and quality assurance
- Provide guidance and inputs to help countries strengthen their PMTCT performance and exclusive breastfeeding rates, including HIV/health/nutrition integration, cohort monitoring and retention support strategies.
- Provide technical and operational support to ensure quality implementation of scale up efforts.
- Monitor the overall implementation of PMTCT and infant feeding efforts, encouraging and supporting integration of the two to deliver stronger results by both programmes.
- Work closely with countries receiving funds through the Optimization of HIV Treatment Access for pregnant and breastfeeding women (OHTA) Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) breastfeeding promotion grant to operationalize their committed deliverables for PMTCT and infant feeding.
- Support CO HIV, health and nutrition focal points to manage country specific challenges for retention of mother infant pairs in care and to ensure optimal breast feeding practices whilst adhering to treatment.
- Produce a regional report highlighting promising practices, challenges and recommendations for countries in maternal ART retention and rolling out the new infant feeding guidelines.
- Ensure timely submission of quality donor reports in line with grant commitments.
Provide technical leadership, support and capacity development
- Maintain up to date knowledge and information documents on PMTCT and infant feeding.
- Provide technical support on bottleneck analysis, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of strategies and interventions to improve PMTCT retention and exclusive breastfeeding rates.
- Provide technical inputs and documentation including reports against the implementation of the OHTA Initiative and the BMGF grant supported interventions in the priority countries.
- Identify and assist in capacity development initiatives for CO staff and host country colleagues in PMTCT and infant feeding.
- Organize as appropriate, learning and knowledge exchange sessions on technical issues through knowledge sharing platforms accessible to COs and regional staff.
- Provide technical support to COs, and when needed, government counterparts on establishing, strengthening monitoring and evaluation of PMTCT and infant feeding programmes.
Knowledge management, advocacy and networking
- Support the development of high quality knowledge management products related to PMTCT retention and breastfeeding promotion.
- Capture and distil lessons learned to drive evidence-based advocacy to create greater visibility and encourage sharing of experiences on PMTCT retention and breastfeeding promotion.
- Facilitate exchange and sharing of experiences, lessons learned, promising practices using innovative methods for programme staff and other UNICEF partners.
- Support dissemination within the priority countries and across ESA region of knowledge management products on PMTCT and infant feeding, including through webinars, orientation meetings, country visits and other opportunities to benefit HIV, nutrition and health colleagues working on PMTCT and nutrition programmes
Qualifications of Successful Candidate
Education
An advanced university degree in public health, other health related and/or nutrition is required.
Work Experience
A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional work experiencein public health, HIV and/or nutrition is required. Relevant experience in health, HIV and/or nutrition program/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset. Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
Language Proficiency
- Fluency in English (verbal and written).
- Working knowledge of another UN language an asset.
Travel
- Willingness and ability to travel within the region up to 40% of the time.
Competencies of Successful Candidate
Core Values
- Commitment
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Integrity
Core competencies
- Communication (II)
- Working with People (II)
- Drive for Results (II)
Functional Competencies
- Applying technical expertise (III)
- Analysing (III)
- Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
- Relating and networking (II)
To view our competency framework, please click here.
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.
How to apply:
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 organization.
More Information
- Job City Nairobi
