Re-advertisement: Senior Adviser Health (Integrated Primary Health Care Delivery), P-5, Fixed Term Position, Nairobi, Kenya #00053197

This is a re-advertisement, candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.

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 Health

The Global Programme Division (GPD) plays a central role in driving programme excellence across UNICEF. It provides global strategic leadership and policy direction, develops and monitors frameworks and standards, and ensures coherence and alignment across sectors, regions and partners. GPD generates high-impact, evidence-based solutions and serves as a hub of specialized expertise, offering technical guidance on policy reform and scalable programming. GPD leads UNICEF’s policies, standards and negotiations for programme, ensuring the organization’s assets and priorities are aligned with and contribute to child development goals. In addition, GPD strengthens country-level implementation through integrated technical support, linking global policy with on-the-ground action to deliver results for children at scale. 

As part of this structure, UNICEF has established Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to provide highquality, demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, and their governments and partners. Located strategically in Nairobi, Panama, Amman and Bangkok, the CoEs bring together cross-cutting expertise across time zones. Global Programme Practices in CoEs function as a single point of entry for support, delivering tailored assistance in priority areas such as policy reform in matters that advance the wellbeing of children, at-scale programme design, public finance, workforce development and institutional strengthening, and timely humanitarian response while promoting resilient development. In so doing, the CoEs also contribute to global policy standards ensuring that UNICEF’s support is grounded in practical knowledge.

Within the Child Survival and Development Centre of Excellence (COE), the MNCAH Team provides strategic and technical support to governments and partners to reduce preventable deaths and improve the health and well-being of mothers, newborns, children, and adolescents. The COE’s support combines two key approaches: 

(1) advancing high-impact interventions across promotive, preventive, and curative care through strong policies, financing, supply chains, workforce development, and digital solutions; and

(2) strengthening service delivery platforms, particularly community-based and first-level care, supported by targeted secondary services. 

The team integrates expertise in public health, clinical practice, and systems strengthening, applying a “diagonal” approach that connects policy to implementation. Collaboration with expert rosters, long-term partners, and academic institutions worldwide ensures readiness to support diverse country contexts.

Primary health care (PHC) is essential for equitable, people-centered systems and universal health coverage, providing accessible, comprehensive services near communities. Strengthening PHC requires integrated action across governance, financing, workforce, digital innovation, and supply and information systems. UNICEF focuses on PHC financing and digital solutions to enhance delivery, accountability, and equity. Community-based PHC—driven by skilled community health workers—is vital for reaching underserved populations, promoting gender equity, building resilience, and improving emergency readiness. This is a crucial time to align global and national efforts with milestones like the Alma-Ata Declaration and Monrovia Call to Action.

How can you make a difference

This position will lead, within the Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Section of PG Health, UNICEF’s work on (i) Integrated Primary Health Care Delivery—one of the three foundational area of primary health care approach, alongside (ii) multisectoral approaches and (iii) community engagement/demand generation.

The role will focus on the delivery of integrated primary health care services, with communitybased primary health care (CB-PHC) as the top organizational priority. The incumbent will serve as the technical lead on CB-PHC, driving the corporate agenda on community action for better health and nutrition outcomes and leading efforts to institutionalize the community platform, including formal recognition and integration of community health workers (CHWs).

The incumbent will provide strategic and technical leadership to UNICEF country offices, ministries of health, and partners on community-based primary health care (PHC) and health systems strengthening. Responsibilities include leading UNICEF’s community health agenda; representing UNICEF in the Community Health Delivery Partnership; ensuring integration of maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (MNCAH) services at the community level, including immunization, HIV/AIDS, and emergency preparedness; and coordinating with Health and Supply teams on financing, digital health, information systems, supply chains, human resources, and PHC metrics. The role also includes building capacity across UNICEF and partner stakeholders on PHC and health systems strengthening.

The incumbent supports the Associate Director as global lead for UNICEF’s corporate priority, Community Action for Better Health and Nutrition, providing technical leadership for implementing community health and nutrition programmes. Based in the Centre of Excellence, the role manages technical operations, coordinates across UNICEF teams, and supports development of global, regional, and national community-based PHC policies. Key focuses include integrating and institutionalizing community health programs, ensuring sustainable financing, professionalizing community health workers, and improving data use for decision-making. The position strengthens health systems to advance UNICEF’s Health Strategic Plan and SDG 2030 targets, emphasizing equity, workforce development, digital governance, and community engagement. It also ensures UNICEF’s readiness for humanitarian and public health emergencies and supports resilience building through coordinated planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

1. At-scale Programme Design
2. Capacity Development Support and Institutional Strengthening
3. Workforce Development and Professionalisation
4. Program Advocacy
5. Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation
6. Quality Improvement for Scale
7. Policy Reform for Community Health Workforce Transformation
8. Evidence Generation, Knowledge Curation, and Data Use
9. Programme Management and Unit Leadership 
10. Global-facing Functions

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD_Senior Adviser Health (Integrated Primary Health Care Delivery), P-5

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in public health, pediatric health, family health, global/international health, health policy and/or management, biostatistics, socio-medical, health education or other health related sciences. 
  A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. This is applicable to internal (FT, Continuing and Permanent) staff only.
• Work Experience: 10 years of relevant work experience in the field of public health, primary health care, community health programming, health policy, global/international health, pediatric health, health workforce development, community health systems strengthening. 
• Skills:  Strategic leadership and technical expertise: Ability to provide high-level strategic guidance and technical support for community-based primary health care programs, including managing teams, with proficiency in developing evidence-based models and tools. Partnership development and resource mobilization: Strong skills in building and sustaining partnerships with global stakeholders (e.g., WHO, GAVI, donors, private sector) and securing financial/technical resources through compelling proposals and innovative financing strategies. Policy advocacy and communication: Expertise in influencing community-based primary health care policy frameworks, advocating for community health system priorities including those of CHWs, and effectively communicating with diverse stakeholders to drive systemic change and enhance program impact. 
• 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.
• Advanced experience in global, regional and country community health program development – proven track record of designing and implementing community health and nutrition programs at global, regional and country levels.
• Expertise in strategic partnership building and resource mobilization: Demonstrated success in forging partnerships with multi-lateral organizations, donors, private sector, academia and civil society, coupled with experience in securing funding for community health and nutrition initiatives.
• Leadership in policy advocacy and technical guidance: Extensive experience in influencing and designing global, regional or national community health policy frameworks and developing evidence-based technical guidelines, with a history of collaborating with diverse stakeholders to enhance community-based primary health care for improves health and nutrition outcomes.
• 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

The 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
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

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.