Health Specialist (NO-3)

Job no: 595810
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Duty Station: Mogadishu
Level: NO-3
Location: Somalia
Categories: Health

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Hero.

How can you make a difference?

You as a Health Specialist are accountable for providing technical assistance in the development of immunization work plans, ensuring alignment with national health goals and targets in collaboration with Child Survival and Development, Maternal and Child Health, and Health and Nutrition programme components to achieve UNICEF’s immunization-plus objectives. You provide support to all five field offices, with a particular focus on Central-South Somalia, to strengthen immunization programmes and support response efforts to cVDPV2 outbreaks and other vaccine-preventable diseases, including reducing the number of zero-dose children. As a key partner to immunization initiatives and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), you contribute through advocacy, coordination, planning, implementation, and monitoring of immunization programmes. You are also accountable for promoting gender equality within the immunization programme, ensuring gender disaggregation, identifying disparities, and supporting gender mainstreaming.

Key accountabilities, duties, and tasks:

1. Timely sectoral analysis, input, support and coordination to contribute to the Situation Analysis with consistent integration of sex disaggregated data and its periodic update for effective project planning, development and management.
2. Quality contributions are made to the development and implementation of the immunization strategies and approaches through participation and collaboration with in-country partners.
3.  Work plan and objectives are strategically established, technical support is effectively provided, and planned results are timely delivered through exercise of strong technical support.
4. Project implementation progress is monitored and evaluated for adjustment, acceleration and improvement of program delivery and sustainability. Gender/sex disaggregated data and inputs relevant to the Immunization Programme provided.
5. Technical support is provided to government and NGOs at all stages of the programme cooperation, including capacity building of government personnel and beneficiaries.
6. The capacities of MoH staff are strengthened through effective teamwork in the development, implementation and management of the immunization programme at the Ministry level.
7. UNICEF and Government accountability is ensured for supply and non-supply assistance and disbursement of programme funds for the sector.
8. Effective partnership and collaboration achieved and maintained for advocacy, technical cooperation, programme coordination, information sharing and knowledge networking.
9. The most relevant and strategic information is provided to support the Immunization Programme by the effective implementation of integrated child survival monitoring system.
10. All required programme reports are timely prepared in compliance with the established guidelines and procedures.
11. Emergency preparedness is maintained (including for outbreaks of vaccine preventable disease), emergency/outbreak responses with effective coordination are developed.
12. Other assigned duties and responsibilities are effectively performed.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Public Health, Epidemiology, Paediatrics, Child Health, Nutrition, Public Administration, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, Health Policy, Health Management, or another relevant field is required.
• Work Experience: At least 5 years of relevant work experience in Nutrition, Health, Social Policy, Immunization, Public Health, Maternal and Child Health, Epidemiology, Health Program Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Outbreak Response, Capacity Building, Partnership Management, Health Policy, or another related field is required.
• Skills: Strong expertise in Polio Emergency Planning, Gavi Portfolio Planning, Budgeting and Prioritization, Programme Budgeting, Vaccine Introduction Planning, and Immunization Data Analysis is required.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables

• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Exposure to GPEI, experience in Somalia, and experience working in emergency contexts are desirable assets.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

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

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Advertised: 18 Sep 2026 E. Africa Standard Time
Deadline: 25 Sep 2026 E. Africa Standard Time