Health Specialist, NO-3, Fixed Term Position, Peshawar, Pakistan, #00013268

UNICEF operates in over 190 countries and territories, dedicated to saving children’s lives, defending their rights, and helping them reach their full potential from early childhood through adolescence. The organization is driven by a deep commitment to promoting the rights of every child, viewing this mission not just as a job but as a calling. UNICEF offers diverse opportunities for professional growth within a passionate and inclusive culture, supported by a competitive compensation and benefits package.

The Health Specialist position, reporting to the CFO in Peshawar, plays a critical role in supporting the development, management, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of specific health programme sectors such as gender, maternal, neonatal, and child survival/development within the country programme. This role provides technical guidance and management support throughout all programming phases to ensure the achievement of sustainable and measurable results aligned with UNICEF’s strategic plans, results-based management approaches, and accountability frameworks.

Key Responsibilities:
- Develop, prepare, and manage health programme components, ensuring effective implementation and progress monitoring.
- Provide technical expertise and management support to facilitate programme administration and delivery of results.
- Apply results-based management methodologies to align activities with organizational goals and standards.
- Support equity-focused strategies to ensure all children, especially the most disadvantaged, have access to health services without discrimination.
- Collaborate with partners and stakeholders to promote child health rights and contribute to the equitable development of communities.

Required Qualifications:
- Advanced university degree in public health, nutrition, pediatric health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, environmental health sciences, biostatistics, socio-medical studies, health education, epidemiology, or a related technical field.
- Minimum of five years of professional experience in public health or nutrition planning and management, maternal and neonatal health care, or health emergency/humanitarian preparedness.
- Proficiency in English is mandatory.

Preferred Qualifications and Benefits:
- Knowledge of an additional official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) or a relevant local language is an asset.
- Experience in health research, epidemiological analysis, programme monitoring and evaluation, health policy and strategy development, and prior UN or UNICEF experience is advantageous.
- Relevant country-level experience, particularly in development, fragile, or humanitarian contexts, will be highly regarded.

UNICEF upholds core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), which guide all staff in their work. Candidates are expected to demonstrate competencies such as building partnerships, ethical awareness, achieving impactful results, embracing innovation, managing complexity, strategic thinking, collaboration, and leadership.

The organization is committed to diversity and inclusion, encouraging applications from qualified candidates regardless of gender, nationality, ethnicity, disability, or other status. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process and offers benefits including paid parental leave and support for persons with disabilities.

All appointments are subject to rigorous reference, safeguarding, and background checks, including verification of academic credentials and employment history. Medical clearance and compliance with vaccination requirements are mandatory. UNICEF maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy on misconduct, including sexual exploitation, harassment, discrimination, fraud, and corruption.

UNICEF fosters an inclusive and representative workforce and encourages candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. Government employees must resign from their positions before joining UNICEF. The organization does not charge any fees during recruitment and will never request bank account details.

Humanitarian action is a priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, and staff may be deployed to support emergency responses, strengthening community resilience and national capacities. Visa and work authorization facilitation is limited to certain categories and not provided for national officer or general service positions.

For more information about working at UNICEF and the full job description, candidates are encouraged to visit the UNICEF careers webpage. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted during the selection process.